“I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1: 12-17

Even though I was formerly a ________, ________, ________, and a ________. Fill in your blanks, give thanks for God’s grace and mercy. Know that I/you are an example to others, not because of anything we did but because of what God did in us. God’s promise of salvation is seen in Christ coming into the world to save sinners. O that God’s gift of mercy be an example to others who would come to believe in him for eternal life.