Psalm 73... If you don't want the fruit of sin in your life, stay out of sin's orchard

 This psalm writer is asking God why are the unrighteous people flourishing and those that are pursuing holiness are having a hard time.

Sometimes I even find myself asking these questions; because I see people in my everyday life who do not pursue Christ but have been blessed with wealth. But I guess wealth can also be a curse at times.

Life App: The wealth of the wicked suddenly loses its power at death and the rewards for the good suddenly take on eternal value. What seemed like wealth is now waste, what seemed worthless now lasts forever.

v. 25-26 are very popular verses and two that I really love:

“Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

We need to understand those two verses and live our lives by them. God is the only thing that satisfies; He is ultimately the only thing that keeps us going. Once we truly find our identity and satisfaction in Christ then we will be truly happy and everything else will fall into place.

The pursuit of holiness is not easy. It is very tough and draining. But we must be obedient. Much of our greatest rewards and results of our obedience will be seen in heaven. By this being the way God works, He continues to show us that it’s not about us humans but about Him–God.

One day those that pursue happiness and the things of this world will fall away (1 John 2:15-17). Those that pursue holiness will see how awesome God is and how He truly knows best. God wants us to bear the fruit of the Spirit not the fruits of sin. Therefore, we must spend time with the Spirit. The cool thing is that the Spirit lives in us and He’s with us at all times. As long as we continue to feed it with the Word and other “spiritual snacks”, like Christian books and music, then we will be able to stand strong in the Spirit because it’s not starving. Our flesh will be starving because it has been ignored so that the Spirit in us can gain strength to fight and make war.

Life App: Don’t let your life’s goals be so unreal that you awaken too late and miss the reality of God’s truth. Happiness and hope can be a reality but only when they are based on God, not on riches. Because reality is in God, we should get as close to Him as we can in order to be realistic about life.

This advice is not saying don’t dream big. It’s saying to talk with God about your dreams and aspirations and the two of you make plans on how to get it done. Or, rather God tells you how He’s going to have you get it done. God desires that we do great and big things for His glory and not our own. Once we live our lives with that mindset, great things can be accomplished for the Gospel.

The Gospel is the thing that should be the adrenaline rush in our lives, relationships, jobs, etc.

Satisfaction and pleasure solely come from Christ. Pursue Christ!

12.14.12. May We Never Forget

I have been glued to the TV as many Americans have been since last Friday morning. For some reason, this tragedy has hit me hard. No, I haven't been crying my eyes out all day everyday in mourning over the loss of 20 young lives and 7 (yes, I included the killer's mom) adult lives. But to an extent this tragedy hits home. I'm not from CT or a teacher or a parent. But I have been a teacher in a first grade classroom; I taught PE to elementary kids. I did that my last two years of high school. During those two years of PEPI (Physical Education Pupil Instructor) I was responsible for those students during my hour or so being in charge of them for their PE period everyday or every other day depending on their elective schedule. I naturally have a protective nature and would have done just as the 6 heroines in Sandy Hook Elementary did. In the elementary building at EWA the two classrooms I taught in were the first on the right and on the left. Had some psycho came into the school, he or she would have had easy access to the students that I taught, including when I could have been in there with them. Kids have a very close place in my heart. I am broken over this tragedy and am praying for the families and community involved.

But I don't want to end this post on such a sad note. There is hope in the middle of this madness. Jesus Christ is only where this hope can be found. Did you know that America is ranked third out of the whole world as far as percentages in the number of lost people? This tragedy shows how desperate America is for the Gospel. I know that God will use this for His glory. Does it make sense? Clearly it does not. But those 20 kids are with Him. They get to celebrate Christmas with the "birthday boy" Himself.

Brothers & sisters in Christ, pray. Pray for the families. Pray for the other students, teachers and staff at Sandy Hook. Pray for Newtown, CT. Pray for our legislatures and representatives who will be making some tough decisions as far as gun control. I know this may sound so small, but the sermon at my church this past weekend was ironically about prayer. And no, my pastor did not plan it that way. God did. Prayer is our biggest tool. It is direct communication with God. I know that if we as a body come together to pray (since most of us cannot make a pilgrimage to CT) God will answer us and He will provide healing for all the hurting hearts in this tragedy.

Use this as an opportunity for the Gospel. America needs the Gospel. This was our wake-up call.

Think Twice, Before Suicide

Video I made that deals with suicide... and how it is never necessary and everyone needs to think twice before they consider it. Life is too beautiful to end it before it's truly your time to go...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IVzT-6WyUQ&feature=g-upl

Take risks, have adventures, & make the most of each day

"If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good." -Ecclesiastes 11:3-6

I've been studying through Ecclesiastes since the beginning of the summer. These were the verses I spent time studying today. God has really taught me a lot through this book and these verses have extreme relevance in everyday living, especially in my life right now.

Solomon tells us that life is absolutely uncertain. We are not promised anything. But we can know and trust the Creator who is ultimately and always in complete control. We must not wait for perfect conditions in life to do everything. We must take risks.

I'm graduating in 7 months. Whoa! I have to let that sink in for a moment. I know God wants me to give my summer to SWO. SWO13 is my immediate post-MC plans. And after that I'm drawing a blank right now. Only the good Lord knows what's gonna happen and right now He's telling me to be obedient and go back to SWO and then trust Him and what He's gonna direct me to do after the summer.

God's ways are much higher than our ways. Solomon reiterates that in v.5. We must trust God. Do I? Yep. He has proved Himself to me many times that now I know to simply trust Him.

v. 6 sticks out to me. I like to keep busy most of the time- unless like today it was storming all day and I needed a mental health day and literally slept til 5pm! Solomon tells us to "sow our seed in the morning" that means a 9-5 job (or whatever your full time job schedule looks like) and "withhold not your hand in the evening" so keep busy after work. Why? "For ou do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good."

Solomon tells us to keep busy because only good will ultimately come from it. I don't think God wants us working 2+ jobs but He wants us to make the most of our time. Parents, spend time investing in your kids after work. Kids, spend time learning from your folks and deepening friendships for the Gospel. And don't waste evenings watching TV all them. Spend time with God or find a hobby you can use for His glory.

Life App: We need a spirit of trust and adventure facing life's risks and opportunities with God-directed enthusiasm and faith.

Quality Time... not just a "Quiet Time"

"We have adopted a Christianity consumed with little devotional thoughts from God for the day, supplemented by teaching in the church filled with entertaining stories and trite opinions on how to be a better person and live a better life in the twenty-first century." ~David Platt, Radical 

This is a very true statement. In America today, Christians have busy lives. Being busy I don't think is a sin in itself. Busyness that causes us to be distracted from our relationship with God and place idols in front of Him is what is sin. Many people have a daily quiet time in which they read a little devotional book or a chapter in the Bible to spend some time with God and may say a prayer for a few minutes. But honestly, is that truly enough spiritual food for our souls?

I mean think about it... physically we are to eat 3 big meals a day, or 6 small meals a day in order to survive on a healthy diet. And eating is something 99.9% of the human population take seriously. What about feeding ourselves spiritually? Do we chew on God's Word in big chunks 3 times a day? Or do we take time to talk to Him a few minutes every few hours or so? I'm not trying to make you think that we need to have a daily check list for our relationship with God or that there are certain rituals that we must do in order to gain acceptance. But what I am saying is that we really need to take a close, in-depth look into how important God and our relationship with Him is to us.

