Category: Romans
God’s amazing love demonstration!
Scripture reading for May 22nd: Romans 5, Psalm 101, Proverbs 8
Romans 5:6-11 “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 we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received reconciliation.”
God is never early or late, but always has perfect timing. Sending His Son to earth to save the ungodly was at just the right time. Among men, no one willingly would die for an ungodly person, but God was putting on a love demonstration. Love never fails! Faith works by love! The greatest love ever witnessed by man was Jesus Christ, the Son of God offering His blameless life in place of ungodly sinners! This brings great joy and rejoicing to those who by faith understand and experience justification. We have been given the gift of righteousness and now are brought back into God’s family as sons and daughters. This is the greatest ‘wisdom’ we can find in this life. It brings favor with God and eternal life!
Psalm 101:1-2 “I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to You, O Lord, I will make music. I will ponder the way that is blameless. . .”
Prayer: Father God, thank You for demonstrating to us who were dead in our sins Your amazing love. Thank You for making Jesus the Way back to You and adopting us back into Your family. We rejoice in Your love and goodness and ever reflect on His blameless life. Use us to help others find this peace with God and eternal life! “O, for a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer’s praise.”
Proverbs 8:35-36 “For whoever finds me (Wisdom) finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”
Unwavering faith of Abraham
Scripture reading for May 19th: Romans 4, Psalm 100, Proverbs 7
Romans 4: 18-22 “In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised. That is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness.”
God’s promises are precious and should be treasured and trusted. Abraham was promised fatherhood of many nations. He was shown the stars of heaven and told that would be what his offspring would be like in number. Time and barrenness of Sarah, his wife, tested their faith in that promise. When God again reminded them of that promise, Abraham was near 100 years old and Sarah 90 years. Against human understanding, Abraham and Sarah trusted God and received the promise! His faith was counted as righteousness as a gift of grace. Their dead reproductive systems were made alive and Isaac was brought into the world. Faith in Jesus Christ brings eternal life to our dead-in-sin souls as well! Hallelujah!
Psalm 100:1-2 “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He Who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.”
Prayer: Father God, Hallelujah! I shout praises to Your Name and serve You with gladness because of Your promise of righteousness and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ! I am convinced that You have done and will do what You promise for me and all who believe by faith in Your Son. Fill me with your Spirit and empower me to share this Good News with those still in bondage to sin and self. Amen!
Proverbs 7:24-25 “And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. Let not your heart turn aside to her (the prostitute) ways; do not stray to her path, for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng.”
Grace as a gift to all!
Scripture reading for May 18th: Romans 3, Psalm 99, Proverbs 6
Romans 3:21-25 “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it--the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show Gods righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so the He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
Man’s deepest need is righteousness. Our sin nature and subsequent rebellion against God and His Word has brought darkness over our hearts. God gave the Law, the ten commandments, to the Jews to reveal sin and cause them to confess their need for God’s forgiveness and grace. They were to bring a blood sacrifice as a covering for their sin to the priest. But God never intended to give righteousness through keeping the law, a form of works. God showed His righteousness through His Son, coming to earth in a human body and living without sin in complete obedience and surrender to His Father. God’s righteousness is now a gift to all who will believe on His Son and trust His blood sacrifice on their behalf.
Psalm 99:3-4 “Let them praise Your great and awesome Name! Holy is He! The King in His might loves justice. You have established equity; You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”
Prayer: Father God, I thank You for Your amazing plan to place all mankind on level ground at the foot of Your Son’s cross. Thank You for Your justice in meeting our need of forgiveness through paying our penalty of death for our sins through Jesus Christ. Thank You for justifying us through faith and grace! Thank You for wiping away the guilt of my sins and restoring righteousness through repentance. Amen!
Proverbs 6:32-33 “He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.”
