Category: Daily Devotionals

BUT NOW

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it – the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.  Romans 3:21-22

            What wonderful words and implication ~ “But now!”  They separate one part of life from another.  They provide a defining moment and one that is life changing.  I think of the life stories that have used this expression.

• I was sick all my life but now I’m healthy.
• I was an orphan but now I’m part of a loving family.
• I was unemployed but now am doing what I’ve always dreamed I would. Continue reading “But Now” →

WHO IS UNREASONABLE?

For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight.  Romans 3:20

            The one whom I offend is the one who has the right to tell me what it will take to make the relationship right.  If I steal from my neighbor and he wants the stolen goods back along with a sincere apology, but I bring him gifts instead, he will still hold the offense in his heart.  I have failed to make things right.  “But I was kind to him,” I argue.  “You just can’t make him happy no matter how nice you are to him!” I complain.  The problem is my rebellion against addressing the real issue. Continue reading “Who Is Unreasonable?” →

BAD NEWS – GOOD NEWS

“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”  Romans 3:10-11

I can not be fully moved by the Gospel and the power of the cross until I admit to myself that I am not good at the core of me.  Left to myself, I would not even want God.  My desire to come to Jesus was fueled by a gift of grace, something I couldn’t conjure up on my own.  It’s hard to admit that I would be capable of any sin.  Instead, I want to make one horizontal comparison after another.  “But God, I didn’t do what that person did.” Continue reading “Bad News – Good News” →

WHEN TRUTH IS CORNERED

What if some were unfaithful?  Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?  Romans 3:3

Paul has just spent many verses explaining that Jews and Gentiles must both come to a faith in Christ to be saved.  The ground at the foot of the cross is level.  The Jew does not have an advantage because of his generational bloodline or the fact that they had been circumcised.  This was hard for them to hear, so hard, that Paul heard many arguments.  One sounded like this ~ “If Jews are unfaithful, as you say, and if God condemns them because of their sin, doesn’t that make God unfaithful?  After all, He made an everlasting covenant with them and called them ‘His people’.  What happened to God’s promise to them?” Continue reading “When Truth Is Cornered” →

TALK ABOUT PRIVILEGED

Then what advantage has the Jew?  Much in every way.  To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.  Romans 3:1-2

The story is really unthinkable.  The Jews, the ones who were given the Ten Commandments, the ones who were chosen by God to hear Him speak and hold His revelation in their hands, were the ones who twisted the message.  Instead of walking humbly and reflecting the heart of the God who had spoken to them, they grew arrogant and self-righteous.  The ones who had memorized such vast portions of the Torah, the Torah that prophesied the coming of Jesus, failed to even recognize Christ when He stood in front of them. Continue reading “Talk About Privileged” →

WHAT I TEACH BEST

[You] who teach others, do you not teach yourself?  Romans 2:21

Rick Warren, giving an address to an audience of which I was a part, said “You only believe the part of the Bible that you actually do.” I realized that I know far more than I practice.  The only thing that counts with God is obedience.

For the first two decades of ministry, I was mainly a concert artist.  To be able to progress from one song to the next, I often had to make remarks.  Often, I told the story of how I came to choose a particular song.  But mostly, I considered the lyrical content of the song I was going to comment on, then did a short study of its theme.  I was a ‘quick study’ of the subject and might very well have come across as a know-it-all while failing to have an experiential wisdom of the topic. Continue reading “WHAT I TEACH BEST” →

MISSING THE POINT

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth ~ you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself?  While you preach against stealing, do you steal?  You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery?  You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?  You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.  The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you. 

            I tell others that I follow Jesus.  I decline the invitation to do things that I know He wouldn’t do.  I engage in things others think foolish because Jesus would do them.  Is God honored by my convictions?  I can fool myself into thinking so if I am oblivious to the difference between external behavior and internal faith.  The first without the latter begets spiritual arrogance.  Continue reading “Missing The Point” →

BETTER THAN

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God… Romans 1:17

            Up until this point in Romans, Paul has been talking about all people.  All have ignored the revelation of God in nature.  All have rejected Him and are in bondage to their sin.  All have embarked on a journey of moral and spiritual decline.  Now however, he is talking to the Jews.  He knows that they believe they are not like everyone else.  They are the kind who stand in the synagogue and thank God that they are not ‘lost’ like the rest of the world.  They shake their heads over the desperate situation outside the church; not owning the truth that they are part of sin’s problem.

            Paul is about to talk straight to t Continue reading “Better Than” →

I CAN RISK RISK BEING KNOWN

On that day when, according to the Gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.  Romans 2:16

            Have you ever felt studied?  Perhaps you know the anxiety of feeling inadequate and being in the company of one extremely perceptive.  The fear of exposure can be crippling. 

            I have often played an internal game with myself.  What if, for one day, my thoughts were an open book to the people around me?  They would see not only what I do, but what I think.  How frightening.  Yet, that is what it is like to be in relationship with God.  He sees what I do, how I feel, and what I think.  My thoughts are an open book. Continue reading “I Can Risk Being Known” →

FAKE RIGHTEOUSNESS

For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.  Romans 2:13

            Paul needs to make it clear to the Jews that they can not be secure about eternity just because they are, by birthright, God’s chosen people.  He was once like them; reciting pedigree, education, and his impressive generational line.  He thought himself a notch above Gentiles.  He belonged to the people who were given the Mosaic Law and he, like most Jews, spent vast amounts of time in the temple reading it, studying it, and memorizing it.  This boosted pride and a false sense of security.  It all came crashing down on the road to Damascus when Jesus revealed that Paul was actually persecuting Him, amidst such holy performances in the company of Pharisees. Continue reading “Fake Righteousness” →