God is available to us 24/7/365 (366 on leap year ;) ). But how often do we make ourselves available to Him? We always want God to be there for us, and no doubt He is, but we never want to be there for Him. God made us for Him. He didn't make us for us. Most of us believe that if we give God 5-10 minutes a day then we are doing Him a favor. That's not the case. In fact, we need to spend time with God (whether it's by reading the Bible, praying, listening to a podcast, personal worship, etc) many times a day. And I just gave multiple options for us to use/do.

Find things that work for you. I enjoy reading the Bible, journaling about what I learned, praying, listening to a podcast, reading a faith-based book, and listening to Christian music as ways of spending time with God each day and feeding my soul so that the Holy Spirit will be strengthened in me to fight and make war against my sinful nature.

"If you and I are going to penetrate our culture and the cultures of the world with the Gospel, we desperately need minds saturated with God's Word." ~David Platt, Radical

Jesus + Nothing = Everything

"I have a confession to make: I'm addicted to the Gospel. It burns inside of me. And it seems to get hotter every day. I can't stop thinking about it, talking about it, writing about it, reading about it, wrestling with it, reveling in it, standing on it, and thanking God for it. For better or for worse, my focus has become myopic. My passion has become singular. Lesser things don't distract me as easily. I'm not anxious as I used to be. I don't fret over things as much. I'm more relaxed. What others think of me (either good or bad) doesn't matter as much as it used to. I'm enjoying life more. The pressure's off. I'm beginning to understand the length and breadth of the freedom Jesus purchased for me. I'm beginning to realize that the Gospel is way more radical, offensive, liberating, shocking, and counter-intuitive than any of us realize. And that's beginning to be okay with me."   ~Tullian Tchividjian, Jesus + Nothing = Everything

This quote was revealed to me today in my Sunday School class today at church. It rocked me. The Gospel is something that I have prayed becomes my passion. It is after all the thing that gives me life. Jesus and what He did for me, you and everyone else gives us all life if we accept it as a gift from Him. The Gospel is what our lives should be lived for. Not a car, house, fat bank account, etc. There is no American Dream in the Bible. But Christ did promise to give us a fulfilling life and through Him that life can be lived to its fullest (John 10:10).

Many people don't want to live for Jesus because it requires us to reject ourselves and everything that we want  (Luke 9:23-27; 14:25-33). But honestly, when we live life our way, are we truly satisfied? Have we REALLY attained that level of true happiness? Chances are, your answer is no. Life is not about you, it's not about me, it's not about our economy or gas prices. It's about Jesus.

"You were created by Jesus, for Jesus. And you know that that gives you? Purpose." ~Brody Holloway

Walk the walk

Colossians 1:10

“So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

ESV: “so as” the wisdom and understanding (v.9) would then lead to changed lives, for it would enable Christians “to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord”. “to walk” is a Jewish metaphor for conducting or behaving oneself. It corresponds to the Hebrew term halak. The rabbis had an entire al tradition, later written down, called Hlakah, that guided them in their behavior. As a former rabbi, Paul calls believers “to walk” not according to oral traditions of Judaism but in a way that is fully pleasing to the Lord JC. Although Christians are completely justified from the moment of initial saving faith, they are not fully sanctified and they can do things that either please or displease God each day. Every good work is here viewed as the fruit of salvation in the life of a Christian, not as a prerequisite for entering a relationship with Christ. Paul’s reference to bearing fruit…and increasing brings to mind the parable of the sower (Mark 4:1-9, 13-20). The seed sown on the good soil bore fruit 30, 60 and 100 fold.

What does it mean to please God? Following the 10 commandments? Well, yeah. I mean those are good “rules to live by” but I mean that’s not all that God wants us to do. Walking in a manner worthy of the Lord is what pleases God. Conforming to the image of His Son on a daily basis is what pleases Him. Bearing fruit in every good work is about not just saying you know Jesus but actually living Jesus. Living Jesus is not easy, especially in this day in time. But as believers we are called to do it. So pull yourself up by the bootstrap and be like Nike and just do it. Increasing in the knowledge of God just means to pursue Christ and pursue Him hard. He’s pursuing you hard, so you should do the same for Him. 

Never stop praying. Never stop pursuing.

Colossians 1:9a

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you we have not stopped praying for you…”

                This is so important. We are a body of believers and in order for this body to work we have to pray for one another and build each other up. I pray daily for the man God has called me to marry. I also pray daily for my sisters in Christ that are with me here at Meredith. I pray for my bros and sistas in Christ around the world so that they can have the strength and support to reach the unreached and fulfill God’s call on their lives. Never cease to pray for the body of Christ, it helps keep it going.

Colossians 1:9b

“…and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”

                ESV: Knowledge and wisom were offered by the false teachers in Colossae. Paul prays that the Colossians will have the wisdom and understanding that comes only from God. “Spiritual” means given by the Holy Spirit.

                LifeApp: Sometimes we wonder how to pray for missionaries and other leaders we have never met. Paul had never met the Colossians, but he faithfully prayed for them. His prayers teach us how to pray for others, whether we know them or not. We can request that they 1. Understand God’s will, 2. Gain spiritual wisdom

                Spiritual growth is key in any believer’s life. It’s crucial to grow in Christ so that God can use you more for the furthering of His kingdom. If you want to know Christ intimately then you have to spend time with Him. God gives us written revelation through His word so that we can gain knowledge about Him. God also reveals Himself in other ways as well. You just have to be listening to Him close enough so that you don’t miss it.

                If you pursue Christ then He’ll reveal Himself and His plan for  you in His timing which will be perfect for you. Just trust and pursue Christ. 

Love unconditionally and Preach the Gospel

Colossians 1:7-8

“just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.”

v.7- Life App: Epaphras had founded the church at Colosse while Paul was living in Ephesus (Acts 19:10). Epaphras may have been converted in Ephesus, and then he returned to Colosse, his hometown. For some reason, he visited Rome and, while there, told Paul about the problem within the Colossian heresy. This prompted Paul to write this letter. Epaphras is also mentioned in Philemon 23 (the Colossian church met at Philemon’s house)

ESV: ‘you learned it from Epaphras’ makes it clear that Paul did not plant the church at Colosse. The people heard the gospel from Epaphras who is a fellow Colossian. The term “learned” is closely related to the term “disciple”. More than merely listening to a simple gospel presentation Paul makes it clear that the gospel involves systematic instruction in the faith and how to live as a Christian.

                ‘on your behalf’- The ESV Footnote indicates that some manuscripts read “on our behalf”. If this is the original reading, this would mean that Epaphras has been a faithful ambassador in place of Paul among the Colossians.

HRM: So in v.7 we finally get to find out how the church in Colosse got started. This makes me think about how God has given all of His children certain skills and abilities to reach certain groups of people with the Gospel. He’s also made us to be from certain areas so that we can relate to those people, share the gospel and disciple them. Just like how Epaphras has done in his hometown. I can apply this by reaching people of JoCo; Zebulon; NC; etc. And even the MC community as well.

v.8 Life App: Because of their love for one another, Christians can have an impact that goes far beyond their neighborhoods and communities. Christian love comes from the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). The Bible speaks of it as an action, attitude, not just an emotion. Love is a by-product of our new life in Christ (Romans 5:5, 1 Corinthians 13). Christians have NO excuse for not loving, because Christian love is a decision to act in the best interest of others.

