“As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”” Romans 2:24 NIV
Today is Romans 2.
People are watching to see how we live. Paul warned the Jewish people of that. He told them that they were “relying on the law and boasting in God”, but then they would turn around and not practice what they were preaching. They were committing sins that were effecting the people around them. Non believes (the Gentiles) were watching and they blasphemed, were irreverent and spoke of God reproachfully.
When people hear us speaking of how we are so much better because of God, but cannot see any evidence of God in our lives because of our behavior, they have no reason to believe what they hear.
If we are living a double life (one that says all the right stuff, but does the opposite), It will eventually come out that we are a hypocrite, and unbelievers will take it as opportunity to speak against God.
May we live as ones desiring to follow Jesus with all our hearts and to reflect Him in all we say and do!
“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:21 NIV
Today we read Romans 1.
You and I were born with a heart defect! Before you object and try to tell me that your “ticker” is working just fine, let me clarify. This defect is within our spiritual hearts. This defect is serious, and many of us do not even know we have it, much less that our spiritual hearts exist.
However, we need to understand that not only do we have a spiritual heart, it is the MOST important thing about us. This heart is where we are able to experience the very thing we were created for, relationship with God or oneness with Him. It is comprised of our mind (the thinker), will (the doer), and emotions (the feeler).
The defect of this heart is that we are born with it being darkened. To be darkened is to be made black, obscure, or destitute of light. We come into this world with a spiritual heart that is inclined towards sin. Our thoughts are “futile” — sinful; acting without regard to the divine law and glory, or to one’s own eternal happiness. (Webster’s 1828) Our actions are motivated by “dishonorable passions.” (Verse 26 ESV) We believe our self centered actions are wise, but in truth it is foolishness. (Verse 22). This is because we worship ourselves (a me centered life) and the things we have created (our jobs, our homes, our hobbies, our phones, etc.) instead of worshiping God. We don’t accept His truth that we hear in His Word. Instead we would rather believe a more convenient lie (Verse 25) about the things we want when and how we want it.
God will not force Himself on us to correct this defect. BUT, He does offer us the cure! A NEW Heart!
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel 36:26-27 NIV
We must choose…
Is what you are doing in your life not working? Has sin (knowing what is good to do, but not doing it) been a struggle? God offers us transformation from what we are to what He intended us to be all along – a reflection of Him full of His peace, joy, love, etc. We can walk in truth, live with purpose, be full of His wisdom, and experience His life. It all starts with asking God to give you a new spiritual heart. Ask Him to transform the way you think, and to align your feelings with His truth in His Word. Ask Him to help your actions to flow from a new pure heart inside of you.
We do not have to live with a darkened heart any more. We can have a new spiritual heart and experience relationship with God!
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,” Romans 1:18 NIV
Today we read Romans 1.
God hates sin! But why? How could a God whose very nature is to love hate anything? The answer is pretty simple: Sin destroys the ones God loves. At the beginning with Adam and Eve, sin destroyed God’s connection to all of us and introduced death into our world.
God is perfect. He is perfect in love, goodness, doing what is right (righteousness), etc… His perfection has no sin within it. This means the consequences of our sin has to be separation from Him. Sin cannot live in Him. We experience death in our sin, because He is life. When God is not present within our lives, we are walking in “godlessness.” Our actions are “wicked” which is our departure from following His ways. His perfection means we cannot be united to Him in our imperfection or sin. His “wrath” is His “justifiable abhorrence” (Webster’s 1828) to sin. He cannot, in His great love and goodness, embrace the things that brings destruction— our sins…
Sin is a choice. It is not an uncontrollable impulse… I know because I have experienced it. For years, I wanted to do things my way. I chose to… I heard the Word of God at church and read it on occasion. But I chose not to obey. This lead to much anxiety, depression, anger, bitterness, etc.
But thankfully God wants us to live free! This is why He has given us the opportunity to know Him.
“since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” Romans 1:19 NIV
God is making Himself plain to us! He has given us all we need to know Him! He doesn’t want the truth of His Word to be suppressed in our lives by our ignoring it or cherry picking it.
May we embrace the truth of God’s Word and obey it fully so we can live as we are meant to live — in a deep relationship with God.
“My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” James 5:19-20 NIV
Speak the truth of the Word of God! We do not know who it will be that we are in contact with that needs to hear it.
This verse is of great significance to me. Five years ago, I was living as one who had wandered from the truth. There was someone who was bold enough to tell me the truth about the lies I was believing. She turned “a sinner from the error of their way.” And she saved me “from death” and covered “over a multitude of sins” in my life. I am so grateful!
When we walk in error/ sin, we need someone who will stand firm on the Word of God and tell us the Truth in the Word. It is the only way for us to live free!
Don’t be afraid to be thought of as different, radical, or extreme! God wants to use you to bring back His children to Him!
“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James 4:4 NIV
An adulterous affair will destroy a marriage. We are meant for a relationship of oneness with our spouse that no one else is invited to participate within. This is true of our spiritual relationship with God. “Friendship with the world…” or adopting the world’s “values and priorities, which are contrary to God’s.”(Berean Study Notes – Bible Hub) is “enmity against God.” Or “the quality of being an enemy.” (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)
When we desire to live according to the ways of the world and chase after sin, we are choosing to pursue other lovers (spiritual adultery). Our love for God is less than our love for our selfish desires. We may wear the label of “Christian”, but our actions display the opposite. This simply will not work!
God “jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell within us.” (James 4:5) He desires for us to live in an intimate relationship with Him. He will not have competing lovers.
Is God the desire of our lives or are we consumed with chasing everything else?
