Weekends: Read any passages of your choice or catch up if you’ve fallen behind 🙂
Romans_16
Romans_15
Romans_14
Scripture
Romans 14:13
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.
Observation – What does it say?
God’s plan of redemption includes both Jewish and Gentile believers alike. The same righteousness that set apart the Jew for God’s eternal purpose was setting apart Gentile believers – a righteousness from God by grace through faith and not of works, (i.e., status, nationality, accomplishments etc.). Prior to his arrival the in Rome the church had not received the teaching of an apostle. Paul addresses growing tensions between Jewish Christians who were being rejected by the larger Gentile group in the church. His appeal is to those mature in the faith.
Understanding – What does it mean?
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, Romans 4:17.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34.
What one believes has consequences; our faith is not lived out in a vacuum. Discipleship is more of a journey than an event as the new believer learns both the theological and practical aspects of the faith. People are messy (My translation of Romans 3:23). Amidst the growing tension in Rome the apostle Paul masterfully introduces the scriptural principal of deference. Imagine you are newly married and taking unwanted decorating advice from your mother-n-law. Well, my wife was faced with that very unpleasant task. After returning from our honeymoon my bride and I moved into a duplex that housed my Mother in the back unit. While we would be away during the day my mother would leave little notes taped throughout the house with decorating suggestions. I didn’t think much of it, “What’s the big deal anyway?” I would come home from work only to witness what looked like steam coming out of my wife’s ears. On a number of occasions I was given the opportunity to go live with “you know who”. Eventually our heated interaction was distilled down to “an appeal of courteous respect, expressing high regard due an elder,” that is, in deference to . . . Mom. Paul is addressing those stronger in the faith in how to conduct themselves in the company of weaker Christians. There were a number of issues causing division in the fellowship; dietary laws, clean and unclean guidelines, religious observances and possibly decorating ideas, to name a few.
Life Application
It is so easy to be dragged into the mud over trivial matters. The apostle Paul exhorts us, “make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” Father, help me to recognize those times when the better way is to surrender my rights for the greater good. Bring conviction to any area of my life that might be an obstacle to the fellowship and so hinder your gospel from going forward. In Jesus Name.
-Warren
To check out the discussion or to join in click here.
Romans_13
Scripture
Romans 13:8-10
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”b] 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Observation
Paul is writing to the Romans, teaching lessons on submission to lawful authority, love to others and to live lives of integrity.
Understanding
Lots of good stuff in this chapter. But, of course, my favorite is the instruction on love. 😉
Verse 8 – A reminder to be debt free, EXCEPT for the debt of love. In other words, go love on somebody!
Verse 9 – A simplification of the law. If we operate from place of love, there is no law to remember. If we love, we won’t commit adultery because we love our neighbor and wouldn’t want to cause pain or anyone to stumble. If we love, we will not kill with our words or actions. If we love, we will not take away or steal from others. If we love, we will be happy for others instead of coveting their things. And the list goes on so…go love on somebody!
Verse 10 – When we operate from love, we fulfill the law. When we love God first, we obey Him not out of legalistic submission but out of desire for relationship and not wanting to be separated from Him or His love. So love God first!
Life Application
Love God and love others! <3
God, thank you for your love. May I love you and love others the way you do. Give me your eyes today. Give me your heart today. May I see those I encounter today through YOUR eyes!
In your name, I pray. Amen!
– Rei
To check out the discussion or to join in click here.
Romans_12
Scripture
Romans 12:16
Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Observation– What does it say?
In this chapter, Paul begins by encouraging us to offer ourselves to God as a sacrifice. When we offer ourselves back to God, he will renew and transform us. Paul continues by discussing how we are to be transformed in relation to the family of God. We need to be acting in humility towards each other, and putting other’s needs above our own.
Understanding– What does it mean?
I need to see other’s through the eyes of Christ, who laid down his life for other’s because he knew that his Father was the most important thing.
As a parent, it is easy to see when my boys are putting their wants in front of everything else. Jed wants to be out of the car first. Ezekiel wants to be left alone, all the time. And Matthias wants to eat, even when the food is on someone else’s plate. I know I did it myself when I was their age too. My brother and I competed over everything, simply because we wanted to be first. We both wanted to be the one who was the most important person.
This desire to be important has probably been one of the most difficult things for me to dispense of. I still want to be the best, at everything. It affects my attitude at work, at play and at home. I once got kicked out of a church league softball game because of this desire to be the best. For that moment in time, winning the game became more important than the legs of the girl playing catcher that night.
Good sportsmanship is probably one of the most practical versions of God’s love that we can show to other’s. When I learn to genuinely rejoice with other’s, instead of being upset that they got something I want, it can show the power of God changing us little by little. Paul wrote about this same thing to the Philippians (2:5-11), stating that we nee to learn to lay ourselves down in service for one another.
Life application
I need to help people find the path to God, and that requires humility.