This past week has been a hard week. Loving those around me unconditionally like Christ has been so difficult. Cornhuskin’ is bringing trial after trial after trial. It’s getting ridiculous to be honest. This verse and explanation is good to me. It’s a good reminder that no matter how much someone pisses me off or screws me over, I’m called to love them; even if they don’t seem lovable at that point in time. ‘in the spirit’ my strength to love the unlovable comes from the Holy Spirit. I can’t do it on my own. Christ gives me the strength to do this.

The Gospel is Spreading!

Colossians 1:6

“…that has come to you. All over the world the Gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.”

Life App: wherever Paul went, he preached the Gospel- to Gentile audiences, to hostile Jewish leaders, and even to his Roman guards. Whenever people believed in the message that Paul spoke, they were changed. God’s word is not just for our information but for our transformation! Becoming a Christian means beginning a whole new relationship with God, not just turning a new leaf or determining to do right. New believers have a changed purpose, direction, attitude and behavior. They are no longer seeking to serve themselves but are bearing fruit for God. How is the gospel reaching others through your life?

ESV: In the whole world, it has been roughly 30 years since Christ’s death and resurrection & Pentecost. The Gospel has indeed spread from Jerusalem into Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, and likely into Egypt, North Africa, and Persia as well.

This verse is so encouraging. Missions has been on my mind a lot this week and in the past as well. I find myself constantly looking at YWAM and other mission opportunities when I’m not facebooking, playing games or doing homework. The Gospel has consumed me. God has laid all age groups on my heart and even the entertainment industry. The desire to go to grad school is in me as well, but idk I’m just taking it day by day doing little and big things for the glory of God and the sake of the Gospel. Then sometimes I just want to stay in America, work a normal job and share the Gospel that way and go on mission trips when I can. Of course a lot of this will become more clear in God’s perfect timing. I refuse to waste my life by not living/sharing Jesus to people whether I’m here or abroad. Everywhere you go there are lost people so always be willing to share Christ, here, even if at times it could be awkward and not PC.

HOPE!

Colossians 1:5

“Because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of truth, the gospel.”

Life App: In his intro comments, therefore, Paul commended the Colossians for their faith, love and hope- 3 main emphases of Christianity. He deliberately omitted the word knowledge because of the ‘special knowledge’ aspect of heresy. It is not what we know that brings Salvation, but whom we know. Knowing Christ is knowing God. We can hope for what God has for us in heaven because we know that our future destination and salvation are sure (1 Peter 1:3-4). We are free to live for Christ and love others. When you find yourself doubting or wavering in your faith/love, remember your destination-heaven.

ESV: In this passage faith and love are based on hope, which is presented not as the action of hoping but as something objective-in the sense of “the thing hoped for”-that Christians can anticipate with confidence (Colossians 3:4). Because it is laid up for you in heaven no earthly ruler or demonic power can rob believers of the reality of this hope. The word of the truth this contrasts with the false teaching Paul later describes ‘empty deciet’ (2:8).

This verse goes along with the two previous verses that are also encouraging. We know that our faith in Christ, our love for Him and others is not in vain because of the promise of the hope we have that is waiting for us in Heaven. Christ is at the right hand of the Father preparing heaven for us because we are anxiously awaiting what our true home holds for us. We know about the hope we have because it is laid out plan and simple in the Gospel. Reading in “Jesus Freaks: Martyrs” you hear all about those who are dying for their faith in Christ. They die for Him because they love Him and have hope that they will see Him when they enter heaven. The hope is a promise from Christ that we’ll dwell with Him for Eternity and all pain and junk will be no more. That’s the hope we have in Christ that is promised to us in the Gospel. 

As Iron Sharpens Iron...

Colossians 1:3

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.”

What an encouragement huh? This makes me think of SWO and the body of believers that I was a part of there. It made me think about small group in the mornings when we would prayer for each other and the SWO missionaries. The past few days the SWO homesickness has started to creep its way in. But that’s not to say that God hasn’t been at work here at MC since yesterday afternoon. I’ve already had 3 convos with MCGs (all in my class) about their relationships with Christ. One is definitely seeking Christ and becoming more and more like Him, the other 2 I would say are half-way, not wholeheartedly seeking Christ. But still it’s been really encouraging. To me this one little verse shows the importance of working together as a body and encouraging and praying for each other. Edification in the body of Christ is key, very important so that the Great Commission can be fulfilled. What’s funny is that neither one of my study Bibles mentioned what the Holy Spirit was showing me. This is definitely God comforting me in this time of homesickness but eagerness for ministry at MC.

We need to EDIFY, ENCOURAGE, and PRAY for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Colossians 1:4

“…because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints.”

Ok, so this is really a continuation of v.3. However, what I got out of v.3 was about us praying for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. And something that has struck me here in v.4 is that we need to live a life that shows our relationship with Christ-- A life that is very evident of a daily pursuit of Him and intimacy with Him. Paul prayed for this group of believers because he had HEARD of their faith and of their love. We need to shine so bright that other believers not within our closest borders will know of us or the work that God is doing so that they can pray. And also that more lost people will see Christ in our lives and seek Him out so that they can come and known Him personally.

Faith and love are two out of the 3 main Christian virtues (according to my 2 study Bibles). Faith is very important b/c it is the basis of everything that we do. It is why we can love each other and have the hope that Christ gives.

Loving people can be hard, trust me. Excuse me, let me rephrase that… loving people on our own strength and based on our own standards can be hard. But if we love people the way Christ did, relying on His strength, we can love people unconditionally the way He did.

Now there are some Christians out there who believe that we should share Christ through our actions. To an extent that is correct. But we don’t just do that. We talk about Christ. A way to show our love to somebody is to have a lil cuppa coffee and chat about life and through the time of the chit-chat bring up the things that matter… the Eternal things. That’s a way to love somebody. Sharing Christ with them so that they have the opportunity to turn to Him and be saved from the bondage of sin and hell.

Now, here, in this verse it mentions saints. So it’s not referring to the lost, but I just felt that I should go on that little soap box for a minute. The work “saint” means “set apart” that is referring to Christians. God has set us apart to do His work, through us. Isn’t that cool? That God would choose somebody like me and you, ordinary people to do extraordinary things. An extraordinary thing that God wants us to do is to love the others that He has set apart. By loving each other and building community then we can continue to further the kingdom and increase the number of those who are set apart. 

Hello. My name is...

Intro to Colossians

Author(s): Paul and Timothy

Purpose: To combat errors in the church and to show that believers have everything they need in Christ. Paul writes this letter to respond to this situation (false teaching) and to encourage these believers in their growth toward Christian maturity. Paul takes this opportunity to encourage these believers to press on to maturity in Christ by continuing in their battle against sin, pursing holiness in Christ, and learning to live as distinctively Christian households.

Colossians 1:1-2: The Greeting

Paul starts off by introducing himself and Timothy as the writers of this letter. Paul wrote this letter while he was in prison in Rome. Paul mentions that he is an apostle by the will of God. I think it is interesting how he tells them just how important his message is. He states this b/c Paul was not one of the original 12 that walked with Christ during His time here on earth.

Apostle- chosen and sent by God as a missionary or ambassador

By the will of God- that he was appointed; this was not just a matter of his own personal aspirations.

Colossae was a trading center and was a crossroads for many ideas and religions. The church of Colossae was founded by Epaphras (one of Paul’s converts). Paul was writing to this church to refute heretical teachings about Christ that had been causing confusion among the Christians there. Many cults and other religions had gone through it which I think is the reason why the heresy was so prominent and b/c all of the believers were young in their faith and didn’t necessarily know what was what. This is why it is so important to study the Bible so that you do know what is what and can defend your faith and also grow as well. 

