With credit-card debt going through the roof and offers of new cards coming every week, many people have adopted a risky practice known as "rolling over" or "flipping." They routinely transfer their debt to a new card offering a temporary low interest rate. When the introductory period expires, they "flip" their debt to a new card. The danger, according to one analyst, is getting into a mode "where you move your debt around rather than paying it down. It's a lot easier to switch credit cards than to tackle your debt."

Is it possible to approach our spiritual account the same way? Could we be lulled into thinking that promising to change or trying harder is enough for the moment, like making minimum payments on a maxed-out credit card? What does it take to tackle the enormous debt of our failure and sin?

The good news of the gospel is that Jesus Christ, by His death on the cross, has done something we could never do--He paid the debt in full. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:7).

How's your spiritual ledger? Dotted with minimum payments of human effort? Or cleared by God's grace?  — David C. McCasland