 
                Made for This
Do you realize that you were purposefully, lovingly, and carefully designed by God?
King David said it like this:
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”
Psalm 139:13-14 ESV
Your eyes, brain, heart, muscles, nerves, fingernails, eyelashes, smile, everything.
Not only are you wonderfully complex, but you were also planned before life as we know it existed by your Heavenly Father.
Even as you read these words, your body is doing some incredible things—without your conscious consent. Your fingers are scrolling, your eyes are capturing, your brain is processing …
All the while, your heart is pumping blood, your lungs are managing breath, your eyelids are blinking away dryness, your blood cells are multiplying by the second, your brain is directing your body while simultaneously storing memory—and so much more.
David also points out in other portions of Psalm 139 that God knows everything about us, His presence is inescapable, and He thinks about us so much that such thoughts cannot be numbered.
The point? You are uniquely and intentionally created by God to love Him and the people around you—to know Him, and make Him known.
So, be encouraged. You were made for this.
Justified by Faith
Paul, the writer of the letter to the church in Rome, covers the details of what is known as “the Gospel message”—a message that was handed down to them. It's packed with deep theological truths that are meant to shape the way Christians live.
One of the central components to the Gospel is that salvation comes through faith alone. That means we are saved by the power of God through believing and trusting in Jesus. Every Christian comes to God through faith—not through good deeds or by trying to earn salvation.
Paul says that we have peace with God by our faith in Jesus. Prior to that, we were considered ungodly and unrighteous—because we would live our lives in our own power, doing our own things. This led to separation from God.
However, by faith in Jesus, we are justified before Him. This means that through Jesus’ own right-living, we are made right before Him. Even though we still make mistakes, we can stand innocent before God because of Jesus.
It’s ...