Sorry for the delay....

I have not been on here in a long time! But it's all good... I'm doing alright and excited for what I am going to be doing with this blog now! During winter break (which is still going on) God laid it on my heart to start  back on my blog and since my Colossians study is coming to a close to post the notes I took in my journals on here for more discipleship for whoever reads this. So I am working on chapter one and will start posting those soon!

Stay tuned! :)

One Love. One God. One Way.

Romans 3:21-31

                Verse 21: Paul spent the past 20 verses of chapter 3 discussing the sinfulness and nature of mankind. Now he is going to discuss how we can get out of a life of sin and live a righteous life through Christ. Paul is now letting us know that our righteousness does not come from ourselves or the things that we do. The righteousness that we get comes through faith in Christ. What Paul means when he says that the law and the prophets bear witness to the righteousness that was manifested outside of the law is that the OT prophets did prophesy about Christ and His coming and the salvation that He would bring. 

                Verse 22: Here Paul is letting us know that salvation only comes from Christ. And we get this by trusting and having complete faith in Christ and who He says He is. Paul also leads up the next verse with “there is no distinction,” what he means is that we are all equal and that whatever claim he is about to make in v.23 is true and everyone is dealing with the issue at hand.

                Verse 23: Major verse! This is one of the verses that most everyone uses when presenting the Gospel.  The issue at hand that I had previously mentioned is that we are all dealing with sin. It is evident in all of our lives and we battle it every day. However, until one becomes a believer they never truly battle with sin. They simply submit to it because the Holy Spirit does not dwell in them to tell them not to. Paul tells us straight up that we have sinned and no longer meet God’s standard of holiness anymore because we are no longer holy. No one can stake  a claim to this righteousness based on his/her own obedience, for all people have sinned and fall short of what God demands.

                Verse 24: in v.23 Paul tells us the bad news, but here in v.24 he brings out the good news which is that we are justified when we have faith in Christ and what He did on the cross. God loves everyone. And He wants to be in communion with everyone because our God is a very relational God. We were able to see that through the way Christ did His ministry here on earth. And so, that is why God has given mankind grace though Christ so that our relationship with God may be restored to the way it was before the fall. Redemption refers to Christ setting sinners free from slavery to sin. In OT times, a person’s debts could result in his being sold as a slave. The next of kin could redeem him, buy his freedom. Christ purchased our freedom and the cost was His life.

                Verse 25: when Jesus died He died for ALL sins, past, present and future. So Paul lets it be known here that even though those that died before Christ could still be saved and have their sins forgiven as long as they had trusted in the prophecy of Christ’s coming. Jesus’ blood was a “propitiation” or satisfaction to God’s wrath, meaning that when Jesus died, God’s wrath was made satisfied because the price of the sin of everybody has been paid for by one Man who never sinned.

                Verse 26: God is righteous, always has been and always will be. Paul repeats it in this verse because it is a very important concept to grasp. In the cross of Christ, God has showed Himself to be just but also the justifier and the Savior of all those that put their trust in Jesus. This is the heart of Christianity… for at the cross God’s justice & love meet. God did this so that it may be proven that He is the one in control and He is the only one worthy of being a judge over the sin of people.

                Verses 27-28: here is where Paul is beginning to discuss how good works will not get anyone into Heaven. Only faith and trust in Christ will be the key to getting through the gates. That is why Paul says here that all boasting in oneself is excluded because man has not done anything to save himself. It is all Christ and if there is any boasting it should be done in Him.

                Verses 29-30: Here Paul answers the question about who is God for. God is for everyone. Even those that are not Jews, He still, always has and always will love. Christ died for anyone no matter what heritage or background a person came from, He died for each and every one of us. This is also an important concept to grasp because many people do not think that a holy God would be able to love them past all of their sin and mistakes. But the truth is that God does love them and wants to be in an intimate relationship with them. However, this relationship with God can only be established through faith in Christ, NOT by works!

                Verse 31: Paul ends chapter 3 by letting us know that even though we are free from the law thanks to Christ, we still must abide by it because it will bring glory to God. Also by maintaining and following the law, it will prevent chaos from breaking out in society. Paul covers this topic more in depth later on in the book of Romans.

God is faithful... but we are unrighteous

Romans 3:1-20

Verse 1: Here Paul is bringing up the questions that many Jews need to come face to face with. They need to realize that because of Christ and what He did, we as humans no longer have to live by the law of the world, but by the law of God. And in this verse Paul asks the Jews “what the value of being a Jew is and what the value of circumcision is?” the point that Paul is trying to make with these two questions is that beyond the boundaries of the society during that time, what profit or gain did the Jewish people get from being a ethical Jew or being physically circumcised? The point that Paul wants to make with an answer is that NO neither of those things have any eternal matter or value. The only value they have is the place you fit into in your own society. The same thing goes for us today, man’s law does not save us. Only God does, through Christ because of the unconditional love He has for us and showed to us through Christ.

Verse 2: here Paul does acknowledge the value of being a Jew. But he does not make it sound like it is something that will pay off or have value in Eternity. All he says is that yes, it does have value because they are God’s chosen people and were able to see many things from God Himself and the lineage of Jesus was passed down through Jewish people. The only value that the Jews had for simply being Jews is that they were able to receive God’s special revelation in the OT.

Verses 3-4: These two verses show how God is so faithful to us. The Jews, I believe, were one of the most stubborn and hard-headed people group ever created. They would never listen to God whether it be through His word or His servants. The Jews were notorious for going and doing their own thing without a care in the world for what it would cost them.  But, even though they were unfaithful to God more times than they were faithful, God remained faithful to them, His love for them never changed. It remained the same. In v. 4 Paul quotes Psalm 51:4. According to my ESV Study Bible, the psalmist is acknowledging his guilt before God “so that” God’s justice in all he does will be clear. The point that Paul is trying to make here is that yes, we will be judge by God, but He is going to be just about it. He is going to judge us based on what we were raised with knowing about His law.

Verses 5-6:  Paul is using these two verses to make an argument or to prove one. He wants it to be made clear that God is JUST and God is the ONLY one who has the right to judge; And that because we are all sinful people, God’s holiness is able to be seen more because it is like a bright light shining into a dark room. That is what Paul means when he says that God’s righteousness will be made clearer.

Verses 7-8: Here Paul is beginning to battle the argument about whether or not our sin brings glory to God. The answer is no, our sin is NOT glorifying to the Father. It is very distasteful to Him. But what causes Paul to have to deal with this is the fact that other religious figures think that since God is all about forgiving us then the more we sin the more He has to forgive which leads to more glory to Him. But that is not necessarily true. What is true is that God will forgive us but we don’t need to sin in order to bring God glory because it simply does not. It is very important for us as believers to realize that we do not need to take the grace of God and His mercy for granted. I feel that more often than not, especially in American churches that God and His attributes are taken for granted at least 75% of the time, probably more. It is a problem. And American Christians need to wake up and realize it because if we don’t then we’re gonna be in trouble. This makes me think of the Casting Crowns song “While You Were Sleeping” in the song the artist talks about how people in Bethlehem were fast asleep when Jesus was born and then in Jerusalem when He was crucified and then ends in America when Jesus raptures the church.  

