Daily Reading: Romans 3
Scripture Focus: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Romans 3:23-25)
Devotional Thought: "All have sinned!" Hardly palatable and certainly not politically correct to today's culture. Yet Paul said it. This is utterly contrary to the “religion” we are surrounded by today. The message of our culture is that each person can define what is right and wrong for himself/herself; therefore, nobody can possibly be wrong. Sure, there are still some things we can all agree seem wrong (e.g. murder, other than the unborn), but the world offers no moral absolute that makes a thing intrinsically right or wrong. Is there even a right and a wrong? We are left guessing.
But we don’t have to guess - Paul told us what the problem with humanity is: “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” The problem doesn’t originate with race relations, terrorism, discrimination, poverty, education, the patriarchy, etc. The problem originated with the first sin of mankind recorded in Genesis 3, and it has been a problem for every human born ever since (with one exception).
When we read Romans 3, it should amaze us that the Lord found anything worth saving in any of us. As it is written, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God,” (v11). In spite of what our culture would tell us, there is an absolute right and wrong. It requires a righteousness that no human being can achieve. That is why God sent His Son to live the perfect life we could never live and to die as the perfect sacrifice so that we could be “justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” (v24).
Jenny
Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the amazing grace that you poured out on us through the precious blood of Your Son. Our righteousness is like filthy rags, and yet you planned for our salvation from the conception of the world. Praise be to you for this indescribable gift!
Psalm of the Day: 1 O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults! 2 You have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah 3 For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold upon his head. 4 He asked life of you; you gave it to him, length of days forever and ever. 5 His glory is great through your salvation; splendor and majesty you bestow on him. 6 For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence. 7 For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved. (Psalms 21:1-7)
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