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Come as you are...

Romans 5:1-8 The Message (MSG) God set us right...despite us. 1-2 By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already throw n open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. Xy 3-5 There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! 6-8 Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death...while we were of NO USE TO HIM. ----Romans 5: 1-8 -------- One of my many excuses or not seeking the Lord before I did, is that I felt unworthy that I needed to clean out my life before I approached God. Paul clearly tells us that Jesus died because we had no hope of ever being ready. He gave His life as a sacrifice in our place so we could have a chance, through His grace... to be transformed with no effort on our part. so now and forever we are set right with God. Then He can start to work in us. we have now been reconciled by Grace... and with great patience on our part and His part... we undergo progressive sanctification... some very slow...but all the while perfectly acceptable in God's sight. Now praise and rejoice in this!

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