Electric Toothbrush of Grace - Bible in one year day 208

For most of my life I have brushed my teeth with an ordinary manual toothbrush.  You know - up and down, side to side.  Then I got an electric one to save my arm some energy and it's supposed to do the job for me.  The only trouble is that even after several years my arm still automatically wants to brush up and down! I have to consiously force myself to hold the thing still over each tooth!!  Everything within me keeps telling me I ought to be cleaning my teeth for myself.  But I've discovered a secret and that is, that if I keep brushing up and down with my electric toothbrush it makes it far less efficient.  I get cleaner teeth if I just keep it still and let it do its job.

And that's the truth about grace.  I got grace when I turned to Jesus.  I knew then that I couldn't save myself, but somehow years later I'm still compelled to try to earn God's attention with my good behaviour.  I feel like I ought to be working my way out of my mistakes; ought to be trying harder; ought to doing better.  Grace has the ability to change us through the power of the Holy Spirit but we make it less efficient every time we try to change ourselves in our own strength.  It's time to leave the manual brush behind once and for all, and truly let grace be grace. Romans 11:6  

Bible in one year day 207 - Chronicles 1

I once took a course in writing modern fiction and one of the things I was told was "Always start a story in the middle of the action. Never begin by giving a person's back history - it's old-fashioned and it doesn't sell!"  But starting by taking us back into history is precisely what Chronicles does do.  God reminded me that it's really easy get caught up in the 'action' of our own modern lives and forget that God's plan for our life is really a part of his plan for the world.  That makes me feel humble because I'm reminded that I'm not the centre of the universe! But it also makes me realise that I have a responsibility to play my part.