Romans 8: God Is Always There

It may be because I am a bit out of tune and haven’t read in a while, but this chapter stumped me a few times.  Some of the ideas don’t make that much since to me so maybe when you read through this you can let me know what you thought.

Romans 8 begins by explain what we are as humans.  We are weak and undeserving but God saw our strength and what we could do, he had grace for us.  In verse 2 and three it says “for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh.” Gods spirit has always been present and with every new born Christian the Holy Spirit is made stronger and Gods light in the world becomes brighter through us.

My favorite verse in this chapter is verse 10: “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.”  This is, to me, a really good reminder that we need to live by the sprit.  Our flesh is already dead, so what’s the point of living by it?  It is important to have faith and trust in Gods plan for us, trust that whether it is good or bad it is what is supposed to be happening. 

Verses 12 and 13 really highlight these ideas, and verse 17 reminds us that being a Christian isn’t always rainbows and calm seas. 

The next section, verses 20 to 30 is become a bit unclear.  We are to inherit the kingdom as Gods his children.  We are waiting to be accepted to his kingdom by the redemption of our bodies (verse 23).  This makes since, but it’s a difficult thing to be clear on and wrap our heads around. 

In verse 26 it says that the Holy Spirit helps up when we are unable to conjure up the words to use to speak with God.  It says that the Spirit intercedes for us, which makes since because the Holy Spirit is our link to God.  We are not always left to our own resources and efforts.  Our God is gracious and He meets us where and when we need him to.  He wont make us get there on our own.

Next in verses 28 and 29 we are reassured.  Even though things may not always be easy and things may not go the way we want or the way we planned, they will always work together for our good.  The only thing we need to worry about is being like Christ.  Which should be enough in itself to worry about.  We need to trust God, pray, share, ect. like Jesus did when he was flesh.  It is our job as Christians to be the body of Christ.  This means taking the beatings and persecutions as well.  Things are never promised to get better and in fact they will probably get worse, but we need to have faith even in the hard times or we will sink just like peter.

This chapter ends on a wonderfully positive note: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angles, nor principalities, nor things present, not things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Not even Satan can separate us from Gods love.  If we are perusing Him and we have faith, God will always be there.  Even when we walk away and being to sink He will have His hand stretched out towards us waiting for us to grab on so He can pull us back to Him. 

He will never leave us or forsake us.


Song of the day and Really awesome Christian band you should check out!

Superhero
by: Family Force 5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WUjyooSz-M

Romans 7: Believers United to Christ

Geez! I feel like I just colored this chapter orange (that’s the color of my highlighter).  This chapter brings back one of Paul’s main ideas, that we are all equal.  Whether we only know the law, only know the scripture, or think we know everything.  Paul reminds us again in verses 5 and 6 of Jesus’s death for us, and how when we die in our old life we become new.  Verse 5: “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. 6: But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”  When Jesus was crucified we were disconnected from the law.  Not law in a spiritual sense but in a physical sense.  God created the law but man determines it, therefore it is of this world and this world is of sin.  However it is all very confusing and Paul begins to sound a bit like Captain Jack (Sparrow) in these verses, especially 14-17: “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15: For what I am doing, I do not understanding; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16: But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17: So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”

What?! So Paul is blaming what he is doing, but doesn’t want to be doing, on sin?  Not himself, but the sin in him.  Alright…so thanks to my handy-dandy foot notes here is what Paul is trying to say.  He is sharing 3 lessons with us, lessons that he learned while trying to deal with his sinful desires. (1) Knowledge is not the answer.  Paul was ok with not understanding what the law demanded.  (2) Self-determination doesn’t succeed.  We can’t do things on our own.  Christians get their power and strength from God. (3) Becoming a Christian DOES NOT stamp out all sin and temptation from a person’s life.  This third one may be the most important.  Like I said in yesterdays post, becoming a Christian isn’t all hunky-dory.  If anything becoming a Christian means you will be even more tempted, and when you give into that temptation those around you will judge you twice as harshly.  For some people you will be the only Christian face they meet and by you they will measure and judge all Christians, so keep that in mind.

Lastly I want to mention verses 21, 24, and 25 (ya know, sense they’re at the end).  Also I want us to notice that Paul is speaking from his own experiences and struggles here, this is straight up, hard-core Paul!  Verse 21: “I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.”  Paul totally fesses up and acknowledges the fact that he is made of evil.  He is made of this world, but he wants to do well, he wants to be right with God.  I myself, think that is a really difficult thing for us to acknowledge and accept because we are so good at making excuses for ourselves and we are so quick to blame others. (This is where our challenge of the week will be pulled from).

