9.and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy ; as it is written, "THEREFORE I WILL GIVE PRAISE TO YOU AMONG THE GENTILES, AND I WILL SING TO YOUR NAME."
10.Again he says, "REJOICE, O GENTILES, WITH HIS PEOPLE."
11.And again, "PRAISE THE LORD ALL YOU GENTILES, AND LET ALL THE PEOPLES PRAISE HIM."
12.Again Isaiah says, "THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT OF JESSE, AND HE WHO ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES, IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES HOPE."
13.Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Lord, I praise You for your mercy in providing salvation for the Gentiles. Every time I read about the Gentiles in Scripture, I think, “I am one of them.” I am a Gentile. I am not of God’s chosen nation, Israel. I am not born of the line of Abraham. I am not one of the Jews who were the first to receive Jesus’ message of salvation. But God, by His great mercy and grace, has made His gift of salvation available also to the Gentiles. He sent Paul to preach to the Gentiles. Although we are not His chosen people like the nation of Israel, He has chosen us to glorify Him by receiving His salvation.
We can praise God because He has not passed us by. He has stopped, taken notice of us, and chosen us for salvation. We can sing to His name and rejoice with great joy because of the goodness of God. He was not obligated to take us under His wing, but by His grace He made Himself our king. He is our hope- we do not have to perish but we can be saved.
I love the three words describing the Christian life in verse 13: hope, joy, and peace. What a beautiful life God has designed for those who believe in Him! It comforts me to think that hope, joy, and peace are what God desires for me when I abide in Him. I want that for my life, and I believe it is the kind of life that will attract non-believers to You. God, may my life reflect the hope, joy, and peace that You designed. I praise You for Your lovingkindness to me.
Showing posts with label Romans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romans. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Romans 9:19-21
19.You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault ? For who resists His will ?"
20.On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God ? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it?
21.Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use ?
I feel I must be very careful with chapter 9 of Romans. There are some really difficult concepts about God in this passage. Does God really harden people’s hearts? Did He really hate Esau before he had even been born and had a chance to do anything? Does He create people for destruction? This chapter brings up a lot of questions for me. One of the questions that seems most pertinent to my life right now come from verses 19-21. When I read this and picture the potter and the clay, I have to wonder if Paul is being sarcastic. Of course a clay pot is not going to ask its molder why he made it like he did. But I would guess that just about every human being is going to ask God, “Why did You make me like this?” Why did You make me with this particular flaw? Why did you make me with this desire when it seems that You don’t want to fulfill it? Why didn’t You give me such-and-such quality? I certainly ask these questions. Would Paul be astonished at me?
I know that some of the source of these questions is the habit of comparison and the lack of contentment. I believe that part of the lesson Paul is teaching through this chapter is that we need to learn to trust God. His ways are not always my ways, and He may not always make sense to me. I may not always understand why He made me like He did. But God is always good, and His ways are always good. The way He made me is good. I need to learn to trust in Him. I am not a perfect vessel, but nevertheless, He knows best.
20.On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God ? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it?
21.Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use ?
I feel I must be very careful with chapter 9 of Romans. There are some really difficult concepts about God in this passage. Does God really harden people’s hearts? Did He really hate Esau before he had even been born and had a chance to do anything? Does He create people for destruction? This chapter brings up a lot of questions for me. One of the questions that seems most pertinent to my life right now come from verses 19-21. When I read this and picture the potter and the clay, I have to wonder if Paul is being sarcastic. Of course a clay pot is not going to ask its molder why he made it like he did. But I would guess that just about every human being is going to ask God, “Why did You make me like this?” Why did You make me with this particular flaw? Why did you make me with this desire when it seems that You don’t want to fulfill it? Why didn’t You give me such-and-such quality? I certainly ask these questions. Would Paul be astonished at me?
I know that some of the source of these questions is the habit of comparison and the lack of contentment. I believe that part of the lesson Paul is teaching through this chapter is that we need to learn to trust God. His ways are not always my ways, and He may not always make sense to me. I may not always understand why He made me like He did. But God is always good, and His ways are always good. The way He made me is good. I need to learn to trust in Him. I am not a perfect vessel, but nevertheless, He knows best.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Romans 5:8-11
8.But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9.Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
10.For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
11.And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
This passage amazes me. Romans 5:8 has got to be the most incredible statement I have ever read. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” While we were yet sinners- enemies of God, going our own disgusting way, with no thought of love for God. But while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We had not done anything minutely worthy of His compassion, but God loved us so much that God in Christ died for us. “God demonstrates” communicates such a depth of meaning to me. God did not just feel or say, He acted out His love in the most passionate manner possible. He died for us.
