__________ - I A N *

In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2:12-13 NLT

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15:4-5 NLT

Without Christ, not only can I not DO anything, I am nothing. When I first came back to Christ a long time ago (longer than I care to admit, but it almost qualifies for Once upon a time…)  someone taught me an illustration using the title Christian. He said, We who follow Christ are called Christian. However, if you remove Christ from Christian, all you have left are the letters I A N - an acronym for I Am Nothing…because without Christ, I am nothing. I have found that to be an eternal Truth.

If you are an active follower of Jesus Christ, do you remember the days BEFORE Him? Maybe you weren’t so bad. Maybe you were a “good” person but just didn’t have Christ as the Savior of your life. Me? I was an unholy terror. More often than not, I wish I and everyone who knew me then could have a partial lobotomy to remove the memories of the garbage details of my life. I had my own personal version of Monopoly’s Go to Jail card, only mine read – Go to hell. Go directly to hell. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200… and I was heading there fast and furiously, and I was good at it.

You might ask yourself where I’m going with this, or why I’m bringing it up. After all, it’s all forgiven through Christ and He promises to never remember it. Well, it's because of a book we read a few years back. The author shared a glimpse into her life that perfectly depicted what I know about my life, and I want to share it with you.

She wrote, Every time I’m getting ready to open God’s Word and teach from it, I’m in complete disbelief. Why He didn’t relegate me to the proverbial shelf long ago, I’ll never know. Like Jonah, in so many moments of rebellion, I’ve chosen a lifestyle out of sync with God’s will for me. Yet for some odd reason He lets me partner with Him.

I handle this position with care. I’m too shocked to do otherwise.

Aren’t you? Is there something that God has allowed in your life, some type of beauty-for-ashes miracle He has allowed, the sight of which causes you to simply stand back, mouth agape in wonder, and stare?

How can we not take time to relish the wonder of God’s mercy? Today is our chance to celebrate the mystery of divine second chances.

Scripture tells us that whatever we go through and He brings us out of, is all redeemed to accomplish His purpose for our lives. Any grace, any Truth, any redemptive word of wisdom, any tidbit of comfort or mercy that you receive from this Promise for Today is all because of Jesus Christ – the Author and Finisher of my faith and yours. Today, I am publicly reaffirming that Truth to you. You see, without Christ, I Am Nothing.

Prayer:

Father,

           Your Word tells us in Ephesians 2:10 that we are Your masterpiece. You created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things You planned for us long ago. Thank You, Father, for not throwing us away, for not leaving us in our sin. Keep us on the path forward to accomplish those things You have planned for us. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen