Hello All,

As I was praying about this week’s email the Lord took me to the book of Romans…where He has kept me most of this week.  From Romans 1:18 to 3:20 it shows man’s condition, in sin, apart from the Grace of God.  The culmination of these verses can be seen in verse 20, where it describes man’s depravity when approaching God by the law…

Rom 3:20
20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.  NLT

God, in His mercy, gave the law to show man their desperate need of Him and to reveal that only One, His Son, was able to keep its requirements.  But, what excites me is that in verse 21 we begin to see God’s solution to man’s problem…

Rom 3:21-22
21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.  NLT

Wow, what a wonderful Father we have…even while we were sinners and separated from Him…He made a way for us to come to Him…

Rom 3:23-25
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. NLT

We should shout “Thank You Jesus!” because of the “Yet God,” in this verse!  It is His “undeserved kindness,” a.k.a. His Amazing Grace, which declares that we are righteous because of the blood of His sinless Son, our Savior…

Rom 3:25-26
25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for He Himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.  NLT

I am overwhelmed with love and gratitude as I think on the goodness of our Father and His willingness to pay such a high price for my salvation.  God in His infinite love and mercy put my punishment on Jesus, that I might have a relationship with Him.  I am reminded of the saying…“God sowed His Son in order to reap a family.”  The only words that I can utter that seem to have any verity are Thank You Father for Your underserved Love!

I love you all and can’t wait to see you on Sunday,
Todd