Verse 24: “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25: Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”  Here Paul shares his inward struggle with sin; it was as real for him as it is for us.  However we can learn from Paul’s wisdom.  Whenever Paul felt lost, he would return to the beginning of his spiritual life, remembering that he has already been freed by Jesus Christ.  When you feel confused or overwhelmed by sin’s appeal, follow Paul’s example: Thank God that he has given you freedom through Jesus.  Let the reality of Christ’s power lift you up to real victory over sin. All that was from my footnotes, because they are smatter than me.  But seriously though, when we are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, depressed, glum, etc. we often try to handle things with our strength first.  We could save so much time and energy if we just train ourselves to look to God before we try anything else, and this comes with putting God First.  Not letting other worldly things come before our love and faith in God but trying our best and doing things through Gods power. 

Challenge of the week: Don’t make excuses this week.  Be honest with God and fess up your evil.  God already knows what it is that you struggle with, but He wants to hear it from you.  Fess it up and give up.  Then after that thank God.  Thank Him for taking your sin and allow yourself to be with Him for a few moments.  Try to be quiet and listen.  “Let His power lift you up to real victory over that sin/struggle.”

Song of the day:

Autumn in New York

By: Frank Sinatra

Because it's autumn and I want to be in New York, and it's Frank Sinatra!

Youth is Wasted on the Young

So I know my post have been quite me focused lately, and I promise my next post will be Romans 6, because honestly…we should have already been done with Romans. I am slacking. But I have challenged myself this week to post Everyday! For this week…

Anyways, this post is about something that has kind of been on my heart lately…it’s about being young. About being so busy with trying to figure out what we are supposed to do that we don’t take time to figure out what God wants us to do. I feel like the idea of Gods plan for us has been following me around. It has been a topic within the youth group I am a leader at, Temper, it was in Sara Bartons post (if you don’t know what I am talking about go check out my last post), even in the new song "Wake Me Up" by Avicci. It has just been lingering around me all week. 

The verse that stands out to me when I think of young (life span wise) Christians is...

Timothy 4:12 – Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

I love this verse! “Don’t let anyone look down on you” as a Christian and a kid I really never appreciated people looking down on me, and now as an older kid I still don’t and try not to do it to others.  I feel as though we can all learn so much from each other. I know for a fact that the junior high students at Temper have taught me a ton, and have heard the same from other leaders in the group. Next, “set an example.” I know this is cheesy, but…be the change you want to see in the world. When you want more people to come to Christ be their light. If you want your parents or family to stop fighting, use Gods peace. Let others see what you are and make them want to be like you. We need to use the gifts God gives us the way He intended them to be used: in speech, conduct, Love, Faith, and purity.  I feel like love is the most important thing here, because sometimes all someone needs is someone else…an example.

Romans 5

Sorry it’s been so long, I have definitely not been keeping up with my reading. School has really started now and the homework is piling on, and things within this household have been a bit hectic to say the least.

Anyways! Glad to be getting back in the groove.

Romans 5! It is almost like a praise report. It is Paul’s response to the “good news” and he is urging his readers to rejoice with him in both hope and suffering. In verse two and three Paul gives us a wonderful recap of what Jesus Christ gave us.               

2-through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3-And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance…

We have been shown what it means to live by faith and what kind of life that prevails and as Christians accepting God is accepting that faith, that relationship, and by accepting both faith and a relationship we are showered with grace. In 1 Corinthians 13:13 Paul says “faith, hope and love are at the heart of the Christian life.” And when God’s love fills our lives it gives us the ability to reach out to those around us.

The other part of this I want to focus on is the comparison between Adam and Jesus. I really love the way verse 12 is worded: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—.“  Just as sin entered this world through Adam it left it (kind of) through Jesus. Adam is the counterpart of Jesus here, and just as Adam represents human creation, Jesus represents a new spiritual humanity. Ugh! I love, love, love this! Then in verse 20 Paul tells us “…where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”

We are showered with abundant grace and love from God, and we deserve none of it! He has given us so many chances, I have asked for forgiveness SO many times for the same times it’s ridiculous that He forgives me knowing that I will ask again the next day. Humans are so impatient! It would hardly take us 3 times of one action to no longer forgive a person for whatever they did, and God has put up with it for centuries! This totally convicts me! God is so patient! Who are we to test that? But we do. Like when your sibling “isn’t touching you” we “aren’t sinning.” We push the boundaries of sin and I for one need to truly work on that.

