Category: Uncategorized

Romans 2:28-29

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

Personal Challenge

Paul had to deal with the problem of the Judaizers in the early church trying to convince new Christians that they had to follow the traditions of their Jewish heritage before they could be truly identified as followers of Christ. Outward appearances were more important than inward presence. We have something similar happening in our churches today. We are seeing the rise of zealots that believe the church had a special, glorious heyday in the past, a golden age, that we must return to in order to be pure again. This is especially happening in both the Orthodox and the Catholic churches, which have people pursuing past traditions more than pursuing Christ. In Protestant churches this is playing out in a form of pursuing nationalism and believing the true Church must be a national church. Again, Jesus is not being pursued. We must all go back to pursuing Christ, and Christ alone. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Psalms 86:15 (85:15)

But You, O Lord, are compassionate and merciful,
Longsuffering and very merciful and truthful.

Encouraging Words

Our God is compassionate and merciful. He is longsuffering and truthful. He loves us so dearly and desires to bestow these characteristics upon us. He wants us to bathe in that love. Glory be to God!

Romans 2:11

For there is no partiality with God.

Personal Challenge

A sad thing that is happening in the church today is partiality. We are becoming divided because of personal commitment to politics, dogma, race, color, creed, sexuality, and a myriad of other issues. Jesus died for all of creation. “God so loved the world” is what the scriptures tell us. Paul reminds us here in his letter to the Romans that there is no partiality with God. If we truly love Him, if we follow His command to love Our neighbor… all of them, then how can we be partial. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Psalms 86:12 (85:12)

I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
And I shall glorify Your name forever;

Personal Challenge

Sometimes it is easy to slip into a lazy mode and halfheartedly give thanks and glory to God. He should always be the very center of our lives. When we give thanks to Him it should be with our whole hearts and being. I know that I so often miss this mark because I let the cares of this world get in the way. Lord, have mercy! We can begin correcting this behavior by thanking God for the little things in our lives knowing that He provides even them. Then we can move on to thanking Him for everything and giving Him the glory that He deserves. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Romans 2:1

Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

Personal Challenge

There is only one in the Christian faith that has the authority to judge another. That is our Lord Jesus Christ. I can never understand where people who profess to be followers of Christ also claim that by that following, they are called to judge others. The scriptures make it clear that we are to love our neighbor and let Jesus take care of any judging. We must always remember that in judging another, we condemn ourselves. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Psalms 85 (84)

O Lord, You were pleased with Your land; You turned back the captivity of Jacob;
You forgave the transgressions of Your people;
You covered all their sins. (Pause)
You ended all Your wrath;
You turned from the wrath of Your anger.
Turn us, O God of our salvation,
And turn away Your anger from us.
Will You be angry with us forever,
Or will You prolong Your anger from generation to generation?
O God, You will turn and give us life,
And Your people will be glad in You.
Show us Your mercy, O Lord,
And grant us Your salvation.
I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me,
For He will speak peace
To His people and to His holy ones,
And to those who turn their heart to Him.
His salvation is very close at hand to those who fear Him,
That glory may dwell in our land.
Mercy and truth met together;
Righteousness and peace kissed each other;
Truth arose from the earth,
And righteousness looked down from heaven.
For the Lord will give goodness,
And our land shall yield its fruit.
Righteousness shall go before Him
And establish His footsteps as our pathway.

Encouraging Words

God is relentless in His love for us, His creation. He is patient as He waits for us to recognize our need for Him. He gave us His only begotten Son as a baby in a manger so that we might turn to Him and follow His footsteps on our pathway to heaven. God will bless those who submit to Him and humbly pursue Him. Glory be to God!

Romans 1:20-21

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Personal Challenge

No one has an excuse for not knowing about God. He has wired Himself into all of creation. He has also built a need for Him in our DNA. And yet, He forces no one to commit to Him. We, the western Christian, need to be very careful about the constraints that we put on people as to whether or not we recognize others as followers of Christ. Only God knows the true state everyone’s heart. Our role in all this is to show God’s love by loving our neighbor. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Psalms 84:11-12 (83:12-13)

For the Lord God loves mercy and truth;
He will give grace and glory;
The Lord’s hand will not remove good things from those who walk in innocence.

Romans 1:16-17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

Personal Challenge

We must always be willing to ask ourselves if we are willing to profess the gospel of Christ, the Good News, to those around us at any time or in any situation. It is this message that saves everyone who believes in it from eternal death. It is this message that gives us the ability to lead full and productive lives for our God. We need God so much more than He needs us and yet He gave His all for us. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!