GIFTED AND GIVEN (March 31, 2023)

<p class="paragraph">When moondust gathers on your boots, and you clutch a Nobel Prize; when you’ve led the Philharmonic, or you’ve rocked the Colosseum—you still need the gift of grace.</p> <p class="paragraph">When you’ve made uncounted billions, and a tower bears your name; when the friends at all your parties drive their custom Maseratis—you still need the gift of grace.</p> <p class="paragraph">When you’ve served the homeless strangers, and provided for the poor; when the offering plates at worship are all brimming with your gifts—you still need the gift of grace.</p> <p class="paragraph">And when your sins rise higher than that 100-story tower; when the glitterati leave and all the accolades are over; when you cry out for some solace and your spirit craves for peace—you still receive the gift of grace.  </p> <p class="paragraph">“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph 2:8-9).  </p> <p class="paragraph">Nothing we accomplish can achieve what grace has done.  </p> <p class="paragraph">So trust in Christ. And stay in grace.  -Bill Knott</p>