OVER WHAT CAN I BE PROUD?
In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. Romans 15:17
If you heard your pastor say that he was proud of the job he was doing, would that be a red flag? Probably, the answer is yes. A toxic kind of pride is so rampant that when we hear the word ‘proud’, it has negative connotations. Continue reading “Over What Can I Be Proud?”
RELEASED TO BECOME GOOD
I myself am satisfied about you my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. Romans 15:14
“She’s such a good person!” What is meant by that? In circumstances when most would not be good, she is good.
Paul didn’t write Romans to a disobedient and carnal church. It might appear that way when I consider the depth of his message on law and grace. He was really writing to a church who had embraced Christ deeply. He reveals that he calls them good – inferring that their faith in the Gospel had translated to a goodness born of the Spirit.
So what’s going on when I am stingy, unforgiving, vindictive, pessimistic, controlling, and hopeless about the future? I have not embraced the full impact of the Gospel in my heart. Stressful circumstances don’t offer me an excuse from being good. Continue reading “Released To Become Good”
HARMONY – WHAT IS IT?
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5-6
Before Jesus was arrested, he prayed at length over His disciples. What He emphasized the most was their need for unity. Harmony and unity. Jesus knew what we would experience. Relationships can get tiresome. Relationships can get strained. Relationships can grow argumentative. Paul prayed that endurance and encouragement would fuel harmony. And how many reasons there are to pull away from each other!
I can disagree with someone’s leadership style and let frustration separate us. I can struggle with someone’s opinion at the conference table. I can be put off by someone’s personality. I can disagree with how another is using their spiritual gift. I can strain under someone’s abrasiveness and try to avoid them. Continue reading “Harmony ~ What Is It?”
WHAT I MUST DO IF I’M GOING TO MAKE IT
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope. Romans 15:4
Scripture is more a heart thing than it is food for the intellect. Yet, because of my early mentors, I approached God’s Word as if it were for my thoughts only. Meanwhile, my heart languished and I wondered if I could go on.
While I am currently not in a place of hopelessness, I realize that you may be. Life has temporarily come apart. You are exhausted and out of the fight to survive. You are waiting for someone to come along and impart supernatural strength. There is no one offering it to you. There can be no one to offer enough of what you need. So what must a man or woman do to make it? Continue reading “What I Must Do To Make It”
PICK A SIDE!
But Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” Romans 15:3
“Whose side are you on anyway?” I remember the pressure. I remember the question? Bullies in my 6th grade class picked on the underdog in my class. He had done nothing wrong. I felt the pain of the afflicted and stuck my neck out to say, “Stop hurting him.” With that, the bullies demanded that I pledge allegiance to one side or the other. I did and would have paid that day if it had not been for the end of recess and teachers standing in the gap.
In lieu of pleasure and ease, Jesus picked sides and stood with His Father. He paid for that choice with His life and He gave His disciples a heads up. “If they hated me, they will hate you.”
Is a broader picture painted of the bias against me if I align with Christ? It is. The ‘reproach’ quote from this verse in Romans comes from one of the great Messianic psalms of the Old Testament. Psalm 69. If I read it with Jesus in mind, this foretells His suffering in detail. Continue reading “Pick A Side!”
A SKIRT, HOSE, AND A STRAND OF PEARLS
We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Romans 15:1
Converted Jews and Gentiles were having such a hard time getting along that Paul has to keep writing to them, urging them to love each other. He is asking the strong to be tolerant of the limited understanding of the weak. He is also asking the weak to embrace the strong – whom they believe to be in error. What does that look like? I’ll give you a personal example. First a little history.
It took our whole family a long time to move out of legalism. That was our history. We bore the pain of those who live under its umbrella; joylessness, discouragement, false guilt, and living defeated by others judgment. The way out was long and painful. To embrace new brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, those who had been portrayed as living in gross error, called for courage and a shift in spiritual paradigms. Most of the ‘lifestyle issues’ that had previously been labeled sinful, over time, became entirely neutral. Grace, in place of judgment, became the banner over our home.
