Romans 3:24 –“All need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ” (NCV).

I am totally hooked on Bible journaling. I love the drawings in the open spaces, the swirls and curls, and all the fancy lettering to capture the scripture. I love combining the neon of gel pens and the softness of colored pencils to highlight God’s word. There is only one small problem, actually a BIG problem ….. I have the artistic skills of a one toed bullfrog. Actually, I should probably apologize to the bullfrog for the comparison. Imagine my delight to discover an online DIY site that offers page after page of “free” Bible journaling pictures. I can print these “free” pictures and trace them to make my Bible a colorful masterpiece of images and fancy lettering. I can use these “free” pictures to have my favorite verses jump out as I turn the pages. And its all “free” ….. for a starting price of $1.99. I recently upgraded my cell phone and was offered a “free” accessory …. for $10. A company specializing in storage containers offers a life time guarantee of free replacement. The container is free but there is a charge for placing the order, a handling charge, a shipping charge, and possibly even a replacement charge. There always seems to be a catch, something in the fine print, a loophole saying “I will give you this free gift but you will have to pay for it.” And we wonder why the world is skeptical about the free gift of salvation! Salvation is a gift to us with no hidden charges and no fine print. We don’t have to do anything to earn our salvation because it has already been done and is the greatest gift (free or costly) we’ll ever be offered. The words Elvina M. Hall wrote in 1865 are still true for us today – “Jesus paid it all.” When Christ spoke on the cross “It is finished” (John 19:30), He was using an accounting term meaning “paid in full”. Salvation is absolutely free, the true gift of God in Christ, and our only responsibility is to receive the gift by faith.