Getting some chariots: 1 Chronicles 16:37-18:17
It’s not who hear, it’s who obey: Romans 2:1-24
The Lord is King forever: Psalm 10:16-18
He who gets wisdom loves his own soul: Proverbs 19:8-9
Boy, did I let the Bible blog get behind or what? And it was with the book of Romans, my favorite book. :)
Paul makes it clear in this letter to the church in Rome that it’s not just hearing the word that matters, it’s doing the word. It’s not just being a church member that matters, it’s actually doing God’s will that matters.
This isn’t saying that we’re not saved by grace. We still can’t get big headed & think we earn eternity. Yet, Christianity has to real enough to live it, or it means nothing.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
July 13, 2009 (Monday)
July 13
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1 Chronicles 15:1-16:36
Romans 1:18-32
Psalm 10:1-15
Proverbs 19:6-7
After a considerable amount of greetings and warm affections for the Romans, Paul gets into some of the hard truths of the world. Paul talks about the basic inability for anyone to see God, though his works are all around us! The world is content to deny and forget the power and Lordship of God although there is everything written in nature and creation to show that he exists, made all and that all are accountable to him. In forgetting God, the human race must turn to all sorts of things to fill in that need to love and worship him, instead they love and bow down to their own desires and own paths. The end of this section is a pretty brutal list of ways of describing a world that has forgotten God. It would be pretty discouraging to stop here, but take heart, the gospel is GOOD NEWS!
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1 Chronicles 15:1-16:36
Romans 1:18-32
Psalm 10:1-15
Proverbs 19:6-7
After a considerable amount of greetings and warm affections for the Romans, Paul gets into some of the hard truths of the world. Paul talks about the basic inability for anyone to see God, though his works are all around us! The world is content to deny and forget the power and Lordship of God although there is everything written in nature and creation to show that he exists, made all and that all are accountable to him. In forgetting God, the human race must turn to all sorts of things to fill in that need to love and worship him, instead they love and bow down to their own desires and own paths. The end of this section is a pretty brutal list of ways of describing a world that has forgotten God. It would be pretty discouraging to stop here, but take heart, the gospel is GOOD NEWS!
July 12, 2009
July 12
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Having read through Acts, seeing the great boldness, action, and conviction of Paul we have to be on the edge of our seats to get into the deep matters of the gospel that he illustrates in the wonderful book of Romans. Many see Romans as the best summarization of the Christian life, justification, peace with God, new life in Christ, the coming return of Jesus, the judgment of the world, the righteousness revealed in Jesus. Paul starts things off by stating his authority as an apostle, called by God to bring good news to the church of Rome. As this is a letter to real people in a real place, Paul begins by speaking warmly to his friends, praising them for the reputation of their great faith. We should long to have the same reputation. He desires to see his friends so that they might encourage and build one another up in the faith. This shows us what the Christian life should be about, encouraging one another and building one another up. Is this an accurate picture of how we usually treat one another?
Before getting into the meat of the letter, Paul makes a wonderful claim about the gospel:
"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes."
He will spend the rest of the letter explaining what this gospel is all about.
Monday, July 13, 2009
July 11
July 11
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Reading the last chapter of Acts is a really good experience as we move into the great book of Romans. The second half of Acts focuses heavily upon Paul and his work of bringing the good news of Jesus to all the world. He just keeps going on and on and on, knowing that the job of bringing the gospel to all peoples will be much bigger than something he can do alone, yet he is zealous to do all he can to establish churches in parts all across the area so that those churches can do the work in their own area. This is in so many ways just like our ministry here. Someone initially set up our church and centuries later we are still here to bring the gospel to this corner of the world. As we read Romans we get a closer look at Paul's theology as he writes letters to the church of Rome. We get to see even more clearly why he is so on fire to bring this good news to the world.
July 10
July 10
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This chapter is a great indication of what it means to show Godly leadership. Though Paul was a fellow prisoner on the boat, in tumultuous times we see that he is still God's appointed leader of those here. Paul uses the encouraging word that God gives him to tell the others on the boat that he will spare their lives. It is important in the church when someone has a strong conviction or a spiritual insight into where the church should be going that we listen to them. We should always test what people say to scripture, but if someone is excited about doing great things for God it's our job to support and get behind them.
Friday, July 10, 2009
July 9 (Thursday) -- Paul Does a Gilligan's Island
More begats: 1 Chronicles 7:1-8:40
Stormy sailing: Acts 27:1-20
God is a righteous judge: Psalm 7:1-17
Finding a honey is finding God’s favor: Proverbs 18:22
Have you noticed the person of Acts in these chapters? It was written by Dr. Luke, but these chapters are in 1st person. He uses words like “we” when talking about who sailed to Italy, boarded the ship, and lost hope of being saved by the storm.
The point is that Paul was not going through this alone. The Holy Spirit was guiding Paul to allow him to ultimately witness to the emperor of Rome, but it was not an easy road. And Paul had Christian friends along with him to support him, even when Paul was in chains like a criminal.
We need to further God’s kingdom with a no-matter-the-cost kind of philosophy, and encourage each other Christians who do the same.
Stormy sailing: Acts 27:1-20
God is a righteous judge: Psalm 7:1-17
Finding a honey is finding God’s favor: Proverbs 18:22
Have you noticed the person of Acts in these chapters? It was written by Dr. Luke, but these chapters are in 1st person. He uses words like “we” when talking about who sailed to Italy, boarded the ship, and lost hope of being saved by the storm.
The point is that Paul was not going through this alone. The Holy Spirit was guiding Paul to allow him to ultimately witness to the emperor of Rome, but it was not an easy road. And Paul had Christian friends along with him to support him, even when Paul was in chains like a criminal.
We need to further God’s kingdom with a no-matter-the-cost kind of philosophy, and encourage each other Christians who do the same.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
July 8 (Wednesday) -- Griping at Agrippa
The battle was God’s: 1 Chronicles 5:18-6:81
In such a short time can you persuade me to become a Christian? Acts 26:1-32
Be merciful to me, O Lord: Psalm 6:1-10
The tongue has the power of life and death: Proverbs 18:20-21
Check out today’s passage from Acts. I love this stuff, because it’s not fiction. This really happened!
Paul was talking to King Agrippa, who had the authority to let the Jews execute Paul. Yet, when Paul told the king about Jesus appearing to him, he also talked about Jesus wanting Paul to tell everyone to repent & believe in God – including the Gentiles. By the way, the Gentles are all non-Jews, including the Romans. Instead of cowering in a little corner hoping King Agrippa would be nice to him, Paul took the gospel to the king knowing that it might offend the king. The king already had a religion.
Yet, it’s not over. In the last verse of today’s passage, King Agrippa said that Paul would have been set free had he not appealed to Caesar. The Holy Spirit gave Paul not only the words to say, but also the guts to say them with a no-matter-what, no-matter-who kind of attitude. This allowed Paul to eventually take the gospel to the highest authority in the Roman empire.
What goals does the Holy Spirit have for you?
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