Month: July 2014

From my reading in Romans 3 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

The world is full of problems.

Violence. Injustice. Famine. Disease. Pain. Broken relationships. The reason for this is sin.  The Bible teaches that since the first sin, people have been born with a “sinful nature”. That basically means we can’t help but sin. We can do some good things, but we will always end up messing it up some how. In one of the most quoted verses in the Bible Paul says…

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Rom 3:23

Everyone has sinned!

The world is messed up because our sin has messed it up. Instead of getting depressed about all the horrible things sin as brought let’s look at the only solution for sin. Most people quote vs. 23 and don’t quote 24-26 which says,

“Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,” Rom 3:24-26

If you have put your faith in that Jesus’ sacrifice for you, then you are righteous in God’s sight.

If God were to eliminate all sin from the earth right now then he would have to eliminate everyone! He is patiently waiting for more people to turn to him for forgiveness of their sins!

Someday when Jesus will take us to his new Kingdom where there will be no more sin or any of it’s effects! When Jesus died on the cross he won the ultimate victory over sin and we get to share in that victory!

Praise God I don’t have to pay the penalty for my sin because Jesus did it for me!

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From my reading in Romans 1 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

It is a shame to be ashamed of the good news.

If the gospel has changed your life, then why hide it?

Jesus died so that I can have life. If I am ashamed of the gospel, basically I’m saying I appreciate the sacrifice you made for me but I want you just for myself. How selfish!

I am guilty of not sharing when I have been given the opportunity.

Now, this should NOT be a guilt trip that if I am not sharing aggressively all the time than I am sinning. It should be a wake up call to start trying to boldly take opportunities to share when they come up.

Paul is a great example of boldness in sharing. He said,

“For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.” Rom 1:16

The gospel is powerful.

When we experience that life changing power personally we should be motivated to share it with others.

Are you ashamed of the gospel? Have you been missing opportunities to share? If so start seizing those opportunities today!

From my reading in Acts 28 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

The book of Acts ends abruptly.

Paul is preaching in prison in Rome and then bam it ends!

“For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed all who visited him, boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop him.” Acts 30:31

What happened to Paul aftet those two years? What was the result of his preaching? These questions and many others are left unanswered in this book.

Part of the reason could be that Acts is not over!

We are to continue what Jesus and the apostles started. God is still all about spreading his good news to the ends of the earth.

Acts is the story of God’s church spreading God’s Word to the world. The church should still be a part of that.

Your ministry will look different from Paul, but you can still be a part of what God started in Acts.

Are you ready to play your God given role in this mission?

From my reading in Acts 27:27-44 in the One Year New Testament.

As Christians we can be a positive influence on others and even save lives.

Paul is a great example of this. He was liked by the officer in charge of the prisoners so much that the other prisoners were spared because of Paul’s popularity!

“The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to make sure they didn’t swim ashore and escape. But the commanding officer wanted to spare Paul, so he didn’t let them carry out their plan. Then he ordered all who could swim to jump overboard first and make for land. The others held on to planks or debris from the broken ship. So everyone escaped safely to shore.” Acts 27:42-44

Paul was used by God to help save those men!

Most of us hopefully will not be in similar situations but having a good influence on others can impact those around us in more ways then we know!

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From my reading in Acts 27:1-26 in the One Year New Testament.

If God has made a promise you can be sure he will fulfill it!

The Apostle Paul relayed a message from God that even though his ship was being tossed by a storm that no one would die.  He encouraged the crew to take courage because God always keeps his promises.

“So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said.” Acts 27:25

God always keeps his promise.

Courage comes when we trust that God will do what he said. God has not promised us safety or comfort in this life but he has promised us a perfect eternity in Heaven!  He has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us. He has promised to give us peace in hard times.

There are many great promises for us to rely on. Peter said this about God’s promises,

“And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” 2 Peter 1:4

Courage comes from trusting God’s great and precious promises.

Next time you are afraid or worried remember God’s promises and trust that he will keep them 100% of the time!

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From my reading in Acts 24 in the One Year New Testament.

Integrity is what sets great people apart from others.

Many people are gifted and have leadership abilities but it is rare to find a person with true character. The Apostle Paul was a man of character, he said,

“I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people.” Acts 24:16

Having a clear conscience before God is living with the awareness that God sees everything.

Knowing this gives you a healthy “fear” or respect for obeying God’s laws. Also you know that even if you get away with lying or stealing that God sees.

Living with a clear conscience before people is all about faithfulness.

When you say you are going to do something, do you really do it? Are you someone people can trust?

Integrity is not about being perfect it is about being honest when you mess up!

No one is perfect, but the people who have clear conscience are the ones who are honest about their sins and confess them to God and others and don’t lie.

Are you a person of integrity?

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From my reading in Acts 23:16-35 in the One Year New Testament.

Some people are overly political, others don’t care enough.

God can and will use government for his purposes. In today’s reading we see that God can use government and it’s decisions in order to serve His purposes. The government leaders listened to someone knew that there were people wanting to kill Paul.

The government leaders listen and protected Paul.

“Then the commander called two of his officers and ordered, “Get 200 soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. Also take 200 spearmen and 70 mounted troops. Provide horses for Paul to ride, and get him safely to Governor Felix.” Acts 23:23-24

The government can be used to protect God’s servants.

Government makes a lot of mistakes, and even does many things that are dishonoring to God. But even corrupt governments can me used for God’s purposes.

Instead of disengaging from politics all together it is helpful to be informed. Also I recommending using wisdom in how you express your political views especially on social media and among friends.

Government ultimately is a tool that God can use to accomplish his purposes in the world.

As followers of Christ let us pray for wisdom on how to wisely engage.

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