Ro 10:11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
Ro 10:12 ¶ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
Ro 10:13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."
Today I just have a short message--Call on God. So many times people complicate their relationship with God and feel they have to fix things up in their lives to be a Christian, or to be more like Christ.
God isn't impressed by our efforts to fix ourselves--they get in His way.
God isn't offended by our cry for help--He LOVES to hear us call for Him and He LOVES, truly LOVES to help us.
God is RICH to all who call on Him.
Call Him today!
Friday, September 18, 2015
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Romans 9: What trips up people about God.
Ro 9:32 Why? Because they did not pursue it through faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,
Ro 9:33 as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall; and he who believes in him will not be put to shame."
If you only read the 9th chapter of Romans, you would conclude that God just picks out everyone who is going to be saved and lets the rest just get ready for hell. In fact, some of that type of thinking was involved in the way I grew up--God was in control, there was nothing you could do about it except make sure your kids were raised in the faith.
But the last two verses concludes with the real issue at hand--pursuing God with faith verses pursuing God with works. Simply put, we can come to God with nothing but the assurance that He is Good and God and worthy of our worship, that He does what He says and He cares about us.
Or we can approach Him with the idea that we can offer Him a dedicated, sacrificial life, doing extremely good things (however our personal code describes them) and making an impression on God to the point where He overlooks any short comings we may have.
The first approach is the way of faith--focusing on God and what He is doing and has done through Christ. This is the only approach that works in the end.
The second approach is trusting in our own good works. Its fault lies in two things: 1. we can never in ourselves be absolutely perfect--the requirement for dwelling with a perfectly Holy God 2. this approach that focuses on all the good we are doing is a subtle form of idol worship--the idol being ourselves and the good we are doing. The result then, is not true worship of God, but pride, which is of course, the original sin.
It is the great stumbling block of faith and total trust in God that offends many people who are busy trying to please Him with their morals and activities. Works do have their place in faith, but they do not add anything to convince God to save us or have a relationship with us.
Even people of faith, Christians can get tripped up by this, engaging in good activities and evaluating others by their performance and losing sight of how all of us on our own don't stack up to anything compared to God.
God is good--He is powerful, amazing and un"tame"able. He does not fit into our view of Him and He is great. He chooses to love us and that is the only reason we have hope.
Ro 9:33 as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall; and he who believes in him will not be put to shame."
If you only read the 9th chapter of Romans, you would conclude that God just picks out everyone who is going to be saved and lets the rest just get ready for hell. In fact, some of that type of thinking was involved in the way I grew up--God was in control, there was nothing you could do about it except make sure your kids were raised in the faith.
But the last two verses concludes with the real issue at hand--pursuing God with faith verses pursuing God with works. Simply put, we can come to God with nothing but the assurance that He is Good and God and worthy of our worship, that He does what He says and He cares about us.
Or we can approach Him with the idea that we can offer Him a dedicated, sacrificial life, doing extremely good things (however our personal code describes them) and making an impression on God to the point where He overlooks any short comings we may have.
The first approach is the way of faith--focusing on God and what He is doing and has done through Christ. This is the only approach that works in the end.
The second approach is trusting in our own good works. Its fault lies in two things: 1. we can never in ourselves be absolutely perfect--the requirement for dwelling with a perfectly Holy God 2. this approach that focuses on all the good we are doing is a subtle form of idol worship--the idol being ourselves and the good we are doing. The result then, is not true worship of God, but pride, which is of course, the original sin.
It is the great stumbling block of faith and total trust in God that offends many people who are busy trying to please Him with their morals and activities. Works do have their place in faith, but they do not add anything to convince God to save us or have a relationship with us.
Even people of faith, Christians can get tripped up by this, engaging in good activities and evaluating others by their performance and losing sight of how all of us on our own don't stack up to anything compared to God.
God is good--He is powerful, amazing and un"tame"able. He does not fit into our view of Him and He is great. He chooses to love us and that is the only reason we have hope.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Romans 8: The Birthday of the World or Why do Evolutionists get upset about extinction?
