Category Archives: experiencing God

The Romans Challenge: Power To Do What is Promised

Posted on by
Reply 
“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭4‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There’s a saying, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” Abraham modeled that kind of faith to us.

When God spoke His great promise of blessing through Abraham’s offspring, there was a problem… Abraham and his wife could not have children. A miracle was needed!

Abraham did not know how God would do what He promise, but “Against all hope” he believed. What looked like a situation where no good could come, Abraham put his confidence in God and what God said. He knew how things looked on the outside, but he was “fully persuaded” that God could do anything.

Sin has put you and I in a hopeless situation. In ourselves, there is no solution for the brokenness in our own lives. BUT JESUS! When we place our faith in Him, what was dead inside of us comes to life, and hope comes into hopelessness. We receive God’s righteousness — right standing with God. We are “fully persuaded” just like Abraham, that God can do anything in our lives!

Salvation is just the beginning of all the good that God wants to do in us as we have faith in Him! We can trust in God and fully rely on what He has promised us in His Word!

The Romans Challenge: Heir of the World

Posted on by
Reply 
“It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Today is Romans 4.

I live in the country. Starry nights here are beautiful! Sometimes, at night, I go out and stand in my front yard and just gaze at the sky. The stars are everywhere. Then I think of the promise that God made to Abraham. “I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky.” (Genesis 26:4) How amazing it is to me that one of those stars represents me.

Long ago, God came to Abraham and gave Him a promise. Abraham believed what God said. It was just that simple. It was Abraham’s faith in God that made him righteous. This changed the trajectory of our world. God worked throughout time and history to fulfill this promise of an inheritance that was so much bigger than a mere man, who God came to all those thousands of years ago. Abraham was directly in the lineage of Jesus, and Jesus came for the world that God promised to Abraham. 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jewish or non Jewish, Circumcised or uncircumcised, none of this matters. When we believe in Jesus, we can be confident that one of those stars we see lit in our skies at night was meant for us. The promise that God gave Abraham is true! God wanted to bless the world through Abraham’s faith!

God still wants to bless the world not only through Abraham’s faith, but through ours. When we believe God and receive the salvation He offers through Jesus, we are given His righteousness. It comes just as it did to Abraham, through faith. We are His! We have entered into relationship with God Himself.

In this relationship, we come to know God and in turn we make Him known to those around us. That way others can look up at the night sky, as Abraham did, and realize God’s promise is true, “God lit up that star for me.”

The Romans Challenge: A Sign and A Seal

Posted on by
Reply 
“And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Today is Romans 4.

My husband and I started dating in the Spring of 92. We married after a whirlwind romance that occurred in what we fondly call our “Summer of Love.” (We married after 8 months, in January) I was 21 and he was 19.

It was during this time that Rich decided he wanted to seal the deal on our relationship and display that we were “a thing.” So as we were driving across an overpass not far from the campus house I lived in, he flipped his High School Senior ring up on the dashboard of the car and said, “Here you go! Put this on. It should keep the other boys from flirting with you.” Being 21 and having been in college for three years. I thought it was a little to “High Schoolish” for me, but I didn’t want to scare him off. (He was soooo cute!). So I put it on!

My heart was already his! We had a relationship. That ring was a sign and a seal!

For the Jewish people, Circumcision was meant to be just that! God wanted a nation that was His. This nation was to display Him, His glory, to the world around it. Circumcision was meant to be a sign and seal that the Jewish people were in a committed relationship with God. It wasn’t what made them righteous, or in right standing with Him. Righteousness only comes through faith! Not our deeds.

I could have wore that ring around back in 92 with my heart far from loving Rich. I could have hung out with him out of obligation or to get a free meal. Wearing it would have been hollow.

The circumcision that the Jewish people thought made them something special was only a hollow act if their hearts were not God’s.

They had the law. They followed the rules. But they weren’t obeying out of a heart that was connected to God through faith. They didn’t have the relationship!

The Romans Challenge: Happy

Posted on by
Reply

““Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.””
‭‭Romans‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Today is Romans 4.

Blessed is also Happy in the Greek!

Happy- “Being in the enjoyment of agreeable sensations from the possession of good” (Webster’s 1828)

God has done great things for us! When we come to Jesus accepting His salvation, our sins are forgiven and covered. God does not count our sins against us any more!

The punishment we deserve we do not receive. Jesus took that upon Himself. We are given a blessed life— the life that Jesus gives us. We possess His goodness. We know that He is good to us and all that He does is good. Even when we experience troubles, we can experience His happiness.

We are blessed! We are loved by the Happy God!

An Oldie but a goody!

The Romans Challenge: Happy

Posted on by
Reply

““Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.””
‭‭Romans‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Today is Romans 4.

Blessed is also Happy in the Greek!

Happy- “Being in the enjoyment of agreeable sensations from the possession of good” (Webster’s 1828)

God has done great things for us! When we come to Jesus accepting His salvation, our sins are forgiven and covered. God does not count our sins against us any more!

The punishment we deserve we do not receive. Jesus took that upon Himself. We are given a blessed life— the life of Jesus. We possess His goodness. We know that He is good to us and all that He does is good. Even when we experience troubles, we can experience His happiness.

We are blessed! We are loved by the Happy God!

An Oldie but a goody!

The Romans Challenge: Believe God

Posted on by
Reply 
“What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.””
‭‭Romans‬ ‭4‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Today is Romans 4.

Abraham was living an ordinary life. He was working his job and living close to his family. Then one day God spoke to Him. He told Him to “Go.” God then spoke to him a promise.

