Romans 3:23...

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If you've been around the church for a minute, you probably know this famous passage: "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." It's the simple gospel, the crux of all we believe - Jesus.

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And my question for you this morning is this: Are you clinging to him alone today?

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What else are your fists clasped tightly around? Control? Your rights? Money? Your "righteous" anger? Something else?

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We convince ourselves, sometimes subconsciously even, that these things will save us, as though they could make us feel like everything is okay.

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Take a moment in prayer this morning to open your clenched fists before your Savior. Look down at your hands - notice their smoothness or maybe their imperfections: Maybe you cut yourself there when you were young; maybe you've developed callouses from strumming an instrument so often; maybe a favorite book gave you a paper cut last night...

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But notice also what your hands distinctly lack: the gaping holes where nails were once driven clean-through to hang you on a tree while the crushing weight of the sin of all humanity bore down on your very human shoulders. Those scars, they're just not there, and by the lavish grace of God, they never will be. My friend, no matter how hard you clench your fists in an attempt to gain control over your life, finger nails digging into your palms will never save you in the way the nail scars of Jesus already have. We are not our own saviors; all have fallen short.

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Today, let's cling to Jesus instead.