Tag: Romans 3:23
Week 2–Day 1–Jesus Loves the Hurting
Scripture reading for January 5: “Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn and live.” Ezekiel 18:31-32
Man’s biggest need is forgiveness for sins and transgressions. We have all broken God’s laws or crossed over His boundary lines. When we fall into sin, we are separated from God and damage our relationship with those around us. Our own soul becomes clouded in darkness. Scripture declares that all have sinned or transgressed and all have fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
But God the Father sees everything and knows every heart, thought, and transgression. He loves each person and desires that none die for their transgressions. In today’s passage, God sent Ezekiel to His people with a call to repent. Repentance is a change of mind that precedes a change of direction. If we continue in sin, it will lead to our ruin. If we will confess and acknowledge our sins and turn from them in biblical repentance, God is faithful and will forgive us. Turning to God saves us from ruin and death.
As first responders to the calls of hurting people for help, we must always keep God’s love for hurting people as a foundation for our response. We enter each incident responding to people God loves and desires to help. We would do well to start each day with humble repentance and invite God to lead us in His ways to provide the help called for. We represent Him and are sent as an act of God’s love. He wants no individual to die or come to ruin.
Father God, thank You for Your love for each person, desiring their highest good and meeting their deepest needs. Search my heart today and reveal anything that displeases You. Fill me with Your love to respond to others who are in need. Amen.
Needing a ‘Physician’?
Scripture reading for February 11: Mark 2
“And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me.” And he rose and followed Him. And as He reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and His disciples, for there were many who followed Him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that He was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”” Mark 2:14-17
We all tend to think more highly of ourselves than we ought and also tend to judge others by the accepted norms of the culture we live in. In Jesus’ day, the Jews who helped Rome collect taxes were considered by others in their culture to be the lowest of sinners. It shocked the local religious leaders when, to their surprise, Jesus called Levi to follow Him as a disciple. Not only that, Levi hosted a dinner and introduced his fellow tax collectors to Jesus and they all reclined together at table for food and fellowship. Instead of asking Jesus, these leaders asked His disciples why Jesus would do such a defiling thing.
Jesus, hearing their question, answered them Himself: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” This statement was meant to probe their world view of themselves as well as those that they called ‘sinners’. All men are sinners, as all have sinned and come short of God’s glory. (Romans 3:23) All, consequently, need a ‘Physician’ to bring healing and forgiveness. Only those who will come to Jesus and humbly follow His prescription will be healed.
Do you find yourself looking down on certain people in your circle of relationships? What kind of self-talk comes from your heart about your own goodness compared to others perceived evil? Have you come to Jesus and reclined at table with Him to receive healing?
Prayer: Father God, thank You that You came to call sinners, of which I am one. Thank You for being my great Physician, offering me a place at Your table and feeding me true food and drink–Your body and blood which alone brings healing. Grant me boldness to share Your desire to forgive sinners. Amen.
The answer to life’s meaning!
Scripture reading for July 13: Ecclesiastes 7-12
This quest of Solomon to find meaning is played out every day in our world. People are going to and fro seeking pleasure, wisdom, meaning and purpose in life under the sun. They are trying wine, women, sports, building, materialism, and fame to find happiness and fulfillment. Many are laughing and appearing to have fun, but it is shallow and meaningless. Many are in bondage to sins of the flesh and are miserable. They go from one form of bondage to another looking for that elusive fulfillment that can only be found in God Himself!
Solomon tells us that the day of death is better than the day of birth. Death takes away every man and their works will stand judgment. Being mindful of this should give us motivation for righteous living here and now. There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right all the time and never sins. (Ecclesiastes 7:10; Romans 3:23) Solomon found that God had made men upright, but that men in their folly had gone in search of many schemes! (Ecclesiastes 7:29) How true of man throughout history and today!
