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Scripture Reading:
Romans 5:6-8 (New International Version)
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6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
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Thought for the day:
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If it is at all possible, I try to avoid being late for anything. I really don’t like walking into a venue unless I’m early. Being ‘on-time’ for me means at least a few minutes early! Romans 5 introduces something quite important when we consider our lives in relation to God’s purpose for us. The phrase ‘at just the right time’ doesn’t mean He was early! It also doesn’t mean He was late. God’s timing is always perfect. Unfortunately for us, we have issues with this and generally we expect God to step in to our circumstances whenever we think He should. If we’re having a tough time, we pray for Him to intervene. When we’re struggling with something or other, we ask Him to deliver us from it or to change the circumstance. I believe that there’s nothing wrong with praying during tough times. In fact, it’s the only sensible thing to do! However, if we have no faith in God’s ability to keep us close during the tough times, then we’ll soon fall apart as things getting even harder.
There was never a ‘better’ time for Jesus to be born. His birth took place at exactly the ‘right time’. God’s plan of Salvation continued with the advent of Christ when everything fitted together exactly. Every piece of the puzzle had been moved into place and was completed to perfection when Jesus hung on that cross. At the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.
One final thing to mention today is the word ‘powerless’. The message for us is that there was absolutely nothing we could do to help ourselves out of this mess. I know many people have a big issue with this because they consider themselves to be good, moral people. The word powerless also means ‘without strength’. This is not only applicable to a physical strength but also the ability to perform the correct moral duty. A new born baby is powerless to feed itself. It is able to breathe and cry but cannot perform the necessary actions to sustain its life. We can do many things, but we cannot save ourselves.
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Prayer and Application:
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Being helpless is not a nice place to be. We are dependent on other people to do things for us and need their assistance. Praise God that He took the initiative and came to our rescue!
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