Today’s Podcast
Today’s Scriptures
Today’s Bible reading plans include:
Ready – Romans 5:1-11
Set – 1 Kings 9; Romans 5
Go! – 1 Kings 9; 2 Chronicles 8; Psalms 136; Romans 5
Romans 5:1-11
1 Since we have been acquitted and made right through faith, we are able to experience true and lasting peace with God through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King. 2 Jesus leads us into a place of radical grace where we are able to celebrate the hope of experiencing God’s glory. 3 And that’s not all. We also celebrate in seasons of suffering because we know that when we suffer we develop endurance, 4 which shapes our characters. When our characters are refined, we learn what it means to hope and anticipate God’s goodness. 5 And hope will never fail to satisfy our deepest need because the Holy Spirit that was given to us has flooded our hearts with God’s love.6 When the time was right, the Anointed One died for all of us who were far from God, powerless, and weak. 7 Now it is rare to find someone willing to die for an upright person, although it’s possible that someone may give up his life for one who is truly good. 8 But think about this: while we were wasting our lives in sin, God revealed His powerful love to us in a tangible display—the Anointed One died for us. 9 As a result, the blood of Jesus has made us right with God now, and certainly we will be rescued by Him from God’s wrath in the future. 10 If we were in the heat of combat with God when His Son reconciled us by laying down His life, then how much more will we be saved by Jesus’ resurrection life? 11 In fact, we stand now reconciled and at peace with God. That’s why we celebrate in God through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed.
Today’s Devotional
From today’s background scripture God might say:
How often do you do what Paul asks? Stop and think about this: while you were wasting your life in sin, I revealed My powerful love to you in a tangible display – I died for you. As a result, My blood has made you right with Me now, and certainly you will be rescued from My wrath in the future.
It’s good to stop and contemplate just what I’ve done for you every once in a while. What you could not do for yourself, I did for you. It was impossible for you to make yourself right with Me. Nothing you could do could cleanse you from the sin imbedded deep within your soul. You thought evil thoughts. You committed evil deeds. You bent toward evil all the time. Your selfish nature sprang out from everywhere. Nothing you could do could stop it because you inherited that trait from your parents from the time of Adam and Eve.
But I came into the world to save you from yourself. I came to free you from the cycle of sin in which you found yourself. I came to show you a new and better way to live. I came to introduce you to the way of love of God and mankind. I came to pay the penalty for your crimes against Me. I came to take your punishment and redeem you. I came to adopt you as My own.
Do you ever stop and just think about what I’ve done for you? And I did it not while you were behaving well, but while you were still a sinner, lost, separated from Me. I did it while you were hopeless and without any means of salvation. I did it because I love you and wanted you to be near Me. I did just for you. Do you ever stop and think about that?
Do you ever stop and think about what I gave up for you? I left the splendor of heaven for 33 years and became human for you. I left the perfection of heaven and lived among the squalor of the human race. Lived in the poverty of a single, widowed mother with My brothers and sisters just trying to eke out a meager existence until I could begin My mission to save you from your sins. I gave up My glory. I gave up My throne. I gave up the angels singing My praise and meeting My every desire. I gave it all up to become like you. I endured all the suffering of humanity. I became sin. I died to save you from dying. Do you ever stop and think about that?
Paul asked you to think about what I’ve done for you. Put it on your calendar. Make a sticky note and put it where you can see it. Put a bookmark in your Bible. Make yourself a reminder somewhere to just stop every once in a while and think about what I’ve done for you.
While you were wasting your life in sin, I revealed My powerful love to you in a tangible display – I died for you. As a result, My blood has made you right with Me now, and certainly you will be rescued from My wrath in the future. So what will you do now?
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