Weekends: Read any passages of your choice or catch up if you’ve fallen behind 🙂
Romans 12
Observation-What does it say?
Paul is writing to the Roman church, to encourage them to continue to live a life serving Christ. But to do it by working together, in unity, humbly, and reminding them that God has blessed them each, with special gifts to accomplish this.
Understanding-What does it mean?
The most efficient way to do this is by working together with a group of fellow believers. Continue reading in Romans 12 and you will see that God has blessed each of us with certain gifts. Some with a gift to prophesy, some with a gift to serve others, some with the gift to encourage others, some with the gift to teach, some with the gift to give, and others He gives the gift to lead and show kindness to others. The bottom line here is that we are all striving for the same goal. We are all part of Christ’s body. We all need each other, and each other’s gifts and talents to accomplish Christ’s mission. So let’s all do our part to help accomplish this mission. Let’s not be lazy, but let’s serve together enthusiastically- (verse 11)!
Life Application
Thank you God for partnering and entrusting me with this mission of yours. Thank you for blessing me with the strength, gifts, and abilities to do this. I know I can lean on you and your people if it ever gets too overwhelming. Your strength is made perfect in my weakness. It’s because of this and the promise in your word, that I know I can do this (through you)! Amen. To check out the discussion or join in click here.
Romans 11
Scripture
Romans 11:5-6
So too, at the present time there is a remnant [of Israel] chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
Observation
Paul is explaining that even though it appears that the Jews have forfeited the Abrahamic promise because of their rejection of Christ as the Messiah’ He (God) has, by foreknowledge, set aside a remnant of Israel that will be grafted back into the vine by grace through faith and not by keeping The Law.
Understanding
God keeps His promises.
Life Application
There are times in my life where I will have to wait on God.
Lord, in the times of waiting, may I be faithful to trust and obey. May I not let doubt and fear cause me to question your character and faithfulness.
Habakkuk 2:3
For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Romans 10
Scripture
Romans 10:3-4
Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Observation-What does it say?
In this chapter, Paul continues to desire the salvation of the Jews, who still try to gain salvation through their own righteousness instead of the righteousness of Christ.
Understanding-What does it mean?
We do not work for our salvation. We cannot establish our own righteousness. Our works are filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6 and Romans 3:10) apart from the righteousness of Christ.
Paul continues to have a burdened heart for the people of Israel because they worked for God instead of accepting the work that Christ had already finished for them on the cross.
They based righteousness on how well they were able to keep the law, instead of believing, confessing and submitting to the righteousness of Christ as Lord.
Life Application
Let’s stay committed to praying for the lost to come to Christ like Paul did. In verse 1, Paul states that his heart’s desire AND prayer for the Israelites is that they be saved.
Let’s stay committed to praying for the people on our PII list and be intentional about investing in their lives, inviting them into relationship with Christ and inviting them to church.
Dear Lord, there are so many people on earth who are still dead in their sins. Even people who call themselves a “good person” are not good apart from Your righteousness. I pray that You would give us Your heart for the lost and we would be so burdened as Paul was to pray that the lost are saved.
To check out the discussion or join in click here.
Romans 9
Scripture
Romans 9:3
For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race,4 the people of Israel.
Observation – What does it say?
Understanding – What does it mean?
Understanding the benefits of salvation should cause us to long for everyone to experience it.
Life Application
Who has God placed in the back of my mind as I’ve been reminded of this great life I have in Christ? Who do I need to get intentional about praying for and investing in and inviting into relationship with Jesus?
Romans 8
Scripture
Romans 8:29
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
Observation – What does it say?
In this portion of the letter that Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, he is telling them about how their lives should be different now that they are Christians. He talks about living lives controlled by the Spirit of God instead of our sinful nature and about what it means that we are children of God. Among all the beautiful and wonderful implications of being children of God – being heirs of God and a heavenly kingdom, being free from our old life, having a future hope, and the ways God loves and fights for us as his children – Paul points out that God has a purpose for every one of his children: To transform us into the image of Jesus.
Understanding – What does it mean?
Christlikeness is God’s goal for every Christian.
Life Application
Do I look more like Jesus today than I did before God saved me? If the answer is no, I would doubt that I am in fact saved.
Do I look more like Jesus today than I did a year ago? …a month ago? …a week ago? How is my growth? Have I slowed in my transformation or can I point to recent evidence that God is continuing to transform me?
God, I am reminded that there is so much room that I have to grow. Please have your way in me. In the areas my growth has slowed I invite you to go to work. I want to look more like Jesus, to resemble his perfect character, to be holy, to love unconditionally, to be a servant of all. I surrender to you. Amen.
To check out the discussion or to join in click here.
Romans 7
Scripture
Romans 7:2
For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him.
Observation – What does it say?
Paul uses the illustration of the covenant of marriage to describe how those who are in Christ have been set free from the law. Like a woman whose husband dies is no longer bound to her husband, the woman (or man) in Christ is no longer bound to the law of sin and death. She is free to be bound to another. In this case, she is bound to Christ and the body of believers.
Understanding – What does it mean?
The Christian is no longer bound to the law but to Christ!