Verse 9:  Here, Paul is beginning to introduce how everyone is a sinner; no one is better than the other or more righteous than the other. One thing that we need to remember with the Jewish population is that even though God has promised to fulfill his saving promises to the Jewish people, they do not posses any inherent advantages, for they too are under the power of sin. It is very important for us to remember that we need to completely understand that we are sinful and that there is no way out of our sinfulness except through Christ. He is our only hope.

Verses 10-12: Here Paul is actually quotes from 14:1-3 that everyone is a sinner and NO ONE is holy or righteous. Paul says in v. 11 that no one understands. What he means by that, in my opinion is that no one can understand just how holy God is and how pure and perfect He is. But on the flipside, I don’t know if anyone can truly understand just how sinful they are. Many people define sin based on the 10 Commandments. However, they never consider how Christ explains just how deep the 10 Commandments go. For example, one of the 10 Commandments is that murder is wrong. But Christ points out that even if you have just felt hatred towards someone in your heart that you have committed murder. Basically He is saying that feeling the emotion of hate towards someone is just as bad as pulling the trigger on that person. One of the biggest things that Jesus talks about that I think we need to understand is when He talks about the deeper parts of murder and adultery. It is vital that we as believers understand that there is a lot of sanctification that needs to happen in the inside of us; in our hearts and minds in order for us to become more and more like Christ. Paul then says that no one seeks God. And that is so true! With Christianity it is God who is reaching down to the people, not people reaching up to God. God pursues us to come into a relationship with His Son Jesus so that communion with Him may be restored. God does this because He loves us. Even when we as people don’t want to have anything to do with God He still continues to pursue us. It’s kind of like a boy that grows up a die-hard Carolina fan, but Duke is doing hard-core recruiting for a sport for the athlete. The athlete may not want to go to Duke but Duke may have the better offer to get his education paid for and be able to continue perfecting his skill at athletics. It’s the exact same with God, He is what is best for us, even though at times we may not agree with that statement, it’s true and unchanging. Paul continues on into v.12 saying that “all have turned aside; together they have become worthless;” here, he is again talking about the human race and how we have each turned our backs on God and have become filled with sin. And through being unholy we are in no shape to do anything for God and His glory until we die to ourselves and give our all to Him. Paul ends v. 12 saying that “no one does good, not even one.” It just compliments what he says right before that. Sinful human beings cannot do anything good because it is not in their nature to do so.

Verses 13-14: Here Paul hits it hard with just how much sin can come from our mouths. I know from experience just how much damage can be done when someone lets their “alligator mouth run all over their tadpole butt” that’s a saying my mom taught me. It’s something that I try to remember. I generally do my best to think about what I say before I say it. Every now and then I will slip up and make a mistake. But Paul totally tells it like it is in these two verses about our mouths. Definitely two verses that I want to remember.

Verses 15-18: Here Paul is discussing other ways that sin and evil can be committed. He is considering the impact of evil in terms of actions and in society. Human history is marked with murdered and war fare. Sinners leave in their wake devastation, run and misery. Instead of knowing peace they have sown disorder and confusion in the world. Unless we are constantly pursuing Christ it can be very easy to fall into the traps of misery and ruin due to our own inward and even outward shame. But if we are pursuing Christ then He is constantly refining us to be more like Him and conforming us to His image, which is our number one calling as believers. Paul ends with that we as a sinful population do not fear God. This is what causes us to sin. We do not recognize God for who He really is and therefore we do not respect Him or as Paul says, “fear” Him so we continue to sin. This is an issue. This is why God allows things to happen to show that He is the one in ultimate control and the one who judges and makes all things new. This is why we must learn to fear God.

Verse 19: Here Paul is letting us know that when judgment day comes around there will be no time for us to explain why we did what we did. We will just sand before God and He will lay it all out for us and show us what we did wrong based on the law that He did provide for us in His word and guidance that He provided through His Holy Spirit for believers.

Verse 20: The law that this verse is talking about is the law given by God to the people. When we do not follow God’s law we fall short and fall into sin. And through learning more and more about the law and what it all means we become more conscious of the sin in our lives and the need for repentance and dependence on God. This is why it is important to constantly be diving into Scripture and conforming to the image of Christ so that we will become conscious of our sin so that we won’t commit it again. And become more sanctified through the work of Christ in our lives.

Inward Obsession

Romans 2:12-29

Verse 12: I wouldn’t say that this verse is encouraging, but I also wouldn’t say that it is discouraging either. I think that it is saying that if a person is not exposed to the law then that person has no reason to be held accountable to something that he/she did not know anything about. So God will judge everyone, but He is going to be just about it by judging people based on what they know.

Verse 13: this verse is very straightforward. It is basically the message that Christ tried to tell all of the major religious people back in His day. Just because you know everything about the Bible does not mean that you belong to the One who put it all together. It is important to read and study God’s word, it is the only way a believer will grow the most efficiently. But it is even more important to be a doer of the word because it is the only way people will be able to see Jesus and find out about Jesus. By doing what the Bible says, the Gospel can be spread! I feel like many Christians are extremely content in their walks with Christ; Especially in America. No one really faces any sort of danger here so the faith of American believers is not tested to what they would consider a serious degree much.  Many just got to church on Sunday, and if they are really dedicated they’ll show up on Wednesday Nights! But then, after they walk out of the building, they never open up the book they were just studying corporately. Yes, God does want us to get together and worship and learn together, it makes our lives more fun and rewarding, not to mention the edification is great! However, God is a personal God and wants to know us on an intimate and personal level. This is why it is important to study the word and really listen to what God wants to tell you. And if you’re really listening to what He is saying through His word, then you’ll do whatever it is He is telling you to do; mainly because the Spirit will be leading you to do so and you’ll have the desire to do so. Also, Paul uses the term righteous in this verse. We can only become righteous through sanctification which comes from conforming to the image of Christ. How do we learn to conform to the image of Christ? Through the word of God! This is what Paul is trying to hit at, that in order to please God and be declared righteous in HIS sight is to conform to the image of His son.

Verse 14: back in biblical times, the Gentiles did not have the written law of the OT because they were not God’s chosen people. But what Paul points out here is the basic moral code that every human being is born with. Everyone knows that murder and stealing is wrong. It is just something we automatically know because we don’t want anyone to do it to us so it must be wrong to do it to others right? That’s the thought process for the Gentiles. So Paul is saying that the moral code of the Gentiles is what could be used at the law for them, since they didn’t have the law of the OT like the Jews did.

Verse 15: everyone has a conscience. We’re born with it. It is the little voice inside our heads that tells us when we should or should not do something. Now, since becoming a believer I have often wondered if the Holy Spirit takes over the role of the conscience because now the voice in my head sounds more like something God would be whispering in my ear rather than my gut. What Paul is saying here is that the law was written on their hearts because it is what their consciences went by. But this verse also shows how our mind can “play tricks on us” and how our hearts are deceitful. He says that “their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them” what he means I think is that our conscience is focused on the person itself and what will be best for the wants of the person rather than the needs of the person. It is concerned with whatever will provide instant gratification and making sure that it is provided indeed. And because of that way of doing things the conscience may tell the person it lives in or whatever you want to call it, that it is okay to do certain things, when if it were to look at God’s word, it would not be okay to do those things.

Verse 16: Paul is just reaffirming that judgment day is on its way! And that God is basically going to judge us and may use Christ and His life as the answer key or what He will compare every humans’ life to.

