PROVERBS 10:2 (TCEB)
Getting rich by doing wrong produces a net loss.
Goodness, on the other hand, will save your life.
ROMANS 3:24 (MSG)
Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
THE ESSENCE
As it turned out, it is the goodness of Jesus Christ that saves our lives.
DAILY FODDER
To me, Romans 3:24 resonates the loudest when read in the context of vss 21-24. We're incapable of true goodness. But Jesus makes good for us. Here are the verses in the Message version by Eugene Peterson:
But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
PRAYER
Generous Lord, your gifts to me are many, especially your robe of righteousness that covers me and shapes my heart. Remind me to put it on by faith when I am tempted to do anything that will harm me or someone else. In challenging moments, give me rightness of spirit and words that build up and not tear down. Amen. (Daily Texts, Ground Up Grace edition)
Our Father in Heaven,
we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
so that everything that happens here will align
with what is happening in heaven.
and we’ll forgive those who have wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. Amen.
