Romans 3-4 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Romans 3:1-4:25.

“For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring–not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:14-16).

For too long, I have tried to gain the promise of God by adhering to His law. My problem has been I continually fall short. It is not that I don’t like the law or don’t want to follow God’s law. I do. But I have repeatedly fallen. What hope do I have?

Great in every respect. I have hope because I have discovered it is not the adherents of God’s law that receive the promise. In fact, so long as I’m trying to receive the promise by keeping God’s law, I won’t receive it. Rather, I make it void. How great is God!? It is not those who keep the law that receive the promise. It is those who share the faith of Abraham.

Why was Abraham righteous? Not because he kept the law. He lied and tried to get around God’s plan and who knows what else (God knows). He was righteous because he came to believe God and live by that belief. I don’t have to live in fear today because I’ve violated God’s law. I can live in faith today that He sent His Son to wipe my sins away. I can rely on His grace and know that I’m guaranteed His promise. I believe and therefore have access to His grace. I am free today to simply serve God as best I know how, turning to Him when I mess up because He is my gracious and loving Father.

Praise God!

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? You can add your input by clicking here.

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*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

Romans 1-2 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Romans 1:1-2:29.

“He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality” (Romans 2:6-11).

I’ve been reading “Boundaries” by Henry Cloud and John Townsend; so I’ve been seeing the issue of healthy and unhealthy boundaries everywhere. Here is a great example of God’s healthy boundaries.

God doesn’t try to force us to be patient in well-doing. He doesn’t make us or manipulate us to do good and seek glory and honor. He has given us our freedom to be self-seeking and to obey unrighteousness. We are free to say, “No,” to God.

However, He knows what kind of relationships He wants and has established impartial boundaries so that we might know how to be in relationship with Him. Some folks want God to be weak-willed and boundaryless. “God if you really loved people, you’d be in a relationship with me no matter how I live.” But God is a healthy God who has strong boundaries. He does love us, but that love does not mean we are allowed to walk all over Him and take Him for granted. Instead, we can have relationship with Him by surrendering to His will. He has laid the choices before us. We are free to choose disobedience and righteousness. However, when we choose that, we are choosing to sever our relationship with God.

Therein is the greatness of God’s love. We are free to say, “No.” And because we are free to say, “No,” we are truly free to say, “Yes.” Sometimes I don’t like what I see as limits put on me by God’s healthy boundaries. Then I have a choice. Do I want to be in relationship with God? If so, then I need to make that choice. He won’t force me. Gratefully, He won’t force me not to be in relationship with Him either. He offers the same opportunity to all.

Praise God for His healthy boundaries. God, help me develop my own.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? You can add your input by clicking here?

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*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

Luke 11-12 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Luke 11:1-12:59.

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before god. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6-7).

Look in the mirror today and say, “I am worth something. I am valuable.”

Isn’t that what we are all searching for? Significance. Value. Worth. Meaning. We want to know that our existence has a point. We want to know that we are more than a waste of space. Sadly, if you are like me, you have searched for it in all the wrong places. Perhaps if you have a great GPA and graduate at the top of your class. Maybe if you follow your parents occupational dreams for you. Maybe if you were the star quarterback. Maybe if you dated and married the right person. Maybe if you accomplished some goal for which man proclaimed your greatness. If you made it on radio or TV, if you became the American Idol, or the Nashville Star, then you would be worthy. If your name became a household word synonymous with greatness, then perhaps you would have value.

Or you codependently strive to make yourself invaluable in someone’s life. Enmeshing yourself in their problems so that at least one person has to learn that they can’t live without you. Then you feel you have value. But, the problem is you aren’t the ones invaluable here, the other one is. If the other person ever learned to live on her own, you would go back to being worthless. And you know it, at least subconsciously.

But for most of us, the dreams are never realized, the codependency never fulfilling, and we squander our existence in anonymity and misery, feeling abandoned by all. We place no value on ourselves and can’t imagine that anyone else does either.

But here is the good news. You are valuable. Not because of your accomplishments. Not because of your grades. Not because of your looks. Not because of your fame. You are valuable because God values you. God, the most powerful being in existence, values you. He values you so much He has numbered the hairs of your head. He values you so much, He sent His Son to die for you so you could be set free from all that enslaves you.

Today, don’t worry what your family thinks of you, don’t worry what your friends think of you, don’t worry what the world thinks of you. Today, take comfort that God notices you. God values you. God said you are worthy. You are valuable because you are God’s creation and God’s love.

Look in the mirror today and say, “I am worth something. I am valuable.” But don’t just say it. Believe it.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

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*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

Today’s reading is Revelation 3:1-4:11.

“And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne…” (Revelation 4:9-10).

God is worthy. I’m not. He deserves glory. I don’t.

