OUR DAILY BREAD : A SNAIL'S PACE

[cimi]

July 3
Saturday


A SNAIL'S PACE

READ:
Romans 5:1-5
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Tribulation produces
perseverance; and
perseverance,
character; and
character, hope.
__Romans 5:3-4
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One of earliest childhood memories was watching snails in our backyard flower garden. I was fascinated by this little creature with a shell, a slimy little tummy, and tiny eyes that turned like periscopes. But what really seemed unusual was how slowly a snail travels.

How slow does a snail go? One study clocked a snail a 00.00758 miles per hour--or 40 feet in one hour. No wonder we use the phrase moving at a snail's pace to mean "slow."

Although a snail does move at a "sluggish" pace, one virtue it does possess is perseverance. The great 19th-century preacher Charles Spurgeon wryly observed, "By perseverance the snail reached the ark."

According to the apostle Paul, perseverance is a key component in character development. He explained that "tribulation produces perseverance" (Rom. 5:3). And upon that building block go character and hope (v.4). The original Greek word translated "perseverance" means "steadfastness, constancy, and endurance." It was used of believers who endured in their walk of faith despite many painful trials.

Have setbacks slowed you down to a snail's pace? Be encouraged. God doesn't ask for a fast finish. he expects persevering progress. __Dennis Fisher
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``````````````When trials intrude to slow down your life,````````````
`````````````````It would be easy for you to give in;```````````````
````````````But by perseverance you'll overcome strife,`````````````
`````So just keep on plodding__with Christ you can win. __Branon`````
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Great achievement requires great perseverance.

**************Today's Bible Reading __ Romans 5:1-6*************

1 Therefore, having been
justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through
whom also we have access
by faith into this grace in
which we stand, and rejoice
in hope of the glory of God.

3 And not only that, but we
also glory in tribulations,
knowing that tribulation
produces perseverance;

4 and perseverance,
character; and character,
hope. 5 Now hope does not
disappoint, because the love
of God has been poured out
in our hearts by the Holy
Spirit who was given to us.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

The letter to the Romans, Paul's theological Magna Carta, reaches its
zenith in today's Bible reading. Through the work of Jesus Christ on
our behalf, the unthinkable has occurred__we have been justified by
faith (meaning that we have been declared by God to be "just as if
we had never sinned"). The result of that justification? We now have
"access" to God "by faith" (v.2). It is hard to imagine anything more
wonderful than this: We who were the enemies of God (v.10) are
not only cleansed and forgiven, but given access to God. This is one
of the precious treasures that has been given to the child of God--
He welcomes us freely into His presence! __BILL CROWDER