“By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Eph. 2:8-9
Lord Jesus, in the annals of history, today is called “Reformation Day”—a day for remembering our salvation is 100% by grace alone through faith alone. When Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg Castle, Oct. 31, 1517, you opened heaven and poured out your Spirit. It was a back-to-the-Gospel movement—a renewal that preceded Luther and will continue till you return and finish making all things new. It’s neither a Protestant nor a Catholic “thing.” It’s 100% a Gospel reality.
So, on this Oct 31, 2025, before trick-or-treaters knock on our home-doors, we open our heart-doors to a fresh welcome of the best news ever—the Gospel of your grace. It’s the bodacious, beautiful, bountiful announcement that we are more desperate than we realize and want to admit; but also more desired, beloved, and saved than we can hope or imagine.
Our problem was never with “sowing wild oats” and the need to do-more-try-harder. Our problem was we were clueless about you Jesus—we didn’t know, love, and worship you. We needed a new heart, not a fresh start—to become a whole new tree, not merely to turn over a new leaf. We needed a second birth—not a second chance, or a seventy-seventh chance. We needed forgiveness AND a perfect righteousness—a righteousness that is ours by your grace, not by our grit.
Jesus, thank you for living for us before you died for us. Thank you for exhausting our guilt, taking our shame, and breaking our chains. Thank you for being our “righteousness, holiness, and redemption” (1Cor.1:30). Today we reaffirm our hope is built on nothing less, more, or other than you and what you accomplished for us. You saved us to the uttermost (Heb.7:25) and we are utterly grateful, Jesus. Hallelujah, and So Very Amen.