Whatever I carry and wear that I think represents my own worthiness and glory needs to be cast down in the presence of the almighty God. I must not come into God’s presence trying to impress Him with my supposed royalty. I must come into His presence supremely impressed and humbled by His.

Only when I get this perspective straight can I pray and worship as I need to, humbling myself before and surrendering myself to God, my only hope.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is 1 John 2:1-3:24.

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1).

What more needs to be said? God has called me His son. Considering all I’ve done wrong, all the mistakes and sins, all the weaknesses, all the rebellion, He still looks at me and says I’m His child. He loves me.

Today, I’m going to lean on that love in order to love Him in return. Why would I do otherwise?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is 1 Timothy 4:1-5:25.

“For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:10).

Why can I strive and toil today? Because my hope isn’t based on my striving and toiling. If it was, I’d be in trouble. But, my hope is set on the living God. He is the Savior of all who will be saved. He has the ability to save. He has the love to save. He has the plan to save. He wants to save me. He will save those who believe.

Because he is worthy of my hope, I can do my part today by striving and toiling for Him. I know that through His power, my striving and toiling will actually accomplish something. I know that He will accomplish something in me and through me.

Today, I want to focus on godliness, reverence toward God, because I know by God’s power it will actually be helpful to my eternity.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Matthew 19:1-20:34.

“He said to them, ‘You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father’” (Matthew 20:23).

I once heard someone share, and have often repeated since, the two greatest lessons I’ve ever learned is 1) There is a God and 2) I’m not Him. What that means for me is I need to let God do His job while I focus on mine instead of trying to do God’s job. Jesus sets the perfect example for me. He understood that even though He is God, He is not the Father. The Father has His job; Jesus has his. Jesus wasn’t about to try to do the Father’s job. He was only going to focus on what the Father had given Him to do.

My life goes so much easier when I don’t try to do God’s job. When I quit trying to make sure the world runs according to my plans and instead simply work on doing the next right thing, I have so much more peace.

Today, I’m just going to do my job, the next right thing, I’ll let God do His job of handling the outcomes.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 16:1-24; 2 Corinthians 1:1-24.

“For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits” (1 Corinthians 16:7).

How often I forget the Lord in my plans. How often I want to figure out how my future is going to work out, what I’m going to do, what plans will be in place without taking the Lord into consideration. When I act like that, my plans fall flat. My life goes exceedingly better when I live by the Lord’s permission. When I recognize that I can go here and there, accomplish this and that only if the Lord wills, my life runs smoother, if only because I recognize a stronger and better hand is leading it. When I remember in my praying to seek His will above mine, to ask not simply for what I want but that God will give me the strength to accept and respond appropriately when He gives me what He wants, my life is more peaceful, if only because I have prepared the way to accept what comes from God’s hand instead of expecting God’s gifts to be what I want.

If the Lord permits. That will be my motto today. And if the Lord permits, we’ll read and comment on more of His word on Monday.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 2:1-3:23.

“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor” (1 Corinthians 3:5-8).

I needed to hear that. How easy it is as a preacher to get caught up in competing with other preachers, especially if we have worked with the same congregation at some time. We each may want to be the favored. We may get upset if someone likes another preacher better. We may get jealous based on the results of each man’s labor. But we are all just servants. We are each doing our own work. And the work we are doing is what the Lord has given opportunity for.

Paul laid a foundation. Apollos was building on it. But neither of them were better than the other because neither of them could actually cause growth anyway. Only God causes growth. Instead of competing with other workers in the vineyard, today I must simply pursue the opportunities God has given me. That’s my job. His job is growth and I’ll leave that up to Him.

Why compete? God is the one who does the hard work. I’ll just pray for opportunities to glorify him today in my life and in the life of my fellow workers.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is 2 Peter 2:1-3:18.

“Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment” (2 Peter 2:9).

God was able to rescue lot from Sodom and Gomorrah. But that rescue was not simply from the destruction that would come upon them. No, it was rescue from their perversity and sin. Lot was tormented by their unrighteousness and God delivered him from that. In the same way, though we are surrounded by temptation and trial, God can keep us and protect us.

Instead of facing my temptations and trying to overcome them on my own. I need to flee into God’s arms and let Him protect me. I need to simply find His direction and follow it. He will be able to protect me from my temptations. He will be able to protect me from myself. As long as I’m fighting the battles with my own strength, I will fall. But when I rely on God and turn to Him for protection, He will give it. I can take comfort knowing that God is actively working on my behalf to protect me from sin.

Today, I need to get into God’s word, find His direction for me and follow it. That is the only way I’ll overcome.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

PPS: For all you sticklers out there, I know we have no idea what the fruit in the garden was. If you find a picture that represents temptation without an apple, send it my way.