God’s kindness leads us to repent
Scripture reading for May 17th: Romans 2, Psalm 98, Proverbs 5
Romans 2: 2-5 “We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man–you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself–that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”
It’s human nature to see the faults and sins of others and judge them harshly, often when we are involved in some of the same faults. This was the reasoning of Paul with the Roman believers who were judging others. God is the righteous Judge who sees each person and will judge each one impartially. He is also patient, giving time to each person to confess and turn from sinful practices. Paul emphasizes that many people judge God’s kindness and patience as approval and don’t change themselves. God’s kindness and patience is meant to lead them to repentance and deliverance from the final judgment in the day of God’s wrath. We are not to play games and blame others, but rather look in the mirror and act.
Psalm 98:3-4 “He has remembered His steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!”
Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your kindness and patience with me, giving me time to repent instead of judging me. Forgive me when I have judged others or been impatient with them, yet tolerated sinful thoughts and behavior in my own life. Fill me with Your kindness and remember Your covenant of mercy and love through Jesus Christ to remove my sins and fill me with the joy of salvation.
Proverbs 5:21-22 “For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his paths. The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.”
Faith brings mutual encouragement!
Scripture reading for May 16th: Romans 1, Psalm 97, Proverbs 4
Romans 1: 8-12 “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. For God is my witness, Whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you–that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.”
Paul, writing to Roman followers of Jesus, wanted to encourage them by his own walk of faith and was asking God that he would be able to come and be with them. He wanted to encourage them in the faith and impart some spiritual gift to this body of believers to help them to grow stronger in their faith and increase the testimony of faith going out from that church. When believers share stories of faith and God at work in their lives, everyone is mutually encouraged and faith rises to believe God’s Word and pray for more miracles and salvations. This brings transformation and joy to the believers as the Light of God’s Word, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, advances against the darkness, driving it totally away at Christ’s return!
Psalm 97:10-12 “O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to His holy Name!”
Prayer: Father God, I love You and trust You daily to use me in the encouragement of other believers. I desire to impart spiritual Truth and the Gospel message that people may be saved and come into God’s family. I desire the Light of the World, Jesus Christ to be exalted and shine through my life brighter and brighter each day until I go to be with You or Your return for Your Bride! Amen!
Proverbs 4:18 “The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.”
Importance of love and unity!
Scripture reading for June 14th: Proverbs 19-21, Psalm 40, Romans 16
Romans 16: 16-20 “Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. I appeal to you, brothers to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under you feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
Paul’s final thoughts for the Romans including greeting many of the believers by calling out their names and what he was thankful for in their lives and service to Christ. He encouraged unity and love to flow genuinely between believers and emphasized that all churches greeted them in the same Spirit of Christ But the leadership needed to be watchful over the church for those who had other motives and caused divisions through twisted doctrines and legalism. Paul did not want the division to sow strife and evil talk and accusations in the church. God was and is a God of peace and it is Satan behind the division. Through grace and peace and unity, God would soon crush Satan under those believers feet! (And ours!)
Psalm 40:4 “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!”
Prayer: Father God, I have made You my Trust and value Your Word as truth. Help me to live in unity and harmony with each member of Your Body, the Church. Help me to watch out for those who are divisive and do not follow sound doctrine but are greedy and follow their appetites. As we pursue You and the truth of Your Word, we trust You to crush Satan under our feet as we walk with You.
Proverbs 21:21 “Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness and honor.”
Praying for God’s workers!
Scripture reading for June 13th: Proverbs 16-18, Romans 15
Romans 15:29-33 “I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.”
God’s Word declares that all His people are ‘saints’, set apart to serve Him. But those chosen to go out and preach and teach and evangelize are to be supported in prayer by those that send them. Paul asks the church to pray for him as he goes on to minister in places not yet reached by the Gospel. He asks deliverance from the unbelievers. This does not mean that he won’t be persecuted or suffer for Christ’s sake and the Gospel. He asks that his service, his ministry and life will be acceptable to the saints and to God and that by God’s will he might return to them and share the joy of ministry he has experienced and be refreshed by their ministry to him. As believers we are told to ‘strive together’ with God’s workers in prayer and support. As we give prayer, our God of hope and peace will be with us!