Verses 17-24: Paul really hits the Jewish people hard here. He really digs deep into the fact that just because your ancestors had a good relationship with God does not necessarily mean that you as an individual human being have an intimate relationship with God. The Jews had “careless confidence” in their knowledge of the law instead of their obedience to the law. What Paul is saying about the Jews I this passage kind of remind me of the “holier than thou” people in Christianity today. They know all about the sin in everyone else’s life and is willing 100% to point it out but they have no idea about the sin in their own lives or if they do notice it, they make up some excuse so that they don’t look as sinful as the rest of the people. This is a big problem. What we as believers today can learn from this in your face message Paul is sending is that we need to know the law, but we also need to put it into practice for ourselves. We need to teach ourselves the law so that we can know how to live lives that glorify God. Once we are living a life to please God and conform to the image of Christ then we can, if needed, help educate those younger in the faith about God’s law and how to succeed in obedience to the law. Paul asks very hard, personal questions to the Jews, I think that we need to ask ourselves these questions when sometimes we may get caught up in a phase of self-righteousness which is very easy to do when you are surrounded by other believers and serving in ministry. It’s easy to get caught up in what you are doing for the Gospel publicly but you’re not paying attention to what you are having to battle with personally. And our God is a personal God so He is more concerned with how you’re doing on the personal side rather than what you are doing on the public side, because if you on the personal side isn’t all groovy then it’s going to be hard to make you on the public side completely focused on God and the task He has called you to.

Verses 25-27: Paul is using a Jewish tradition or trademark to discuss how just because your momma knows Jesus does not mean that you know Jesus. Kind of like what he was saying in the previous passage except this time he uses a stronger and concrete example. Paul is saying that “yes, you may be a Jew due to circumcision, but if you break God’s law it is as if you had never been circumcised.” Paul is really trying to reveal to the Jews that they don’t know everything and that they need to pursue Christ and obey Him rather than just memorize His law and what He wants them to do, but actually walk the walk that they are talking up. For us today and for people all around the world, living a true Christian life is different and a bigger struggle than just telling people you’re a Christian.

Verses 28-29: Paul is bringing up now how you have the have it on the inside in order for it to be completely real and solid. Just like how a Jew needs to be circumcised, a believer needs to have a heart cleaning in order to be a real child of God. Paul is continuing to address that outward profession may not be the real inward obsession. You may profess to love Jesus on the outside, but are you obsessed with what He did for you on in the inside? That is the question that we need to keep in mind as believers, “what is our inward obsession?”

If you judge people, you have no time to love them" Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Romans 2: 1-11

Verse 1:  Ok. I’m going to be really honest here. Judging can be very hard to avoid. Especially when I go to school with all girls! It is definitely not an easy task to “look for the good in everyone” when that “everyone” is looking you up and down, listening to the words you say, and even the one’s that you don’t and any other way you can communicate a message about yourself or your view on things. They are always making an assumption about you whether it be true or false. Or when someone is venting about another person it is very easy to make a judgment about the person being talked about behind her back. It is definitely a lipstick jungle here!

                Now granted, Paul here is talking about judging people based on the sin that they have committed. In which, like he states, we should not do it because at some point in our lives we have done the same thing that the next person has done. That is why we have no right to judge them because we are just as sinful as they are and God loves us all the same. God is the only one who has the right to judge because HE is the ONLY HOLY one in the picture. Many self-righteous people make two mistakes in their life: 1. They underestimate God’s standard of righteousness (inner & outer) and 2. They underestimate the depth of their own sin. Too often people characterize themselves as being “good people”. NO! *buzzard noise* WRONG! According to scripture no one is a “good person” not when you really look at how someone is on the inside and go inside their brain and heart and see the deep, dark secret thoughts and desires that the person has. Once you get that kind of dirt, you won’t think of that person as a  good person anymore. This is a very serious concept to grasp. And until a person understands just how sinful he/she is, then the person will never be able to fully realize his/her need for Christ and how gracious God is to love such sinners as us! So the point of this verse is to not pass any judgment on someone because you’re in the same boat as the next person.

Verse 2: Like I stated before, God is the only one who has the right to do any form of judging. Paul says that God’s judgment is done rightly. And it is! God made the law. God’s law has been passed down to us through Scripture. We are held accountable to His law through His Holy Spirit. Therefore, we know what God wants and expects of us. So when we don’t obey Him, He is going to rightly judge us with His law that we were already aware about. God’s law is the truth that Paul is talking about here. The reason why God’s judgment is the only judgment seen as right is because there is always a distortion in human perception, meaning that in the depths of every man is the false understanding that everything is going to be alright and that in our own minds we seek to justify our own sin and shame, when the reality is that we can’t because we don’t completely understand the stain it has left on our souls. Another reason why God’ judgment is best is because man’s judgment never completely squares with the truth because mankind never knows the whole truth. That is why we think it is ok to judge people when we are doing the same things they are doing and because we wish that God would judge us the way we judge others: based on the outside. Long story short, God has the right to judge us because He wrote the law and because He is holy and will make the righteous decisions.

Verse 3: basically in this verse paul is asking the romans if they believe that God will not judge them if they judge others. And the answer to his question is that when someone passes judgement on someone else, God is going to judge them. Especially when both parties have committed the same sin!

Verse 4: this verse is saying that we should not assume that when God is not punishing us then we are right with Him. This verse is also saying that because we shouldn’t assume that we need to realize that the only way we can become right with God is through His grace that leads us to pursue an intimate relationship with Him through His Son. Too often I think that people think that because when they commit what they know is a sin and is not immediately struck down by lightening then everything is going good with God. When in reality God may punish you right then, or He could wait it out and handle it later on down the road when you are tempted to do the sin again and He’ll bring out his belt and discipline you so that you don’t forsake Him again. This is a lesson that many of the Jews had to learn the hard way.

Verse 5: OK This verse should come with a warning label or something because it is very honest, bold, blunt, and in your face! It definitely catches my attention and will catch the attention of any reader who’s eyes catch this verse. Christians are very stubborn. Paul points that out in this verse. He basically tells us that we need to be very repentant and sincere when we go to God and that we need to go to Him when we’ve sinned against Him so that we can be made right and have restored fellowship with Him. And if we do not go to God to repent the judgment day is going to be awful because our sin will continue to stack up against us. And our relationship with God will continue to get more and more distant in our lives. This is a very bad spot to be in because not being in communion with God sucks and life is not complete and your joy is not there. Many things can provide happiness, but only Christ can provide joy. And when the joy is not there, the reason for living does not seem to be there either. God wants us to strive to conform to the image of His Son. That is all He asks of us.

Verse 6: pretty simple point Paul makes here. God is not going to give anyone any brownie points or hall passes through judgment day. He is going to be real and honest when dealing with every human being and the life that he/she lived, whether it was pleasing and honoring to Him or not. I remember the skit from Tuesday night of 2010. The prisoner did not get what he deserved. He deserved life or the death penalty but all he had to pay was a fine and he was free to go. God is not like that. He is just and fair. But thankfully, when judgment day comes, if you’re a believer, after God tells you all you have done wrong and what you deserve, he’s going to take your slate that has your whole life written on it and wipe it clean with the blood of Christ. What an amazing act of love and mercy.

Verse 7: to me, this verse is discussing perseverance in the life of a believer. A believer is passionately pursuing what God would have him/her to do. He/she is always seeking to please God by doing deeds that bring glory and honor to Him NOT his/herself. Paul says here that those who pursue God’s will, will have the blessing of being able to live eternally in the presence of God.