This passage builds on the fact that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. By shedding His blood, He justified us. He took on our sin, and clothed us in His righteousness. Now then, because He justified us, we no longer have to fear the wrath of God. I think of an estranged father and child. The father has been angry with the child, but they become reconciled and their loving relationship is restored. Christ reconciled us to God. If God was passionate enough to reconcile us to Himself by His death while we were still sinners, we can have confidence that He will save us by His life. If God died for us while seeing our filthiness, we can be even more confident that He will save us now that He sees us as righteous!
And above all, now that we have been reconciled to God, we can have the joy of celebrating and adoring God through our Lord Jesus Christ because of this amazing work He has done for us.
9.Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
10.For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
11.And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
This passage amazes me. Romans 5:8 has got to be the most incredible statement I have ever read. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” While we were yet sinners- enemies of God, going our own disgusting way, with no thought of love for God. But while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We had not done anything minutely worthy of His compassion, but God loved us so much that God in Christ died for us. “God demonstrates” communicates such a depth of meaning to me. God did not just feel or say, He acted out His love in the most passionate manner possible. He died for us.
This passage builds on the fact that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. By shedding His blood, He justified us. He took on our sin, and clothed us in His righteousness. Now then, because He justified us, we no longer have to fear the wrath of God. I think of an estranged father and child. The father has been angry with the child, but they become reconciled and their loving relationship is restored. Christ reconciled us to God. If God was passionate enough to reconcile us to Himself by His death while we were still sinners, we can have confidence that He will save us by His life. If God died for us while seeing our filthiness, we can be even more confident that He will save us now that He sees us as righteous!
And above all, now that we have been reconciled to God, we can have the joy of celebrating and adoring God through our Lord Jesus Christ because of this amazing work He has done for us.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Romans 4:16-21
16.For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
17.(as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
18.In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE."
19.Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb ;
20.yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,
21.and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.
I like it when I find phrases in the Bible that seems to refer to me specifically. I think the phrase in 4:16 that says “those who are of the faith of Abraham” refers to me. That is, me and all those like me who have received the grace of God to believe Him for salvation. This verse is saying that I am included in God’s plan of salvation. I am a spiritual child of Abraham! Although I am not of Israel, God’s special chosen nation, He has made me a descendant of Abraham. God gave Abraham the great promise of life in Him through faith, and by grace He gives life to those who believe Him like Abraham did. God “calls into being that which did not exist”- our faith, and thereby our relationship to Abraham and to God.
Abraham’s example of faith is amazing. I am not sure I could have believed like He did. With no prior knowledge of God (such as we have in the Scriptures and in our daily lives), Abraham believed God enough to leave everything he knew for an unknown land. He believed that God would give him a son and make him the father of many nations even though he was an old man. God did give Abraham a son, which is all to His glory since Abraham and Sarah were too old to bear children. God also made Abraham the father of many nations, both physical and spiritually descended.
As a spiritual descendant of Abraham, I hope that my faith will grow to be like his. I want to hope against hope even when circumstances seem impossible. I want to grow strong in faith and give glory to God because He does fulfill His promises.
17.(as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
18.In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE."
19.Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb ;
20.yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,
21.and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.
I like it when I find phrases in the Bible that seems to refer to me specifically. I think the phrase in 4:16 that says “those who are of the faith of Abraham” refers to me. That is, me and all those like me who have received the grace of God to believe Him for salvation. This verse is saying that I am included in God’s plan of salvation. I am a spiritual child of Abraham! Although I am not of Israel, God’s special chosen nation, He has made me a descendant of Abraham. God gave Abraham the great promise of life in Him through faith, and by grace He gives life to those who believe Him like Abraham did. God “calls into being that which did not exist”- our faith, and thereby our relationship to Abraham and to God.
Abraham’s example of faith is amazing. I am not sure I could have believed like He did. With no prior knowledge of God (such as we have in the Scriptures and in our daily lives), Abraham believed God enough to leave everything he knew for an unknown land. He believed that God would give him a son and make him the father of many nations even though he was an old man. God did give Abraham a son, which is all to His glory since Abraham and Sarah were too old to bear children. God also made Abraham the father of many nations, both physical and spiritually descended.
As a spiritual descendant of Abraham, I hope that my faith will grow to be like his. I want to hope against hope even when circumstances seem impossible. I want to grow strong in faith and give glory to God because He does fulfill His promises.
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