“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” James 1:13-15 NIV
Sin is a choice. It doesn’t just happen. We know the good we should do, but we don’t do it. (James 4:17) There is a progression towards sin and death.
Evil desire — i.e. lust. Longing for what we know is wrong.
Enticement — temptation. Baited. Satan schemes against us. He looks for ways to get us to fall into his sinful traps. He places these lures before us with the desire for us to go after them.
Sin — a voluntary turning from what is right.
Death — Sin separates us from God. God is life. Sin keeps us from His life.
The truth is what we decide to listen to matters. Our evil desires/ lusts are fed by our selfish choices. Our selfish choices are fed by our thoughts.
In Jesus we can live victoriously over sin. He gives us a new heart that desires to follow Him and obey. He has given us His Word that renews our mind to think His thoughts.
“How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.” Psalms 119:9 NIV
God has created us to desire. He wants to be our one desire!
Don’t be “dragged away” by choosing to listen to the old lustful desires of your self life. Focus on Jesus and His Word. Let Him be the One Thing you long for!
“They said to her, “You are out of your mind.”” Acts 12:18 ESV
Today is Acts 12.
Things were looking pretty bleak… Herod the king, had James the brother of John, killed. He was one of the 12 disciples that followed Jesus during His earthly ministry. He was Peter’s friend. Then Herod decided to arrest Peter too. BUT, “earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.” (Verse 9)
Four squads of soldiers, chains, and the iron gates of the city are no match for God. An angel sent by God came to Peter and led him out of the prison and into the city. It was so incredible that Peter thought it was just a vision he was seeing until the angel left him, and he stood free in a street of a city.
When Peter arrived at Mary’s house, the servant girl who went to the door to answer his knocking was amazed and left him there outside. She reported the miracle to those inside, and they said, “You are out of our mind.”
God is a God of miracles! These miracles are “mind blowing”! People who hear them may have a hard time believing that what has happened is true or could even occur. I have seen “mind blowing” miracles in my own life. God still works wonders that the world would tell you are impossible. For me, a woman held in the chains of a prison of anxiety — meds, secular therapy, eastern meditation apps, mindfulness, you name it… I’ve probably tried it… has seen the chains drop off, walked passed the guards, and am standing totally free! Some may say, “you are out of your mind.” Because it doesn’t match the pattern of the world. A person in prison should stay there… But God!
Earnest prayer was made on Peter’s behalf, and God answered! God is still the same! He answers prayer!
“…he received living words to pass on to us. Our fathers refused to obey him…” Acts 7:38-39 NIV
Today is Acts 7.
Stephen stood before the council of religious leaders. A group of men had “secretly instigated men” to speak lies about him. Then Stephen spoke. He recounted the history of the Jewish people. He spoke of how time and time again God had come to them and rescued them, yet they had chosen to go their own way and worship the false gods of the nations around them. God gave them “living words.” Yet they “refused to obey.”
This is true of us today. Jesus came as the living Word to us. He has provided us with His Holy Scriptures so that we can listen to His Word and have it transform our hearts from being dark and sin filled to hearts in His image. Yet, we often refuse to obey.
Stephen used the term, “stiff- necked people” to describe the men who would not listen to the “living words” of God. He said they resisted the Holy Spirit just as their fathers (ancestors) did time and time again. Simply put, they would not obey what God said. These men had hard hearts that wanted to do what they wanted to do when and how they wanted to do it. They didn’t want to walk in the ways of God. They wanted their way…
Hearing the truth, they did not repent. Instead they chose to kill Stephen for speaking the “living Words” to them. They resisted and rejected God…
May that never be said of us. We must listen to the Word of God. We must receive it so that we can obey it and be transformed by it. The Word is the truth that brings freedom into our lives.
Today is Mark 14:32-72 ❤️🙌🔥 for the “Bible Book of the Month Club — The Gospel of Mark”
What seemed to be Peter’s entire world was falling apart right in front of him. The One he left everything to follow, Jesus, had been arrested and wasn’t even trying to defend Himself. I can imagine the dismay and unbelief the enemy was enticing Peter with.
Denying Jesus was one thing, but trying to prove you have had nothing to do with by cursing and swearing was another. Then the rooster crowed and Peter remembered what Jesus had told him. “He broke down and wept.”
I have been where Peter was and I can identify. Things weren’t going my way. God wasn’t doing what I wanted Him to. So I decided to do things my way… I tried to distance myself from Him, but keeping just enough of Jesus to “keep my fire insurance current.” What a miserable way to live. Especially if you have had an authentic relationship with Jesus, but have drifted away. I’m pretty sure this is why Peter wept. Once you have tasted and seen the goodness of God, everything else is empty.
Thankfully Peter’s story does not end at the end of Mark 15. Jesus restored his relationship. Thankfully my story did not end with me adrift, living my life my ways…not God’s. Jesus restored my relationship.
How about you? Can you relate to Peter and me? Your story does not have to end in sorrow! Surrender to God is the pathway to peace. Come to Him!
Today is Mark 10:32-53 ❤️🙌🔥 for the “Bible Book of the Month Club — The Gospel of Mark”
“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Verses 43-44
If I truly want to be like Jesus, I must serve and give my life away. When I follow Him, my ways, my thoughts, my desires, and ambitions must go. My life is no longer about me, but Jesus.
The world says “follow your heart”, but Jesus says “pick your cross and follow me.” The world says “listen to your truth,” but Jesus says, “I am the way the truth, and the life.” The world says, “acquire wealth, recognition, and self fulfillment.” Jesus says “serve and give up your life.”
We must choose. The world’s way seems right, but it ends in death. The Jesus way is the only way to abundant life.
What is God showing you today in our scripture? Post it below. 👇👇👇
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