But God!

No, this really isn't a post on reanimated corpses!Kay Arthur, of Precept Ministries, actually coined the above phrase (The Living Dead) long before the current craze. I am actually preparing a lesson from one of her Bible studies, "Lord is it Warfare? Teach Me to Stand." As I read Ephesians 2:1-13 I was reminded of my painful past, but more importantly, what HE has done!Personalizing what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church I can say, "I was once dead in my sins, in which I walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. (Satan) I lived in the lusts of my flesh, indulging the desires of my flesh and mind. I was a child of wrath.BUT GOD(Oh how my spirit soars when I read those precious words!) BUT GOD, being rich in mercy, because of His great love for me, even when I was DEAD in my sin, He made me alive together with Christ and raised me up with Him and seated me with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus.I have been saved by grace through faith; and that is not of myself, it is the gift of God; not as a result of my works, so that I cannot boast.I am His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, for me to walk in.I was at one time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and a stranger to the covenants of promise, I had not hope and was without God in the world.BUT now in CHRIST JESUS I who formerly was far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."How about you? Are you fully alive, or one of the living dead? Can you insert your name in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 4-10? If not, don't remain a zombie lost in your sins! As a friend of ours once said, "My worst day as a Christian is infinitely better than my best day as a non-Christian."For He says, "AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU." Behold, now is "THE ACCEPTABLE TIME," behold, now is "THE DAY OF SALVATION "-- 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NAS)