The challenge came when I was called to re-visit the places and people who were still trapped by legalism. I will confess that my attitude stunk. I didn’t want to go. Disgust, that only covered hurt, still reigned in my heart. God had to work with me by calling me to travel, embrace, and teach those who live like those in my past.
Recently, I was invited to speak to a church to speak at their annual women’s conference. It was very conservative. The rules were stated up front. They only approved of one version of the Bible. The dress code was also mandatory. I decided, before praying about it, to turn down the invitation. Honestly, my flesh was groaning at the thought of it. But, God moved in my heart and told me to go. I changed all my scripture references, both in my notes, their handouts, and in PowerPoint, to the version of the Bible they required. I put together an outfit for the event; found a skirt in the back of my closet, dug for a string of pearls in the bottom of my jewelry box, Continue reading “A Skirt, Hose, and Strand of Pearls”
WHEN IN DOUBT, DON’T DO IT
But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. Romans 14:23
Timidity, something that has plagued me for much of my life, is to live unsure of who you are and what you’re called to do. While those two areas are comprehensive, what’s even more crippling is to live with everyday uncertainties. Am I going to the right church? Am I serving in the right capacities in my church? And for some, have I married the right person? Have I taken the right job? Every decision, big and small, is made without faith that it is the right decision. I am not a person of kingdom influence because I’m always hiding in the shadows, timid and unsure of myself. Ultimately, this is a spiritual problem. A strong father/child relationship with God is what gives anyone confidence and purpose.
I consider the times I begin a conversation with “I’ve been thinking a while about saying something to ______________ about ____________.” It’s dangerous to go forward with a potentially serious conversation on shaky ground.
Or, “I’ve been thinking about making a job change.” “I’ve been thinking about starting a new venture.” Continue reading “When In Doubt, Don’t Do It!”
THE TIMBERS OF WHAT WE’RE BUILDING
So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Romans 14:19
Not a mistake that Paul uses the phrase ‘building up’ for what happens when I love other believers as Jesus would love them. Not only are they built up on the inside but also the church at large is being built.
Ultimately, Paul wants me to understand that I am involved in the building process. And building is not haphazard. A successful project is only realized when there is a blueprint. Intentionally sticking with the design is what ensures success. Each piece of steel, each timber, each footing, must be crafted with care according to the Architect’s plan.
I am part of our worship team at our church, a fantastic group of singers and musicians. Just last night I was thinking about the growth of our church and the slowly escalating move of the Spirit. This is what I saw being played out. The bass player is undergoing rigorous cancer treatments. He arrived not feeling well. Continue reading “The Timbers Of What We’re Building”
WHY WOULD OTHERS BELIEVE I’M A CHRISTIAN?
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17
I’m holding my breath while writing this. I’m realizing that an unbeliever may call me a Christian for all the wrong reasons. And if they do, legalism (the thing which has hurt me and the thing I despise) is still a part of me. So how do others perceive me?
These should not be the things that define my Christianity. Paul gives a different list. It’s not a long one. There are only three things on it. Continue reading “Why Do Others Believe I’m A Christian?”
IS HE ARGUMENTATIVE OR SPIRITUALLY WEAK?
For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. Romans 14:15
Having been acquainted with numerous Christian environments that wanted to legislate nearly every part of life, I must say that I am still trying to understand this passage. Admittedly, if I listened to everyone who had an opinion about every peripheral issue of my life, I’d be frozen in place. So many have something to say about everything. Having lived in a fishbowl of some notoriety, your life is often studied by others. With study comes criticism. Some is ludicrous, some is ignorant due to lack of information, and some is probably justified. Sifting through it, and sorting out the hurt feelings that come from others’ comments, is difficult.
So, am I to adjust my behavior to every person who say they are offended by me? Or, does Paul mean something different here? Legalism will always be with us. So will honest seekers who stumble.
I believe, for me, the answer lies in considering the one I am offending. Continue reading “Is He Argumentative Or Spiritually Weak?”
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