Saved and Given A Purpose

201 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 1:9, “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,” (2 Tim 1:9) One of the things I love about Paul is he often starts writing about a certain subject, but then the name of Jesus pops up and he immediately goes off on a tangent of praise and declaration of truth about Jesus! We saw this in several places in 1 Timothy and we see it again here. I think it's just added proof of the Holy Spirit moving the pen of the writers of Holy Scripture. 2Pe 1:21 says, “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” One of the Holy Spirit's responsibilities is to shine the spotlight on Jesus and He seizes that opportunity at every chance He gets! Here Paul is writing about the sufferings, trials and tribulations that await the followers of Christ in this world and the Holy Spirit interrupts him and says, “let me tell you more about this Jesus!” First of all, He saved us! But not only saved us, He gave us a purpose in life, a calling! This salvation and this calling is not based on our performance or works, it is by sheer grace. This portion of Timothy mirrors that great passage found in Eph 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” God had a plan from the very beginning for saving the world by grace through faith in His Son Jesus, and He has put a call on all His saved children to be a part of the plan to bring that saving message to the world. This is the good work that God has prepared for us beforehand! It's called the Church and this church is made up of various people with various gifts that are to be used in carrying out the Great Commission, which is our great calling. This church, built by the saving work and calling of Jesus Christ is so powerful that even the gates of Hell cannot prevail against it! Are you a believer! Praise God! For you are not only saved, but God has given you a purpose with eternal consequences. Let us explore our duties as we let His word minister to us, to prepare us to minister to others!