Verses 8-9: these verses are the bad news for mankind, where as the previous verse was more of good news. The bad news is that those who disobey God and do not seek Him out and do not pursue a relationship with Him will basically be sent hell and judgment day is not going to be pretty for those people. In fact, it’s going to be like an introduction to what kind of eternity they are about to step into once their court date has been completed. I think it is interesting, not necessarily funny or hilarious when people think that hell is going to be some big party. Scripture makes it very clear that it will be anything but a party. It will be anger and wrath from a holy and just God who doesn’t take any junk from anybody. I know from reading Sodom and Gomorrah that I do not want God’s wrath coming down on me because it isn’t fun and the outcome is not pretty. It’s not like the wizard of Oz when you get caught up in the “wrath” of a tornado and wind up in the Land of Oz where everything is colorful and bright. It’s more like you’re chilling in Hawaii on a nice Sunday morning and then BOOM some Japanese planes are bombing your nice tropical getaway up. That is how many secular people view hell and God’s judgment, like the Land of Oz. Or that no planes ever come and blow their tropical getaway up.

Verse 10: Good news and butterflies again. Those that seek Christ will be given peace, honor and glory in Christ when they enter into heaven after judgment day.

Verse 11: Like I said before, God doesn’t give brownie points. God is the same with everyone, I guess you could say He is kind of neutral? I’m not sure if that would be the right synonym but He is not going to give Bob and easy way out and John the hard way. He is going to give each of them what they deserve. And He will back up His decision based on the law that He gave us in His word; The law to love Him above everything else and to love our neighbor as our self.  

Change is good.

Sorry for it being sooooooooo longggggggg since i have last posted. I will now continue with the Roman blogs...
*HSV- Hannah Standard Version.... Brody wanted us as staff to rewrite the verse in our own words that week.

Romans 1:17-32

Verse 17:  When we get saved we become reconciled to God. Our God is a righteous God and can only be in the presence of righteousness. We become saved through faith in Christ and we live our lives by the faith that we have entrusted into Him.

Verse 18: When it says that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven it means that through the death of Christ we were able to see how God is to punish sin and ungodliness. The wrath of God is God’s anger towards sin and how He deals with that anger. He deals with that anger by punishing those who have sinned against Him. When Paul says that they have suppressed the truth he means that the people have been hiding what God truly is because they cannot be in his presence because of how they truly are. Righteousness and unrighteousness do not mix together.

HSV: God showed us who we really are and how not being honest about Him is wrong as well.

Verses 19-20: simply states that God has revealed Himself to us in a very simple way. The two qualities we are able to see God is through His eternal power and divine nature.

HSV: There is no reason not to believe in God because He has made His existence very simple to believe in through His creation and loving nature towards mankind.

Verse 21: this verse definitely makes me think of American Christians today.  Many American Christians are found within the Bible Belt of the South and can quote scripture left and right but many of them never get the chance to experience an intimate relationship with God because they don’t pursue God the way a relationship with Him ought to be pursued. This is why they do not glorify Him In their lives or give thanks to Him for all that He has done for them. Many think that they got to wherever they are on their own when really it was all God. Most of the time, more like all of the time, mankind is willing to use the gifts of God but do not want to give Him the glory for supplying the gifts. The root of all sin is the refusal to give God the glory in all things. “futile in their thinking”… God gave every human a brain. And with that brain we can accomplish great things for the Gospel and the sake of God’s kingdom. He gave us a brain so that we could do those things. However, most of us are not focused on eternal matters but are focused on earthly matters that change every day and won’t matter ten years from now. Humans have very futile minds and ways of thinking because we are consumed by the instant self gratification society that we live in. if we didn’t have the “it’s all about me” attitude then we wouldn’t have dark hearts and would be able to focus on the real reason we were put on this earth.

HSV: by ignoring God you are only doing damage to yourself and you’re going to catch a cold from ice inside your soul.

Verse 22: many people who have doctorates think that they are super duper smart. And by society’s view point they probably are. However, they are only smart in one area of the academic world. This is why I think many people in higher education do not understand Christianity. They are trying to find solid logic in it and it can’t really be found to the degree in which they are seeking. It is very hard to grasp that a holy and invisible God sent down His only, perfect Son to die an awful death for all of mankind: past, present and future, just because He loves us. And because they do not just do as Christ says, “come with childlike faith” they remain in the status of being a “fool” because they are thinking about it way too much.

HSV: Professionals built the Titanic, amateurs built the Ark.

Verse 23: this verse makes me think of the belief in evolution and the big bang theory. And it goes along with the previous verse about people thinking they are smart but really are stupid. And an issue that we can get caught up in is worshiping the creation rather than the Creator. This is also a point that I think this verse is trying to make. But we need not to do so. The creation is a gift from the Creator and we should thank and worship Him and enjoy the gift that He has given us. This verse really hits on idolatry a lot.

HSV: Worship the Creator, not the creation.

Verse 24:  I have always been told that if a believer has fallen deep into sin and his/her heart has turned cold and hard to God that He will step back until the child is ready to come back fully to Him. He’ll let them go and do their own thing and then when they realize that what they thought they wanted is really the complete opposite then they will come back to God and He’ll melt their hearts back to the way they should be.

HSV: God took a step back and let the humans take the wheel for a ride to see if the grass was really greener on the other side.

Verse 25: kind of going back to v.23 about worshipping the creation rather than the creator. That is a bad place to be. Often times God will give you a really good gift that makes a great addition to your life. You do thank God for it, but you become way too consumed in that gift that you forget about the One who gave it to you. If you find yourself in this predicament, don’t be surprised for God to take that gift away for a while until you get your eyes back focused on Him, I know from experience. Also at the beginning of this verse it mentioned about exchanging the truth about God for a lie. Never fall into the traps of other religions and all the “good stuff” they may try to offer.

HSV: It’s not good stuff that the world is trying to offer you through lies, so don’t take they bad stuff. And God gives and He can take away.

Verses 26-27: these two verses are referring to homosexuality. Committing the acts of homosexuality is dishonorable towards God, but not only are the acts dishonorable towards God but also just the desires and thoughts of homosexual behavior that is floating around in one’s mind and heart.

HSV: God knows your deep, inner thoughts and desires so make sure they honor Him along with your outward actions.

Verse 28: Very similar to v. 24. God is gonna let the people have free reign on their actions to prove that He knows what is best for them.

HSV: men only become worse because of the removal of the holy spirit being an active part in their everyday lives.

Verses 29-31: These verses are listing many different sins that some people may not have even considered sin. Or thought that they were just too small to count when lined up next to sexual sin and  murder.

HSV: A sin is a sin is a sin… there is no ruler or form of measurement of sin in God’s eyes, Christ died for all and we should rid ourselves of all sin.

Verse 32: my first reaction to reading this verse was “SMH” which means “shake my head”. It makes me think of how a parent knows his/her child is smoking dope and won’t do anything about it, in fact the parent might even help get the money to the child to help pay for more dope. Accountability is very important in a Christian’s life. I have definitely experience accountability since leaving SWO from 2010. Some of it has been brutal if I were being honest.

HSV: Even though what you are doing is wrong, but if it is making you happy and bringing instant satisfaction keep doing it, it’s not gonna hurt…

This passage was very deep and eye opening in my walk this week. It definitely challenged me in all areas of my life and my walk and how I need to improve on certain things and seek God in all that I do. It was a very hard passage to swallow but I enjoyed studying it and will continue to study it on my own.

preparing for summer 2011!

