Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Friday, June 8, 2018

"There is none righteous, no, not one.  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory [holiness] of God."¹

"On Thursday, March 16, 2001, Kenneth Water, 46 years old, saw a cell phone for the first time, drank his first cup of Starbucks coffee, and ate his first corned beef sandwich in two decades. Waters had just emerged from 18 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. His murder conviction had been vacated by newly tested DNA evidence."²

And how was it that Waters was freed? It was because of his sister, Betty's unrelenting efforts. From the very beginning she was convinced that Kenneth was not guilty of murder. At the time she was a young mother of two children. She hadn't finished high school, so she went back to school, finished her high school education, went on to college, and then to law school and ultimately became her brother's attorney. She "waged an extraordinary legal battle that led to Kenneth's release." Through the checking of DNA it was proven that Kenneth Water was not guilty of the murder of Katharina Brow.

"Betty Anne's commitment to proving her brother's innocence is astonishing. By the time she walked out of the courthouse on March 16, 2001, she had spent 18 years in unbroken service to him. What commitment!"²

What an amazing expression this was of Betty's love for her brother. It is also a graphic reminder of God's total commitment to you and me—not because of our innocence, because we are all guilty before God in that every one of us has broken at least one or more of God's commandments, and have fallen far short of God's requirement for holiness.

As God's Words reminds us, "There is none righteous, no, not one.  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory [holiness] of God."¹ But because of God's infinite love for us, he gave his Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place to pay the penalty for all your sins and mine, so we could be fully forgiven and receive God's gift of eternal life.

Suggested prayer, "Dear God, because of your total commitment to me in giving your Son, Jesus, to die in my place on the excruciatingly painful Roman cross so I could be freely forgiven and receive your gift of eternal life, I commit myself totally to you to live for you all the days of my life. And please help me to be as committed as Betty in helping to share your gospel message to others so that they will be delivered from a lost eternity and receive your forgiveness and gift of eternal life. So help me God. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."

Note: If you have never received God's forgiveness by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, please read, "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian" online at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

Or: If you would like to renew your commitment and dedication to God and Jesus Christ, please let us know by noting this on the response form at: www.actsweb.org/decision.php.

1. Romans 3:10, 23 (NKJV).
2. When You Can't Pray, by Al Truesdale, Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, Missouri, 2002, pp 87, 88.

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