Romans 15:13 “May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
Prayer: Father God of Hope and Peace, thank You for filling me with joy and peace as I trust in You for salvation and power to obey Your Word. I lift up those who are preaching and teaching Your Word in lands where they have never heard. Deliver them from attacks of unbelievers and make their work acceptable to the saints and to You. Fill them with joy and peace and abounding hope as they trust You.
Proverbs 16:20 “Whoever gives thought to the Word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.”
Be careful, don’t judge legalistically!
Scripture reading for June 10th: Proverbs 14-15, Romans 14
Romans 14:1-4 “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”
In the culture of the church in Rome there were those who were weaker in their faith because of being immature and untaught in God’s Word. They still held some cultural beliefs or held to portions of the law although they had repented and come to salvation through believing on Jesus. Those who were more mature were passing judgment on these and looking down on them because they refused to eat meat that may have come from idols. Some became ‘vegetarians’ and both sides were critical of the other. Paul told them emphatically not to pass judgment by asking them a question. “Who are you to pass judgment?” He also added another truth: each person would stand before Christ and give an account!
Romans 14:10-12 “Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for setting Your people free from dietary laws and condemnation. Forgive me when I have been haughty and critical of others whose faith may not have been developed yet. You alone are the Judge. Thank You for ‘life-giving’ reproof from Your Word to instruct me in the fear and respect for Your Word and Your people whom You have redeemed.
Proverbs 15:31-33 “The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom and humility comes before honor.”
Put on the armor of Light!
Scripture reading for June 9th: Proverbs 11-13, Psalm 8, Romans 13
Romans 13: 11-14 “Besides this you know that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now that when we first believed. 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.”
Paul encouraged believers who had given their bodies to God as a living sacrifice and their minds to think God’s thoughts to now apply these truths in practical ways. It is easy to acknowledge spiritual truth and then not apply it. We must know who we are–now children of Light living in God’s glory and made to bring Him honor. We must cast off the works of darkness that marked our old way of living and now cloth ourselves with the armor of Light! We are told to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus is our righteousness, our sanctification and the assurance of our resurrection and full salvation. Our new living in Christ Jesus serves as a guide to those who are our neighbors, believers and unbelievers! Amen!
Psalm 8:3-5 “When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”
Prayer: Father God, when I see the vastness and intricacy of Your amazing creation, I wonder, along with the psalmist, ‘what is man that Your are mindful of him?” But in Christ Jesus You have shown me my true identity as Your child and my calling to love You and love my neighbors through obedience to Your Word. Clothe me afresh today with My Lord Jesus Christ and the armor of Light!
Proverbs 12:26 “One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
Let love be genuine!
Scripture reading for June 8th: Proverbs 8-10, Psalm 144, Romans 12
Romans 12: 9-17 “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil: hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil,, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.”
Paul encouraged believers to present their bodies as a living sacrifice to God and to renew their minds with His Word. Paul used the last chapters of his letter to explain practically how the Christian walk takes place in a world of evil in a church that has people of all different levels of maturity and faith, including some who are not walking in faith yet! Believers should be known by their genuine love for God and for people. They understand that love shows honor and affection to all people, no matter what level of maturity. Love requires patience with people as they work out their salvation. Love meets people where they are emotionally and shows hospitality. Love blesses and doesn’t curse. Love is humble and doesn’t judge people or seek to harm them an any way but to be a blessing. This walk brings glory to God!
Psalm 144:15 “Blessed are the people to who such blessing fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!”
Prayer: Father God, I thank You for Your genuine love in Jesus Christ. Without His love, I would not know how to love others or You. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and pour out Your love through me to others in these practical ways taught by Paul to the Romans. I present my body to You and my mind to be renewed to love You better and preach Your Word that Your love may cover all offenses!
Proverbs 10:11-12 “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.”