It's almost summer, well, it's still a few months away but I've been preparing for it since it ended. I am working at SWO for 2011! And instead of making the staff read a book from LifeWay, Brody has decided that as a staff we will go through Romans together! I am so excited! We have to submit weekly journals on the assigned passages for each week. I just sent in my first one. So I'm going to invite you all to join me on this journey and get some "online discipleship" from me through my study in Romans. :) This first section is Romans 1:1-16!
Enjoy!

Verses 1-7:

                These first seven verses are called the “greeting” in the book of Romans. Paul introduces himself as a servant of Christ and is an apostle who has been set apart for the gospel. Through the choice of words that Paul uses he is showing that he is a slave to Christ and to the call of the gospel and the impact it has on his life. The importance of the term “apostle” is that it means that Paul was specifically called by Christ Himself. And not only was he called by Christ he had also seen the Lord himself in person. We all know that Paul saw Jesus when he was on the road to Damascus and that is what lead Paul to giving his life to Christ. So in the first verse Paul basically shows the authority he has and why what he is about to write is important.

                The second verse just lets the readers know that the Christ that Paul is speaking of is the same one that was promised in Old Testament scriptures and prophets. It lets us know that God fulfilled His promise to bring a savior to the nations through Christ.

                The third verse lets us know where Christ came from genealogically. We are able to see that Christ came and was born like any other human being so that He could experience the things that humans experience and feel the things that we feel and even struggle with the same things that we struggle with on a daily basis. This is important because if Christ did not become human, His sacrifice would have meant nothing because He wouldn’t have lived a perfect, sinless life as a human.

                Verse four is bringing about the credit that Christ deserves and tells the reader who He is! Paul lets us know that Christ is the Son of God and was declared it through the power of God. God the Father personally declared Christ as His Son. This verse is proof of Christ being the Son of God and being a part in the Trinity. Paul ends the verse with “Jesus Christ our Lord”. That means that Christ is to have 100% lordship and top priority in our lives.

                Verse five: A good way to remember what grace is, is by the acronym G.R.A.C.E. God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. We get grace through Christ because God loves us and sent Christ to take our place. If it were not for Christ we couldn’t have any connection to God on a personal level. Apostleship is where we are more of God’s. Meaning we are HIS, not our owns or someone else’s. We belong to God! The obedience of faith for the sake of His name is saying that we are to remain faithful to the call that God has on our lives: To conform to the image of His Son and to share the Gospel to all people. That is also why Paul adds: among all the nations, to the end of the verse so that we know as believers that obeying God and His call on our lives goes behind our local borders.

Verse six ties in very well with verse five in the fact that we belong to Christ. We are His and He is ours!

Verse seven: we see that this letter is for the believers in Rome.

Verse 8: Here Paul begins his letter to the Romans after the greeting. Within just this one verse we are able to see the hear t that Paul has for the believers in Rome. He opens up with a “thank you” to them. The fact that he thanks God for them and their faith in Christ shows where Paul is emotionally with the Romans. Paul uses the phrase: I thank my God through Jesus Christ; because he wants to emphasize the fact that Christ is the one and only mediator between God and humans. The Romans were very powerful people. This is why Paul adds that their faith is being reported all over the world. Christians from Rome are going out and using their high reputation and prestige as a way to share the gospel. My desire is that people can say that about me. That my faith and relationship with Christ is so strong and so intimate that it is being shown through my lifestyle all across the globe through everywhere I go, the people I meet and build relationships with, and the things I do.

Verses 9-10: Paul has a very strong desire for the Roman people. He longs to be with them and be able to serve with them in ministry face to face. He is in constant prayer for the Romans and that one day God will send him there. Paul uses the term “God is my witness” so that God Himself will hold Paul accountable to the things that he says.  Prayer is very important and through this verse we can see how important it was to Paul. Paul constantly prayed. Prayer is conversation with God, it is our walkie-talkie during the daily war zone that we live in spiritually every day. God will always answer your prayers, maybe not in the timing or the way you want Him to, but it will always be the best answer and timing than you could ever imagine. Paul also says in verse 9 that he preaches the Gospel with his whole heart. The Gospel was Paul’s passion in life. The Gospel was Christ’s passion. The Gospel needs to be our passion as believers. I have this saying “I want to go everywhere and do everything so that everyone can be reached” God has given me such a desire for the Gospel to be spread. He has blessed me with wonderful creativity and imagination and through those two traits many, many different ministry ideas to start and careers or jobs to take and pursue so that I can reach many different people and personalities with the Gospel. Some are even “secular” jobs. But corporate America needs Jesus just as much and the Africans in a village. But I have the Gospel as my main passion in life. I have no idea where I will end up. All I know is that whatever I end up doing and wherever that may be, the Gospel and the need for it in the people around me lives’ will always be my central focus, just like how it was Paul’s central focus.

Verses 11-12: One thing that I realized that I missed greatly about SWO was the community that was built there. Paul longs to have community with the Romans. He wants to be able to build real, intimate relationships with these people so that he can encourage them in their walks, but also so that they can encourage him in his walk. Community is a beautiful thing. It is one thing I will definitely strive to be more deeply involved with this summer at SWO.

Verse 13: Paul simply tells the Romans that he has tried many times to get to them but the opportunity just has not been successful yet. But through this verse, we can see that even though the path to Rome has been long and hard for Paul he has not given up and continues to pray and seek God as to how and when or even if he will make it to Rome.

Verses 14-15: Again, Paul lets it out about his deep and longing desire to preach the Gospel to everyone, especially the Gentiles. He, like me, wants to reach everyone. Or at least, encourage others to go out and reach those that he cannot reach himself. He is very eager to go out and share the Gospel with these people. I always pray that God daily deepens my desire for the Gospel especially with the people that I am surrounded by daily.

Verse 16: Of all the verses in the Bible, this is my favorite one. When I sign yearbooks or cards, I always put “Rom. 1:16” under my name. Kind of like how athletes put their jersey number! This has always been my motto in life since I was in high school. It is such a bold statement about the gospel and how Christians should feel when it comes to the Gospel. Too often many Christians in America are ashamed of their faith. I have never understood why though. I mean think about it, of all the religious beliefs out there, Christianity is the one that has yet to be disproven and has been the one that brings people the most satisfaction if the believer is pursuing Christ. But anyway, Paul opens up the first with the bold statement that he is NOT ashamed of the gospel. He then continues to explain why. Paul is unashamed because he knows that the gospel is the “power of God for Salvation”. Christ is the only way to heaven and Paul lets the readers know this by saying that the gospel comes from God and it is through His power that we receive the offer for salvation. He means that through the power of God the message of Salvation is delivered and people come to know the Way. He then finishes by saying that the gospel was first offered to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. The only reason why the Jews got the offer first is because they were and still are God’s special people.

 16 Reasons NOT to be ashamed of the Gospel:

·         It’s the Good News

·         It’s a love story of how a perfect God gave His only, perfect Son up for a bunch of sinful people because He loved them and wants to be in an intimate relationship with them

·         It leads people to go after Christ for salvation

·         When people accept the gospel they are able to get unending satisfaction in Christ

·         Through it people receiving unending joy, hope, peace…

·         It’s for EVERYONE

·         It is an example of God reaching down to mankind, not mankind reaching up for God

·         It is a true story

·         It’s faithful

·         It is a story of a new beginning

·         It is a message of hope

·         It reveals the righteousness of God

·         It remains the same

·         It is the bridge from sinful man to holy God

·         When we accept it Christ saves us from a wasted life

·         It is the message of ultimate grace