Abraham did something extraordinary. He believed! He believed the Word of God. He believed the Promises were true. Out of that belief, he acted — he obeyed. When Abraham believed God “credited to him as righteousness.” Righteousness is “Purity of heart and rectitude of life; conformity of heart and life to the divine law.” (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary) It is right standing with God.

When Abraham listened to what God was saying and believed God. He was in right standing with God. He entered a relationship with God that came through his faith.

It wasn’t all the good things that Abraham did that established this relationship of right standing with God. It was when he simply believed.

God blessed Abraham for his faith and God made him a blessing. Many years later, Jesus was born out of his lineage. This alone was a miracle for a man whose wife had been unable to have a child.

God is speaking to us today. He desires for us to take Him at His Word and believe what He says. Jesus came as the living Word (expression of God) that proclaims to us God’s desire for relationship. We too can believe. Our belief in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross and then raising from the dead places us in right standing. It makes us righteous.

Relationship with God does not start with our good deeds. It starts with our faith in His Word that we hear.

May it be said of us, “She believed God!”

The Romans Challenge: Righteousness Through Faith

Posted on by
Reply 
“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Today is Romans 3

We are all deeper in sin than any of us could ever imagine. When we finally see our condition, we should be very concerned. There is nothing we can do that will fix our sin problem.

The Jews of Pauls time thought that if they could work and work at it, they could become righteous and have the purity it takes to stand rightly before God. They had the attitude of “I’ll do it myself.” But none of us can “do it” on our own. Righteousness only comes through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus. When we believe in Jesus and receive what He did for us on the cross, we are brought into right standing with God.

Jesus is God’s solution for everyone’s sin!

A few months ago my husband came across this video. It perfectly illustrates how we cannot clean ourselves up on our own. Only God is able to do the heart transformation we need to make us right — righteous.

Will we call our to Him? Will we accept through faith His great gift?

The Romans Challenge: Conscious of Our Sin

Posted on by
Reply 
“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Today is Romans 3.

One of the most impactful exercises I have ever done is taking the time to complete a “Spiritual Inventory” list. It is a check list of sins that are listed in the Scripture. Prayerfully considering the condition of my spiritual heart is of upmost importance.

I believe it is healthy for us to come to God with the same prayer that David did on a regular basis:

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Sin numbs us. Our enemy would love for us to live unaware of the sin in our lives. He would love for us to blame all of our problems on others and our circumstances. He is aware that once we see the truth, we have a sin problem, we are close to freedom. Because it is the truth that sets us free from the chains of sin!

Romans 3 has a list that describes where we all are without God. It concludes that the Law of God, makes us “conscious of our sin.”

Knowing that we have a problem with sin is good! Then God can show us the answer for our sin problem, Jesus.

Even in the life of a believer, sin that we embrace separates us from that close and intimate relationship that God desires for us to have with Him. It clogs up the communication lines. It keeps us at a distance from Him.

Jesus has provided all that we need to deal with our sin problem. Once we become conscious of our sin all we need to do is go to Him in prayer. He promises us this: 

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Law served its purpose. It helped us to understand that we need Jesus! Jesus said that He didn’t abolish the law, or set it aside. He fulfilled it. What Jesus did on the cross is enough to deal with the sin in our lives.

Thank you Jesus!

The Romans Challenge: The Power of Sin

Posted on by
Reply 
“What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Today is Romans 3.

A few years ago, I was trapped in a sinful pattern. When I asked an older sister in the Lord if what I was struggling with was sin, she asked me a question that began a great change in me: “Why would you think it isn’t a sin?” My reply was, “Because I cannot control it…”

The truth is, I was not living my life totally surrendered to God. I had experienced His salvation, but I wanted to do things my ways, not His. I was choosing sin over obedience to His Word.

Sin wraps us in chains. What we think we can mess around with will control us. Without our total submission to Jesus as the LORD of our lives, we are all “under the power of sin.” We need salvation! We need the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work in our lives if we are going to live free!

Our enemy would love for us to think that sin is no big deal. The truth is sin destroys, and we are all under its control. “There is no one righteous, not even one”

Jesus has paid the price for us to be able to live free from sin’s death, darkness and destruction.

Is there a pattern of sin that is holding you chained up in its power? In Jesus there is freedom from the “power of sin.”

The Romans Challenge: It’s All About Him!

Posted on by
Reply

Today is Romans 3. 

“What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I once heard it said that “history” is “His story.” We tend to think that everything before us, everything now, and everything that is to come is about US. But the first four words in the Bible indicate what everything is truly about, “In the Beginning, God…”

The Jews of Paul’s time thought they had the corner on God. They had the Law and the covenant of circumcision. They worked hard at doing all the right things, but their hearts were hard and far from God. They thought all the history and their heritage was about them and what they did. They thought their actions in their present proved how special they were. They thought their good works insured that their future was secure. Everything was about them…

What they forgot was that God chose them for a reason. They were “entrusted with the very Words of God.” . Not to show off how good they were at following a list of rules. God wanted them to display to the nations God, Himself. God desired them to receive His Word so they would humbly obey it. This obedience would bring blessing. That blessing would display to all the nations around them a God that was very different than the gods they worshipped.

We aren’t any different. We tend to think that “our” lives are about “us.” Through Jesus, we have been chosen. We are meant to display God, Himself, to everyone we come in contact with. God has given us His Word. He desires for us to humbly receive it and obey it! This obedience will bring blessing into our lives. When people around us see the difference God has made in our lives, they will realize that they need Him.

We have “been entrusted with the very Words of God” as well. May we live our lives centered on Jesus who is the living Word. When He comes to live within our hearts, our lives are to be all about Him!

Live to Know Him and to Make Him Known!