OUR DAILY BREAD : COSTLY GIFT

[cimi]

October 15
Monday


COSTLY GIFT

READ:
Romans 3:21-26
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The wages of sin is
death, but the gift of
God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
__Romans 6:23
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A Rolex watch is one of the finest timepieces made. Many people would jump at the opportunity to own one. That's why my friends who recently traveled abroad thought it would be fun to pick up a few of them to give to their children as souvenirs.

Souvenirs? Yes. You see, these watches were "knockoffs" __imitations of the real thing easily passed off to tourists at ridiculously cheap prices. The ones Denny and Carol chose for their family members did have a slight difference from the ones you would buy at a fine jewelry store__the name on these watches was spelled R-O-L-E-X-X.

Few things of value are inexpensive. Fewer still are free. But salvation--the most important gift of all--is free. Unlike the imitation Rolex, salvation is of infinite value. Yet it is free because, as one hymn reminds us, "Jesus paid it all." No one can earn salvation (Eph. 2:8-9). We need only believe and receive the gift of eternal life that God offers (Rom. 6:23).

It's a paradoxical truth that while salvation is free, its cost was great. Oswald Chambers wrote, "Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary."

Anyone who teaches something else is simply pushing a "knockoff" of the real thing. __Cindy Hess Kasper
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~Oh, how great a gift Jesus gave to me!~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~Lived a perfect life, died upon a tree;~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~Not for me alone has He paid the price,~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~But for all the world by His sacrifice. __Hess~~~~~~~~
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Our salvation was infinitely costly to God,
but it is absolutely free to us.

************Today's Bible Reading __ Romans 3:21-26*************

21 But now the
righteousness of God apart
from the law is revealed,
being witnessed by the Law
and the Prophets, 22 even
the righteousness of God,
through faith in Jesus
Christ, to all and on all who
believe. For there is no
difference; 23 for all have
sinned and fall short of the
glory of God, 24 being
justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that
is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom
God set forth as a
propitiation by His
blood, through faith,
to demonstrate His
righteousness, because in
His forbearance God had
passed over the sins that
were previously committed,

26 to demonstrate at the
present time His
righteousness, that He
might be just and the
justifiier of the one who has
faith in Jesus.

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

God's dilemna was how to satisfy His own righteous demands
against sinful people and at the same time demonstrate His grace
in restoring them to Himself. The solution was the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ, God's sinless Son, as the payment for sin (1 Peter 3:18). Now
by faith a repentant believer can have the righteousness of Christ
ascribed to his account in his standing before God (Rom. 5:1-11).
Based on the work of Christ, God is both just and the justifier
(Rom. 3:26). __ HDF