Ro 8:19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God;
Ro 8:20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope;
Ro 8:21 because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Ro 8:22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now;
Ro 8:23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Tonight begins the Jewish Festival of Roshasana or Jewish New Year. It is during this time that Jewish people around the world celebrate the birth of creation.
Romans 8 holds a mini story about creation, sin and redemption. It is a new Testament passage that supports creation. This passage explains that the reason the earth is so messed up is because of the choice of Adam to allow sin to rule in it. The hope of all the creatures on the planet is the final redemption of all things in Christ.
Which brings me to an interesting question, If evolution is the source of all life, and is based on survival of the fittest, how is that people who believe in evolution become upset about extinction? Isn't that that logical conclusion for evolution--some species are not fit to survive.
Yet many people who are evolutionists also are concerned that man is ruining the environment for other species. Isn't it best if we make the earth more fit for our species, even if it means others are no longer fit?
Yet you and I would agree that this is false logic, as would most evolutionists. This very feeling that we are somehow more responsible than other species, that we owe it to the earth to care for it and tend it supports the idea that we were designed for this purpose by God. We are made in his image and given responsibility not only to tend to the earth, but to respond to HIm.
Happy Birthday to the Earth---and Come Lord Jesus.
Ro 8:20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope;
Ro 8:21 because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Ro 8:22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now;
Ro 8:23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Tonight begins the Jewish Festival of Roshasana or Jewish New Year. It is during this time that Jewish people around the world celebrate the birth of creation.
Romans 8 holds a mini story about creation, sin and redemption. It is a new Testament passage that supports creation. This passage explains that the reason the earth is so messed up is because of the choice of Adam to allow sin to rule in it. The hope of all the creatures on the planet is the final redemption of all things in Christ.
Which brings me to an interesting question, If evolution is the source of all life, and is based on survival of the fittest, how is that people who believe in evolution become upset about extinction? Isn't that that logical conclusion for evolution--some species are not fit to survive.
Yet many people who are evolutionists also are concerned that man is ruining the environment for other species. Isn't it best if we make the earth more fit for our species, even if it means others are no longer fit?
Yet you and I would agree that this is false logic, as would most evolutionists. This very feeling that we are somehow more responsible than other species, that we owe it to the earth to care for it and tend it supports the idea that we were designed for this purpose by God. We are made in his image and given responsibility not only to tend to the earth, but to respond to HIm.
Happy Birthday to the Earth---and Come Lord Jesus.
Friday, September 11, 2015
Romans 8: The Little Garmin in Your Soul
My husband was an over-the-road truck driver for many years. When he was driving to so many strange places, he became very dependent on his Garmin--the GPS device that gave him driving directions and traffic information. He so needed this vital tool that he purchased several back up units to have in case the one he was using broke down. Now that he is not driving over-the-road, I have inherited one of his units and I am learning to use it to get me around to unfamiliar places.
To use the Garmin device, you first attach it to the windshield of the car where it can be seen. Then when you turn it on, you can input a location by address or description, tap "Go" and it speaks out turn by turn directions while showing your route on a road map. It's rather ingenious because no matter where you are or where you are wanting to go, it can give you directions to get there.
Another interesting feature is if you decide for some reason to ignore the suggested route, the Garmin will say, "Recalculating" and find a way to your destination using the alternate turn you made. This is handy when you miss a turn or find a detour in the road.
Romans 8 describes a function of the Holy Spirit that is much like the Garmin in my car. The key words in the passage that outline this work of the Holy Spirit are the words,"Walk", or "Led by".
Ro 8:1 ¶ There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Ro 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
That word for "Walk" means "to tread all around, walk at large, live, deport oneself, follow, go and be occupied with." It sounds like a word that means to travel with the Holy Spirit. In these verses, if we travel in harmony with the inner commands of the Holy Spirit, we will not be condemned (lost) but the righteousness of God's law will be fulfilled in us--we will make it to our destination.