SO. My challenge for you:

1.     Be more patient, in every aspect of you life for AT LEAST 5 days. A work week, that’s it. Just try it.

2.     At the end of your day try to list your sins. Not to put yourself down, simply to see, and maybe since you’re more focused on it you’ll do it less.

Let me know.

Song of the day:

Ode To A Patient God

By: The Arrows

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwU-8yPAgPY&feature=share&list=PLwzbTu8seepvuSvg-OpLFt3zuBr-WVR-v

Romans 4

Romans 4

This chapter focuses a lot on Abraham. No…not Lincoln (but he’s a cool guy). Father Abraham.  So, if you don’t know his story I highly encourage you to skim through Genesis 22, I belive the whole story is 12-25 though. Or if you’re lazy and don’t want to read all that you can go to this link http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/246612/jewish/Abraham.htm that summarizes Abrahams story, and it’s .org so you know it’s legit.

So, lets get into this. Romans 4. I didn’t find a lot that spoke to me in this chapter, but if you do, please share in the comments J

In verse 5: But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness; we are shown/told that our actions do not determine our faith. Whether we believe or not is up to us, but whether we are saved or not is up to God. In John 14:6 Jesus says “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Flowing into verses 6, 7, and 8 it goes into further detail. 6 – just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7 – “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. 8 – Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.” Verse 6 is referring to King David, who committed a ton of sins, he committed murder, adultery, and lied but he was still able to experience Gods forgiveness, and so can we. In order to do so though we need to recognize our sin, ask God for forgiveness, and let go of that sin and believe that God has forgiven us. By doing this we recognize the tremendous price He paid for us on the cross.  It is arrogant of us to think that any of our sins are too great for Him to cover. In 1 John 1:9 is says that any sin s confessed are sins forgiven.

Jumping into my 2 favorite parts of this chapter: verse 16 and verses 19 through 21! Verse 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 (see Genesis 17:5). In the previous verses we were told that Abraham received his promise while uncircumcised or while being a Gentile and circumcised himself as the Jews and sealed his righteousness in that way, in a weird way it was like a baptism. This is just really nice to hear, we are ALL saved! Jews and Gentiles, those that live by the Law and those who don’t. If we accept God he pours His grace over us. We are saved only through faith in Christ, trusting Him to forgive all our sins. I like how Hebrews 11:1 describes faith: “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see.”

Verses 19 through 21!

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 he grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21 – and being fully assured that what God had promised He was able to also preform.

In my Biblical Literature class last semester my professor, Dr. Love, told us a lot about covenants, basically a promise, and there are 4 (I think…) major ones and this is one of them. Basically God chose Abraham and made a promise that He would give him land, more of less, if he would trust Him. God doesn’t demand an answer right away, He first shows Abraham that His word is good, and then asks for an answer (or sacrifice) *wink*wink* but to know more go read Genesis.  Anyway…the thing I Love is that Abraham trusted God when most of us, especially today, would have just given up and been like ‘naa God, this isn’t worth it’. Abraham Trusted that God would follow through on His promise. 

I really love the way my footnotes evaluate verse 21: “Abraham never doubted that God would fulfill his promise. Abraham’s life was marked by mistakes, sins, and failures as well as by wisdom and goodness, but he consistently trusted God. His faith was strengthened by the obstacles he faced, and his life was an example of faith in action. If he had looked only at his own resources for subduing Cannan and founding a nation, he would have given up in despair. But Abraham looked to God, obeyed him, and waited for God to fulfill his word.” Abraham is inspiration at its finest. I doubt God all the time and I have a huge problem with trust. How am I supposed to sit around and wait for God to do something? If I look to Him it will become possible. We need to trust God, and I know I keep saying it, but I also know that it’s hard. Faith isn’t easy, being a Christian isn’t easy, and living in this world of sin with constant temptation doesn’t make any of it easier. But when we “Look To Go” He will make it easier! Trust Him! Trust His word, promise, and plan for you and put your faith into action. Look at the obstacles you face as a gift from God and use them to learn from and grow stronger in your faith! Alright…I’m done.

Take some time to thank God for the obstacles in your life today. Try to see if you can notice how they have helped you grow, or if you’re currently in them evaluate how God might be using this situation to help you.

Have an awesome day friends, and stay cool. ;)

Song of the day:

Upside Down, Jack Johnson 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqUdI4AIDF0