ephesians 2:1-5

yo, anyone who knows me well can let you know how i love the doctrine of Total Deprivaty. Sounds a little strange ya, but without it we would never see our need for a Savior. check it, Eph. 2:1-5 "And you He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked accordig to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who no works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)

Wow... weighty subject but a good subject. Look, mans deprivaty is something real and something we all must face when we come to the cross. When we see our sinfulness, and our vileness, that just magnifies the grace, and love of God, That though we are still this disguisting He takes it upon Himself to come down to cleanse us. Ok, Paul here in this text is letting us know that we were no different from those who walk in the desires of the flesh, or follow the world, because we were once in that same mindset and if it were not for the grace of God calling us and opening our eyes we would still be with them. One thing that the text says is that we were dead! we unable to respond to God beckoning call. Many people like to say, "ya, I'm saved because I CHOSE to accept God..." I'm always like "really? you chose?" Christ says that you can not come to the Father but through me, and you can not come to me unless the Father draws you. So its not that you chose God, but that God chose you. We were dead! a corpse in the grave, and God reached down because of His grace and love and has given us life. So, when we see that we are no different then the person next to us, what compelled God to save us, why are we called? why are we not like the rest, but instead the grace of God has open our eyes? I would say to make the glory, and supremacy of God shine fourth. The Lord uses the weak things of this world to put to shame the strong, and the foolish to shame the wise, and this is what He has done with us. Now, i know some people dont like to be called fools or weak, but that is what we are and when we realize that it brings us to humble ourselves before a great and merciful God and as the scripture says God exalts the humble but strikes down the proud. That is why God chose us wicked, dead, sinful, disobedient, lustful men and women, to make His name glorious, and in that we get the benefit or priveledge to spend eternity with Him. As one of my favorite Hymns says "prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God i love, here's my heart Lord, take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above." we must recognize that left to our own nature, and desires, we would run towards the lake made of fire, but through Gods grace, and Christ's atoning death, we now fling ourselves to the Fount of Living Water, Christ. Also, as the hymn said, it is God that takes our hearts, and seals it, we do not maintain our salvation, no, as philippians 1:6 says "being confident of this very thing, that He who begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." So even our eternal security is found in Christ. Well, i think this is all i have to say for now, i pray that this is edifying to the body, and brings glory to the God of all creation. Amen