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Romans 11-12 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Romans 11:1-12:21.

“But what is God’s reply to him? ‘I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace” (Romans 11:4-5).

Have you ever noticed that God’s remnant is chosen by God’s grace? Wow! That is an eye-opener for me. Despite knowing intellectually about God’s grace, I have a tendency to see the remnant as those who have worked really hard and shown themselves to be worthy of remnanthood.

Not so. The remnant is so because of God’s grace. That means I’m not alone. I need God’s grace. I once heard a great line about what sin does to us. As we look around, our insides never measure up to the outsides of others. Because I get to see my insides, but only ever see your outsides, I can begin to feel alone, isolated, disconnected. I can begin to imagine that I’m the only one who is as messed up and in need of grace as I am. I can begin to think that you are part of the remnant because you are so good, but I can’t ever be part of the remnant because I am so bad.

Paul gives me comfort in this passage. Hopefully, he’s giving you comfort as well. Do you need grace? Don’t be ashamed of that. Instead, embrace it and through grace (not your hard work) become a part of Christ’s remnant.

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 9-10 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Romans 9:1-10:21.

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believer in him of whom the have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” (Romans 10:14-15).

God could save people however He wanted. If He wanted to send daily visions into the minds of all mankind and see if they wanted to submit. He could have determined in His mind who would submit and who wouldn’t and just save them. He could have decided before the world began who He would save and just elected them to salvation. But He didn’t do any of these things.

Instead, He developed a plan, sent His Son to die, then gave that message to us through certain men, and now asks us to carry that message to others. How awesome is that? He could have done it however He wanted, but He chose to use you and me to help save the world. The #1 way God is planning on saving people today is through you and me. What a privilege. What an honor.

What am I doing to be part of that plan? Is it a privilege and an honor I take for granted? How am I training myself to spread the gospel? Am I paying attention to the opportunities? Am I using the opportunities?

How will they believe if no one tells them? Who am I telling? Who are you telling?

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 7-8 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Romans 7:1-8:39.

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32).

For some reason, I keep thinking I need to save myself. I want the reins of my life. I want to be the one in control. I need to get it all fixed and then bring it to God to show how pleased He can be with me. And I wonder why I continue to be covered up with stress, anxiety, and then wander back into sin. It’s like I want to be able to say to God, “What then shall you say to these things? If I’m for You, God, does it matter who else is against You?” I need to see that this is getting everything backwards.

Instead, God is for me. Who can be against me? Satan wants me to believe that my mistakes mean God is against me. He’s not. He is for me. He is so for me, He sent Jesus to die for me. If He did that, how will He not give me all I need to overcome? I simply have to let go of my control and grant Him control. I have to trust Him. When I do, then I start to have peace and joy.

I have a choice today. I can either focus on how bad I mess things up or I can focus on how powerful God is to fix things? The first leads to despair and sin; the second leads to peace and victory. Today, I want to focus on God and His power to fix things. How about you?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. The struggle with these two chapters is they are my two favorites, jam-packed with all kinds of helpful stuff to me. I return to these chapters over and over again. It was hard to pick just one thing to talk about . So, what struck you in today’s reading? I know something had to impact you on than what I mentioned. 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 5-6 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Romans 5:1-6:23.

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die–but God shows his love for us in that while were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).

If God did this for me, shouldn’t I do it for others?

What about my spouse? Too often I get mad at my wife and start to dwell in resentment and bitterness. I think if she would just get her act together, everything would be okay. I pray that God will fix her so I can love her. I expect her to grovel, beg, and earn her way to my good graces. But that isn’t good graces is it? You know what I’ve found? When I get in that place, my marriage doesn’t get any better. I need to offer her the same grace, at the same time, that God offered me. The 3 times I need to offer grace to her are while she is still 1) weak, 2) ungodly, and 3) sinful. After all, don’t I want her to do the same for me?

What about my brethren? Too often I get mad at a brother or sister and start to dwell in resentment and bitterness. They have committed some sin against me. They’ve hurt me. They’ve betrayed me. They’ve violated a boundary. I get in a huff. I think if they would just get their act together, everything would be okay. I pray that God will fix them so I can love them. I pray that God will make them apologize and grovel and some how earn their way back into my good graces. But that isn’t good graces is it? You know what I’ve found? When I get in that place, my relationships with brethren don’t get any better. I need to offer them the same grace, at the same time, that God offered me. The 3 times I need to offer them grace are while they are still 1) weak, 2) ungodly, and 3) sinful. After all, don’t I want them to do the same for me?

What about my co-workers? What about my neighbors? What about my parents? What about my children? What about…?

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 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.

Today’s reading is Romans 15:1-16:27.

“For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience–by word and deed…” (Romans 15:18).

But I want to talk about me. I want to talk about I. I want to talk about number one. Oh my me my.

Sorry, didn’t mean to break into song there. But that is the problem isn’t it. I so desperately want approval and acceptance that I want to talk about what I’ve done or can do. I want to talk about what I’ve accomplished. I want to make sure you know what I’m good at, what I’ve learned, what I’ve taught, what I’ve figured out, what I’ve written, what I’ve done. This is just foolishness.

Paul had a healthy head on his shoulders. This wasn’t about him. This was about Jesus. Certainly, he was proud to be part of Christ’s work, but he understood what was really going on. As he looked at those he’d taught, those he’d converted, those he’d helped, he knew who was really behind it all. It was Jesus working through him. He was just the tool. So, he would only boast in what Jesus had accomplished. “Praise God,” he was saying, “I’m just a tool.”

I hope I can permanently reside in Christ’s toolbelt. But to do that, I have to quit trying to be the one fixing everything and just let Christ live in me.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Romans 13:1-14:23.

“The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:12-14).

I needed to read this today. Thank you, God, for the reminder. Some days are harder than others. Some days are fraught with temptation. Today is one of those days for me. I needed this reminder that my job today is not to make provision for the lusts of my flesh. Today, I need to put on Jesus Christ. I need to wear Him like clothing, like armor of light. I need to surrender the works of darkness that are tempting me to Him. I need to throw them away from me and just let Him guide me into the next right thing.

As Galatians 2:20 says, I need to let Jesus live in me today. I need to work on increasing my faith in Him today. I need to understand that pursuing orgies, drunkenness, immorality, sensuality, quarreling, jealousy, et al, will not draw me closer to God, but drive a wedge between us. These will not make me the man I want to be but will lead me further down a path of guilt, shame, and slavery.

Today, I’m going to wear Jesus.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Romans 11:1-12:21.

“Do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you” (Romans 11:18).

Wow! That hit me where it hurts.

I’ve caught myself recently trying to barter with God. “God please do such and such so I will be better able to do such and such for You.” Now, I certainly think this is a valid approach to prayer when done from the proper motivation. Clearly, the psalmists prayed for God’s deliverance from death that they might continue to praise God among the living.

However, it is too easy for me to get into barter mode while trying to get the semantics to sound like the prayer is about God instead of me. I need to remember that God is the one supporting me and not vice versa. I need Him. He doesn’t need whatever it is I’m trying to offer Him. There is no room for manipulative ploys in praying.

Today, I’m going to check my motives in my praying. Am I asking because I want to better glorify God or because I want what I want and I’m hoping to make it sound like it’s about Him? That’s the question.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?