Our sinful man was bound to the law and it’s consequences. But according to 1 Corinthians 5:17 and Galatians 2:20, your old self was crucified with Christ on the cross and you are a new creation. Your sinful nature is dead. My sinful nature is dead. (Side note: Do I still sin? Yes. But that isn’t evidence my sinful nature is still alive. Adam sinned in the garden without having a sin nature.)
Romans 8 says, “Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”
Galatians 2:19-21 19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
Life Application
Worship God for setting me free from the law and it’s consequences!
When temptation comes, remember I no longer have to give in because Christ set me free!
God, I worship you! Thank you for the riches of your grace, expressed in your kindness to us in Christ. Thank you for freeing us when we couldn’t free ourselves. Thank you for salvation and forgiveness and for new life! In view of your great mercy, we choose to no longer use our bodies to sin but we offer them as living sacrifices to you. Amen.
To check out the discussion or to join in click here.
Romans 6
Scripture
Romans 6:16
Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Observation – What does it say?
The Apostle Paul is highlighting the transformation Christians experience at salvation, from being dead in sin to being alive in Christ Jesus. Before being saved, every person was dead in their sin, using their bodies to satisfy their sinful desires. But at salvation, we experience transformation and freedom from sin in Christ. Paul points out that you are slaves of whoever you obey, whether sin or obedience to God.
Understanding – What does it mean?
You are slaves of the one you obey.
God is worthy of our complete obedience. Failure to obey God’s word or even the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit means that we are obeying something or someone else. In other words, we all have a master. Either God, our sinful nature, another person, or the enemy. Or as Paul categorizes it: either sin or righteousness.
Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Life Application
Romans 5
ScriptureRomans 5:3-4
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
Observation-What does it say?
It is through suffering that our character and our faith is developed and strengthened. It is parallel to what James says in James 1:2-4-“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Understanding-What does it mean?
We must thank God for the hard times too.
Without times of suffering, we don’t have an opportunity to exercise our faith. If things went well all the time, where would reliance and dependence on God come in? Why would we ever need to run to Him? The pressure and sufferings that we experience in life gives God an opportunity to teach us perseverance and what it means to not give up and put our hope completely on Jesus Christ.
Life Application
Push through seasons of suffering with the Holy Spirit’s help instead of running away or giving up.
Because suffering plays a huge part in how God molds us into the image of Christ, we should be thankful and push through those seasons with the Lord’s help. It is unwise to run away or throw in the towel doing these times of refining.
Dear Lord, our hope, our help, and our faith come from You alone. I pray that we would rejoice not only in the happy times, but in our sufferings as well. Although it is not fun to go through hardships, I pray that we would rejoice that our faith, character and perseverance in You is being strengthened in the process. Amen.
To check out the discussion or to join in click here.
Romans 4
Scripture
Romans 4:9-10
We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!
Observation – What does it say?
Understanding – What does it mean?
Faith produces salvation and salvation produces good deeds.
There are outward signs of being made right with God. For example, circumcision (Old Testament only), a life of good deeds, service to God, etc. But those signs come AFTER God saves us, not before. We can’t forget that Jesus died for us BEFORE we could do anything to deserve it. In other words, “We do good works not so that we can be saved, but because we already are.” The outward signs are responses to, and results of, having been made right with God.
Ephesians 2:8-9 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Life Application
Don’t put stock in my works! It’s by faith alone in Christ’s work on the cross that positions you in the grace in which I now stand.
God, thank you for saving us! Thank you for loving us so much that you died for us even while we were still sinners. We recognize that our works have no bearing on our salvation. It’s only through our faith in Jesus that we are saved. We respond to your great love with a desire to love you in return. Help us to live lives that honor and please you. Amen.
To check out the discussion or to join in click here.
Romans 3
Scripture
Romans 3:3-4
3 What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? 4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar.
Observation – What does it say?
The Apostle Paul pointed to a popular argument at the time: The unfaithfulness of God’s people must point to the fact that God himself is unfaithful. He argues that God is not a reflection of his unfaithful followers! Even if every human being is unfaithful, sinful, and a liar, it doesn’t take away from the fact that God is completely faithful, holy and true.
Understanding – What does it mean?
You cannot blame a holy God for unholy followers.
We have all heard people make a negative observation of a Christian and say, “If that’s what a Christian is like, I don’t want to have anything to do with Christianity.” They get hurt or put off by one person and then use it to discredit God and the entire gospel.
So many people in our culture today are wounded by Christians. It’s inevitable. None of are perfect, and none of us (if we’re honest) can claim to be. The world will surely see our love and the positive effect that the gospel has had on our lives. But the world will also surely see that we are still imperfect. And it’s those imperfections that can lead others away from God if they believe that Christians are supposed to be perfect representations of God on the earth. Although that is our goal, none of us are there yet.
Paul reminds us, human unfaithfulness doesn’t nullify God’s faithfulness!
Life Application
Have I been hurt by someone and blamed God for it? Has my perception of God been tainted because of my experience with others?
God, we declare that you are faithful. You are good. You are holy. You are kind. Help us to see you for who you are and to not fall into the bad logic that because someone who claims to follow you is imperfect it must mean that you’re imperfect. We disregard that and acknowledge that you are perfect in every way. We worship you. Amen.
To check out the discussion or to join in click here.