Romans_11
Romans_10
Romans_9
Scripture
Romans 9:27
Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:
“Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,
only the remnant will be saved.”
Observation – What does it say?
The unthinkable is pondered. Have the people of Israel with their distinction as the chosen people of God, been rejected by the wrath of God? And, has Israel’s plight resulted in making a way for the Gentile masses? Paul grieves for “those of his own race.’ History proves God faithful for the criterion for righteousness (a right standing before God) has been, is, and always will be for everyone who believes. Christ is the fulfillment of the Law. Christ brought the Law to completion by obeying perfectly its demands and by fulfilling its types and prophecies” (NIV Text Note). It is here we are reacquainted with the principle of the Remnant. Let me introduce you to a dear sister in the Lord by the name Joanie Martin.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Matthew 5:17
Understanding – What does it mean?
Remnant – The word conjures up images of scraps, leftovers, remains, those left behind, refugees or a subgroup of some kind. I was a new Christian in my mid-thirties. The Bible was Aramaic to me but God showed great patience with me as I was introduced to biblical principles. Around this time I was serving in a deacon type role and was assigned to the shut-in ministry. That is how God brought Joanie into my life; a wisp of a frame, frail in statue but sharp as a whip. She had come through Ellis Island from England, was sponsored by a family in California and employed as a mother’s helper (Don’t you dare call her a Nanny). Joanie never married, never drove a car and never returned to England. She may have been housebound in her later years but she still lived out a dynamic faith touching hundreds with the love of Christ. Countless times I would watch as she reached into a bag of mismatched pieces of yarn and crocheted what I affectionately called a “Joanie.” Each afghan was a unique tapestry of color and design that was saturated in prayer and the promises of God. From there they were off to a home for runaway girls; girls who would arrive with little more that the clothes on their backs; a welcome gift from an anonymous servant. As it was in Elijah’s time, God had preserved a faithful remnant amongst the Jewish people. This “bag of thread” continues today and at any time could be assembled for God’s glory.
Life Application
The lesson of the Remnant asks of me, “Who or what is the focus of my worship? Has my knee bowed to someone or something other than Christ? I am in this world by no choice of my own but, “am I of it?” Have I adopted the ever changing standards of my surroundings or have I kept my eye on the prize? Am I a piece of the fabric of this world or am I a piece of yarn awaiting the Master’s hands? Father in heaven, I thank you for your Word that continually fits me for your plans and purposes for my life.
-Warren
To check out the discussion or to join in click here.
Romans_8
Scripture
Romans 8:5-8
5-8 Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them – living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored.
Observation
Romans 8 is a continuation of Romans 7…where Paul talks about Christians being free from the law of sin and death.
Understanding
In reading verse 5 and looking at today’s culture, it seems the majority of the world is “obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle.” But we are called to trust God – trust His actions in us and put our focus on him. And when we do, it “leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life.” But as Paul says, you can’t do both; in fact, “focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God.”
Life Application
So, what does that mean for us as Christians? How do we live this out? As counter cultural as it sounds, we put our focus on God.
God, I thank you for the gift of freedom you provide in response to the law of sin and death. Help me to put you first – today and every day. In a world that is self-absorbed, may I run counter; may I be focused on you and be a reflection of your love and sacrifice to everyone I meet.
In your name, I pray. Amen!
Romans_7
Scripture
Romans 7:15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
Observation-What does it say?
At the beginning of this chapter, Paul tells us that it is through Jesus’ death that we are united to him. We were once slaves to the law, by which we understand sin, but we are now freed from it through the cross. So if I am free from sin, why do I still struggle with it. Paul states that we struggle with sin because we are alive in the flesh, despite how we want to live in our spirit.
Understanding-What does it mean?
I like to ride bikes. It doesn’t matter much what kind, road bike, mountain bike, even beach cruisers from time to time. I have even been known to ride a dirt bike from time to time (but that usually doesn’t end well #brokenleg). One thing that I tend to struggle with when I ride my bike is turning as I am riding down hills. I can’t seem to get over the fear of going fast and turning.
Part of the problem is that instead of looking towards the horizon to see what I am approaching. Instead, I get fixated on the obstacles that are directly in front of my front wheel, like small rocks, little patches of sand, an oil spot, etc. All these things are so small that you naturally avoid them when you are focussed on where you are going instead of minute problems. When you focus up ahead, you can avoid the larger problems, like cars and bends in the road, the things which can cause much greater harm. This is the same lesson we learned in Driver’s Ed, look as far ahead in traffic as possible.
In my life if I want to struggle less with my sin, I need to change my focus to what’s up ahead. I need to set my sights on the eternal an not the temporary. To paraphrase what Pastor Gary said on Sunday, we are aliens here, and our citizenship is in heaven. My striving should not be for the temporary, or the things I want here, i.e. a new truck or a promotion at work (not that there is anything inherently sinful about those things). My striving needs to be heaven bound. Philippians 3:8-14
Life Application