No man knows when the hour of his end will come. Things don’t always turn out according to a movie script where the good guy wins and the evil person is destroyed! “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11) No one really knows the future or what it holds. Accidents can come suddenly and death can snatch us from this life without warning! “As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.” (Ecclesiastes 9:12)
“The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails–given by one Shepherd. Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of the making of many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or bad.” Ecclesiastes 12:11-13
Solomon concludes his book with a simple warning. Have you found true meaning in life here on earth? Are you still searching in all the wrong places? Turn to Jesus Christ today and ask Him for mercy and a new beginning! He lovingly took the penalty for your sins and offers you eternal life in Father’s house!
Choosing to trust God Alone
Scripture reading for May 27: Job 25-28
Bildad opened his final argument by citing the power and dominion of God. He then questioned that in light of God’s greatness, how can man who is born of woman be right with God? (Job 25:4) This is a good question and finds the answer implied by Bildad in other writings of Scripture. Romans 3:10 says that there is none righteous, not even one (Psalm 14:1) . Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The problem with Bildad’s statement was in his understanding of God and man’s relationship. Bildad stated that man was like a maggot in God’s sight, only a worm. (Job 25:6) This view is neither encouraging or accurate!
Job refuted Bildad by asking him what spirit was speaking through him! Job’s counter-argument was that he would choose to trust God, even if he didn’t understand! (Job 27:2-6) God was his only source of hope and encouragement! God’s character and wisdom were worth more to Job than anything this earth had to offer. Finding this wisdom was not easy! (Job 28:12-13)
The bottom line for Job was that the fear of the Lord was wisdom and understanding was to depart from evil! (Job 28:28) Respecting God and His power and authority is the very core of wisdom. We can only live our life successfully if we have this wisdom in operation in our life. Respecting God is the character trait of humility. God, Himself, is humble! Jesus Christ taught his followers to come and learn from Him, because He was humble of heart! (Matthew 11:28-30) By respecting God and being humble we are able to follow God and live successfully by faith! We know from God’s word and character that there is a definite “good” and a definite “evil”. We walk in understanding when we depart from evil and do good!
God is the most precious One in our life. Job came to this conclusion as he was forced by the circumstances of a trial to live by faith. He did not have all the answers, but he knew the One who did and Who would help him! Are you going through a trial today? Are you resting in Jesus as your only Source of wisdom and help? Are you humble and able to learn from Him?
Is man a maggot in God’s sight?
Scripture reading for May 28th: Job 25-28
Bildad opened his final argument by citing the power and dominion of God. He then questioned that in light of God’s greatness, how can man who is born of woman be right with God? (Job 25:4) This is a good question and the answer implied by Bildad is found in other writings of Scripture. Romans 3:10 says that there is none righteous, not even one (Psalm 14:1) . Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The problem with Bildad’s statement is in his understanding of God and man’s relationship. Bildad stated that man was like a maggot in God’s sight, only a worm. (Job 25:6) This view is neither encouraging or accurate!
Job refuted Bildad by asking him what spirit was speaking through him! Job’s counter-argument was that he would continue to trust God, even if he didn’t understand! (Job 27:2-6) God was his only source of hope and encouragement! God’s character and wisdom were worth more to Job than anything this earth had to offer. (Job 28:12-13)
The bottom line for Job was that the fear of the Lord was wisdom and understanding was to depart from evil! (Job 28:28) Let’s think about this for a minute. Respecting God and His authority is the very core of wisdom. We can only live our life successfully if we have this attitude present in our life. Respecting God is part of the character trait of humility. God, Himself, is humble! Jesus Christ taught his followers to come and learn from Him, because he was humble of heart! (Matthew 11:28-30) By respecting God and being humble we are able to follow God and learn from Him. We can then live successfully by faith and not be destroyed by our sight! We know from God’s word and character that there is a definite “good” and a definite “evil”. We walk in understanding when we depart from evil and do good!
God is the most precious one in our life. Job came to this conclusion as he was forced by the circumstances of a trial to live by faith. He did not have all the answers, but he knew the one who did and who would help him! He steadfastly held on to what he knew and persevered and we can too! We are not a worm but a precious child of Father God!