Following that inner witness is what keeps us on track. When we miss it, and go against that inner witness, the Holy Spirit immediately seeks to guide us back to His destination. He will "recalculate" us, nudging us over and over till we take the turn towards obedience. We live by His touch in our lives to get to our destination.--Holiness and the Presence of God.
To use the Garmin device, you first attach it to the windshield of the car where it can be seen. Then when you turn it on, you can input a location by address or description, tap "Go" and it speaks out turn by turn directions while showing your route on a road map. It's rather ingenious because no matter where you are or where you are wanting to go, it can give you directions to get there.
Another interesting feature is if you decide for some reason to ignore the suggested route, the Garmin will say, "Recalculating" and find a way to your destination using the alternate turn you made. This is handy when you miss a turn or find a detour in the road.
Romans 8 describes a function of the Holy Spirit that is much like the Garmin in my car. The key words in the passage that outline this work of the Holy Spirit are the words,"Walk", or "Led by".
Ro 8:1 ¶ There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Ro 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
That word for "Walk" means "to tread all around, walk at large, live, deport oneself, follow, go and be occupied with." It sounds like a word that means to travel with the Holy Spirit. In these verses, if we travel in harmony with the inner commands of the Holy Spirit, we will not be condemned (lost) but the righteousness of God's law will be fulfilled in us--we will make it to our destination.
Following that inner witness is what keeps us on track. When we miss it, and go against that inner witness, the Holy Spirit immediately seeks to guide us back to His destination. He will "recalculate" us, nudging us over and over till we take the turn towards obedience. We live by His touch in our lives to get to our destination.--Holiness and the Presence of God.
Monday, September 7, 2015
Romans 8: The Man With Two Brains
Back in the Eighties, Steve Martin starred in "The Man With Two Brains", a story about a famous doctor and his attempt to preserve the brain of the woman he came to love while getting rid of the woman he had recently married. The woman he recently married did not love him and was only after his money. She is killed by a mysterious serial killer. The doctor is able through a series of events to transplant the brain of the woman he loves into the dead body of the gold-digger wife.
Strange as this implausible story may seem, there is a ring of truth in it found in Romans. The Lord, through the Holy Spirit is seeking a Bride--a body of people that He can eternally fellowship with in perfection. But human kind, tainted and destroyed by sin is really dead to Him. No one can hear or understand his ways, and everyone is compelled to obey their sinful ways and reject Him. The consequence of this is certain death. This is why God intervened.
Ro 8:3 For what the law was not able to do because it was feeble through the flesh, God, sending his Son in the image of the evil flesh, and as an offering for sin, gave his decision against sin in the flesh:
Ro 8:4 So that what was ordered by the law might be done in us, who are living, not in the way of the flesh, but in the way of the Spirit.
Paul has been laying a foundation in all of Romans to get to this chapter--We are new people because we have the Spirit of God in us. The Spirit of God makes all the difference and makes us totally new and different from what we were originally. I am going to do a couple of posts on what that means but lets start with what Romans 8 says about our minds.
Ro 8:5 For those who are living in the way of the flesh give their minds to the things of the flesh, but those who go in the way of the Spirit, to the things of the Spirit.
Ro 8:6 For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace:
Ro 8:7 Because the mind of the flesh is opposite to God; it is not under the law of God, and is not able to be:
Ro 8:8 So that those who are in the flesh are not able to give pleasure to God.
We are like a man with two brains, but instead of being in jars, they are in our own mind. We were born with a mind that makes decisions and evaluations based on what it can see and know by observation and experience, subject to our own unbridled physical desires and emotions. Everyone has this mind, it is called the mind of the flesh.
This mind is incapable of understanding, obeying or enjoying God. It is focused on pleasing itself.
When we become born again, we get God's spirit inside us. Because God's Spirit knows God's mind, we have a new mind too, one that knows his life and peace, his whole nature. The Spirit actually knows everything about God and lives inside us to guide us. We have a new "brain" that keeps us close to God and walking with Him the way He intended.
The only difficulty is that we retain the choice to use either mind. We can slip back and forth, from misery and defeat to glory and peace. And the mind that we feed is the mind that grows stronger.
