September 19-20

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift from God – not by works, so that no one can boast” - Ephesians 2:8,9 (NIV).

Michael Frost writes: 'We have locked God into the so-called sacred realms of church and healings and miracles and marvels....we seem to be trying so hard to 'bring down fire from heaven' in our worship services while all along God's favour is to be found in sunshine on our faces, the sea lapping at our toes, picking our children up at school, or a note from a caring friend.'

It's true. At times we do tend to put God in a box – a box that contains church, Sabbath suits, solemn faces, rituals and holier-than-thou attitudes. We have our own ideas of how God works, who He will save - even how He thinks!  Is there any wonder that people gain the impression that church is not for them! It seems legitimate to read about God, locking and binding Him in the pages of the Bible, and forget that God's revelation is everywhere and He loves to touch us in a myriad different ways. With modern-day living we seem to have lost the capacity to enjoy the simple delights of God's creation.

Jesus often showed up in the grey, ordinary things of life. He loved all people and walked with them right where they were. His miracles were performed outside of the Synagogue. The life of Jesus shows that grace cannot be ghettoised in the sacred – secular divide – religious and non-religious categories. Still today, God is to be found all around us in the ordinary. We can bump into grace in the local supermarket, or the dole office, as well as in church.

Creation-nature, declares the glory of God and carries the signature of the Artist – an artist who uses canvases of land and seascapes, of sunsets and patterns in frost, of colour and texture and smell. Our lives today are lived in over-drive with a daily avalanche of sensory overload. When did we last stop long enough to 'stand and stare' at these wonders of grace – to 'be still and know God?'

Jeff Lucas, "Grace Choices" (2004).

God promised to save us by grace, and this is echoed in our scripture reading today. Ephesians tells us that grace comes through faith. Second, it says we can't save ourselves – salvation is a gift given to us by God, and third, we can't earn it – salvation is not by works.

All of this and creation are our free gift from God. All we have to do is take God out of the box we have put Him in, and accept His gifts of grace.

Our song for today is sung by the Marshall Family – 'You Never Mentioned Jesus to Me.'

     Housekeeping details for you

     The point of this short blog will become clear if you decide to use this reading in the way we intend it. Netherfield Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in healthy churches. You can see what that means if you head to the relevant Healthy Churches page of the website. We also want other churches to be healthy. That means you can join in our campaign to create healthy churches, with healthy people serving the people in those churches.

     A healthy church is one where Jesus comes first. A healthy church is one where the people work together to put Jesus first. One thing we are doing is to join people together to spread that news. I would like you to look at our prayer partners page. This will explain how we want you to use this short devotional. Very basically we want you to find a like-minded Christian friend who you will join with to : choose to pray together every day, decide together on a way to serve other people together, to help them grow as Christians - and to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. This blog that you will receive every day simply gives a common spiritual purpose. If you are a newcomer and want to join the blog with this object in mind click here