Credit Check – Today’s Youth Devotion

Credit Check

Bible Reading: Romans 3:27-31

Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds. It is based on our faith. Romans 3:27

HERE ARE SOME QUOTES from famous people that you will never read:

“My famous sculpture of David, the beautiful fresco I painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and the stunning St. Peter’s Basilica are all the products of my in­genuity. I received no external inspiration or ability.” Michelangelo Buonarroti, six­teenth-century Italian sculptor, artist, architect, and poet.

“Musical talent? Are you kidding? Anybody can compose symphonies that will live on for centuries. If you want to spend your life driving a truck or filling teeth, that’s your problem. I decided to become famous for composing music.” Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, eighteenth-century Austrian composer.

“Some people have called me the greatest basketball player of all time. Becom­ing a basketball superstar is nothing more than willing yourself to be tall and tal­ented. Just start thinking six-feet nine, six-feet nine, six-feet nine. It worked for me.” Michael Jordan, NBA superstar.

You won’t find these quotes anywhere, because those famous folks never uttered them. Most great achievers admit that they’re at best only partially responsible for their success. A surprising number of famous people give God the credit for their ability, intellect, or talent. Late in his life Michelangelo, for example, wrote, “I be­lieve that I have been designated for this work by God…. I work out of love for God and I put all my hope in him.”

For anything you accomplish, you have to give credit where credit is due-start­ing with acknowledging God. Get honest: If he hadn’t created you and gifted you with all sorts of talents, you could accomplish nada. You might pump and sweat to develop your natural abilities, but you got those abilities from God-along with the ability to persevere, by the way. It all goes back to God.

And when it comes to the gift of forgiveness, you especially had nothing to do with it. You didn’t create it, devise it, earn it, buy it, or win it. It wasn’t your brain­child or work of art. It’s something God did for you and offered freely to you. You can’t improve on it and you can’t take any credit for it; you can only receive it by trusting in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for you.

REFLECT: How do you feel about a God who has done everything necessary to bring you into right standing with himself?

PRAY: How will you tell God today that he deserves all the credit?