F O O T H O L D
READING
80 RIGHT WITH GOD
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PRAY Open my eyes, dear Lord
to see the beauty and the vastness of
your truth. Take my breath
away with the wonder of it.
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READ Romans 5:1-11.
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THINK What might a person
expect once he or she has been put right with
God?
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FOCUS Have you ever climbed
through a forest up the side of a mountain?
Patiently you make your way
through the gloomy undergrowth,
clearing the obstructions;
then, suddenly, you break out on the
summit; you are in clear
air, the view is breathtaking, all is
free and open. That is how
it is as we come to this point in the
epistle. In the first four
chapters Paul has led us through the
dark ways of sin in the
human heart and shown what it does to the
world; he has pointed out
the blind alleys of attempts to please
God by keeping the law. Now
we reach chapter 5. Look at the view!
See what it means to be 'put
right with God through faith' (1).
OVERRIDING PEACE (1,2).
Sometimes quarrelling nations make a
'peace' which is only a
cover for continuing strife and disputes;
but the peace with God,
which Jesus has made possible is absolute
and final. No outside power
can break or disturb it.
OVERCOMING HOPE (3-5). Once
we are right with God everything else
falls into place; even our
troubles become the raw material from
which we develop endurance
and hope.
OVERWHELMING LOVE (6-10).
'Is God really a God of love?' The
answer is in verse 8.
Questions about God have to be looked at in
the light of Christ's death.
OVERFLOWING PRAISE (11).
Instead of being enemies of God, we are
at peace with him. Now
that's something to celebrate (11)! Praise
is the outcome of faith.
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PRAY Open your mind and
spirit to praise God for the initiative he has
taken to win people's love.