More on Roman's 8 later, but remember--if you are a Christian---you have two brains!
Strange as this implausible story may seem, there is a ring of truth in it found in Romans. The Lord, through the Holy Spirit is seeking a Bride--a body of people that He can eternally fellowship with in perfection. But human kind, tainted and destroyed by sin is really dead to Him. No one can hear or understand his ways, and everyone is compelled to obey their sinful ways and reject Him. The consequence of this is certain death. This is why God intervened.
Ro 8:3 For what the law was not able to do because it was feeble through the flesh, God, sending his Son in the image of the evil flesh, and as an offering for sin, gave his decision against sin in the flesh:
Ro 8:4 So that what was ordered by the law might be done in us, who are living, not in the way of the flesh, but in the way of the Spirit.
Paul has been laying a foundation in all of Romans to get to this chapter--We are new people because we have the Spirit of God in us. The Spirit of God makes all the difference and makes us totally new and different from what we were originally. I am going to do a couple of posts on what that means but lets start with what Romans 8 says about our minds.
Ro 8:5 For those who are living in the way of the flesh give their minds to the things of the flesh, but those who go in the way of the Spirit, to the things of the Spirit.
Ro 8:6 For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace:
Ro 8:7 Because the mind of the flesh is opposite to God; it is not under the law of God, and is not able to be:
Ro 8:8 So that those who are in the flesh are not able to give pleasure to God.
We are like a man with two brains, but instead of being in jars, they are in our own mind. We were born with a mind that makes decisions and evaluations based on what it can see and know by observation and experience, subject to our own unbridled physical desires and emotions. Everyone has this mind, it is called the mind of the flesh.
This mind is incapable of understanding, obeying or enjoying God. It is focused on pleasing itself.
When we become born again, we get God's spirit inside us. Because God's Spirit knows God's mind, we have a new mind too, one that knows his life and peace, his whole nature. The Spirit actually knows everything about God and lives inside us to guide us. We have a new "brain" that keeps us close to God and walking with Him the way He intended.
The only difficulty is that we retain the choice to use either mind. We can slip back and forth, from misery and defeat to glory and peace. And the mind that we feed is the mind that grows stronger.
More on Roman's 8 later, but remember--if you are a Christian---you have two brains!
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Romans 7: Think of yourself as a seed.
I personally have always been confused by Romans 6 and 7. Paul talks about the new life, but then talks about how the law shows our nature to be dead and how frustrated he is about wrestling between the two natures?
Ro 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
What gets confusing about this is that Paul is talking about the dual nature of a Christian. Let me illustrate using the idea of a seed because that helped me understand. It's not a perfect analogy but it may help.
In a seed you have three basic parts--the outer shell, the inner mini plant that will grow, and enough food for the little plant to help it grow. As the tiny plant puts out a root and then a stem, it uses the food inside. The outer shell falls off--it will not be part of the little plant at all once it is growing.
Now, lets look at the believer: the believer has his human nature, the one he and everyone else is born with. It is like the outer shell--it will die. It is contaminated with sin because of Adam, and it will be cast off and destroyed.
The believer also has a renewed spirit--he is born again, a new creature. This the the part of the believer that will live forever and will be like Christ. This is like the little plant inside.
The believer also has the Holy Spirit living inside him. The Holy Spirit (and to get technical, Jesus said, I and my Father will make our home in you. (Jn 14:23) God is inside that person to help their new self grow and become like Him. This is like the food that is in the seed. Just as the food becomes part of the plant, the Spirit of God comes into our being to make us like Him.
Going back to Romans 6 and 7, we can see that Paul is basically saying, Hey my outside shell is condemned! The Law points that out! I have to choose to focus on the inward man --to focus on what God is developing in me through His Spirit, rather than trying to make my outward shell fancier, or richer, or prettier, or more popular.
Paul sums it up at the end of chapter 7:
Ro 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Ro 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Ro 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Ro 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Ro 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
So I ask myself, as I ask you--is your focus on the shell? or is it on what God is doing inside?
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