Daily Devotionals: The Law of Grace

0:00September 3, the Law of Grace. As humans, we have a tendency to live in extremes, but many things in life are nuanced and complex, requiring careful compromise rather than staunch disagreement. Even as Christians, we might prefer to view our faith through one particular lens above all others. Maybe Christianity seems best defined by God's laws and their consequences, or maybe limitless grace is the key factor that puts our faith into focus. Today, we will meet a woman and her husband who perceived God from one of these extremes, until they realized the truth. I'll let Marilyn share with you what they discovered. She's here to share with us. They're true story. On this unshackled daily devotional. I thought the whole world was Jewish, until I went to a school where I was the only Jew. I'm Marilyn Sternberg.

1:03I met Jack after he had already finished med school, and we were married three months later, while he was doing his residency in oncology. Jack was a reformed Jew, who believed hard work was enough to achieve success. He didn't need God. As for me, I believed God was in my heart. We moved to Houston where Jack worked at a large clinic, and saw so much suffering he began to change. Instead of showing emotion and empathy, he became purely logical and questioned God's mercy. After he went into private practice in Little Rock, I got involved in community work with Jewish organizations. By the world's standard, we were very successful. One day, Jack woke up half-blind. He had optic neuritis, no cure, no hope. Like his own cancer patients, he was scared and angry at God. He insisted we quit the temple. Then my father died, and I learned that God was not in my heart. He was in my pocket to be used like a handkerchief. For the first time in our lives, we both needed God. Jack's health improved in time. Then we learned that some Jewish friends were attending a messianic church, so we went with them and felt God's presence.

2:07We began a Bible study with them and learned that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah who died for our sins to bring us to God. Today, we are completed Jews with Christ in our hearts, and we have never felt so free. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 8.2, The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, Have made me free from the Law of Sin and Death. Friend, Maryland and Jack could not understand God because they were looking at Him purely through a lens of transactions. The God they had invented was calculating and unmerciful, but they did not realize they were still under the Law of Sin and Death. They had looked right past God's incomprehensible gift of grace found in Christ Jesus. But how about you? Even after you have received and believed in this gift, are you continuing to fight your way through the Law?

3:11Have you made your home at one end of the spectrum? Or have you joined Christ in the middle, where He's already fulfilled the Law through His grace? Will you receive this truth today? Unshackled daily devotionals are built on true life accounts and help us ponder the application of Scripture to our lives. Each devotional tells a dramatic testimony of transformation of a real person while addressing a relatable issue of the human condition. A key Bible verse is provided so you can dig deeper into its specific intent and what it means for our lives in these unshackled daily devotionals. Listen to a new devotional every day and don't forget to tell your friends about unshackled daily devotionals.