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Before I begin let me just say that I had quite a few responses (all positive) about yesterday’s quote. I even got another take on it that I happen to like better than the one I had. So here it is:

“If you are willing to hurt someone and cause harm because of your belief in the ‘truth,’ STOP, you are on the devil’s path.”

And now, today’s GMU

“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…” Romans 3:23

I love this text, but I hate when it is quoted as I just did above!! What I remember from my journey through Greek class is that there was no punctuation in the original manuscripts! In most Bibles today they have placed a comma after what I wrote above, which implies that there is a pause or a partial stop between that and the rest of the text. THAT is what I don’t like.

I think we all know that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” That’s a no brainer! I have too often heard just this part of the text quoted to remind me of my sinful condition. But the punctuation at that point is often interpreted and applied as a period at worst and a semi-colon at best!

Really, if it had no punctuation it would flow more smoothly from God’s perspective. Yes, we all have sinned AND… here’s the whole verse with no punctuation:

“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God AND are justified FREELY by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” We’ve sinned AND we are justified FREELY!! Instantaneous reminder of guilt AND a perpetual lifetime of freedom because of HIS GRACE. I was reminded again this morning NOT to stop with the first part and then miss out on the best part!

Have a great day focusing on God’s grace and His freedom because of Jesus,

Pastor Rich

Quote for the day: “Jesus didn’t have to agree with people to be kind to them.”

PS Mission Emphasis Week continues! Visit with John Baxter from Adventist Frontier Missions and learn more about opportunities to introduce the gospel to “unreached” parts of the world.

PPS Visit with Camilyn and learn more about health ministry opportunities in Spokane.

PP..S Today is National Compliment Day. Why not participate today? Why not make a regular part of every day?

PPP.S And one more just for the fun of it in case you are ever tempted to criticize those of us who are spelling-challenged. And because you are so young I’ll explain the first word! Long ago, before computers, you used to be able to call a real person on the phone who would help you find a telephone number! Imagine that?! She (it was usually a woman) was call—you got it- “information”:

"Information? I need the number of the Caseway Insurance Company."

"Would you spell that, please?"

"Certainly. C as in sea. A as in aye. S as in sea. E as in eye. W as in why. A as in are. Y as in you."

"Just a minute, sir. I'll connect you with my supervisor."