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Day 317, or November the 13th. Surely I have

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to do something. Our thoughts today come from

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Romans chapter 6, verse 23. For the wages of

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sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal

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life in Christ Jesus our Lord. And now the big

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picture surrounding this verse. As an example

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to all of us, Paul turns to the father of Judaism,

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Abraham, and reminds his readers that the law

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of Moses wasn't around until centuries after

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the time of Abraham, and when God declares Abraham

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as righteous, there is no record of Abraham having

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done anything to earn such an accolade. In fact,

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he hadn't even been circumcised. He was later,

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but when God announced him to be righteous or

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acceptable, Circumcision hadn't even been introduced.

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So what was Paul trying to say? Surely it's this.

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We are only seen as right in God's eyes when

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we have faith in him and believe in him and trust

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in him. It's belief and state of heart, not simply

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work and effort. And now today's action step.

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Our verse today is very stark. It's an either

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-or. which means there is no middle -of -the

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-road compromise. It's one or the other, and

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that's it. Paul makes it very clear to his readers

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when he declares that doing wrong and turning

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your back on God gives you the right to die,

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that's all. You've earned it, that's why it's

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called wages. You've worked hard for it, because

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life can be a struggle at times, can't it? Struggling

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on and on, with only the grave as your reward,

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confirms to me why most people will do anything

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to stay alive as long as possible. So what's

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the alternative? It's a gift, not a right or

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a privilege, but a gift. Instead of physical

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death that's been earned, it's a gift of eternal

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life from God through Christ, which is yours

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for the asking. Death or life, and no one can

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choose for you. Some of us hate making decisions,

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and saunter through life making as few as possible.

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This is one you have to make, and in reality

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you say no if you do nothing. Surely this is

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worth a moment's thought, and maybe yet another

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reminder to listen to Day 21 again.