06/15/2026
Good Morning ATM Followers- Six hundred and thirteen. That’s how many rules the Israelites were obligated to follow. It was, perhaps, a purposefully impossible list. It seems God wanted His people to see that perfection was not humanly attainable. They needed His grace. One common Jewish prayer began, “Master of the Universe. It is not on the basis of our righteousness that we lay our requests before Your presence, but because of Your great mercies.” God’s people back then, God’s people today, can’t make themselves perfect. We can’t keep ourselves sinless; we need God’s grace. Christians aren’t fenced in by 613 rules, but the one principle we strive for — following Jesus — is just as impossible without God’s grace. In spite of all the good we do, all the times we share our faith, all our giving, all the children we foster, the homeless we feed, the charities we support, the gospel messages we share, all those great works that reflect our loving heart can’t make us any more Godlike than those 613 Old Testament rules. If doing good made us righteous, then our motives would be selfish. We would be using others’ impoverished states to glorify ourselves. Our good works wouldn’t be good! God’s grace must come first. Then, empowered by God, off we go lovingly into the world to spread His goodness. Stay Blessed & Stay in His Word.
