Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

Everyone Paul meets gets a letter of encouragement afterwards.  Paul is so passionate and confident in all that God will provide to trusting believers in Jesus, that He must remind all of the benefits of knowing, trusting, and obeying God in Jesus Name!  We are leaving the letters to the Romans, filled with joy, learning simply that we must daily offer our whole being to God while thanking Him for Jesus who set us free to love like He loves us.  We will now glean from Paul’s letters to the Corinthians!

We will learn even more from Paul’s letters sent back to the church Corinth about the challenges that face any group called church who attempt to live for Jesus while also living in the world.  This one foot in the Light while the other foot remains in darkness does not work.  Because of the love of God in Paul driven by the passion of His Son, Jesus, he writes letters to warn them so they will not fall for evil but turn to God.

Paul begins with who he is in Jesus with what God has called him to do—remind the church who have been cleaned up and restored by Jesus to live set apart for a God-filled, adventurous life.  He begins with “I thank God for you…”  Paul begins all his letters with this greeting of sincere love for people because he wants God’s best, Jesus, for everyone he meets. 

1 Corinthians 1, The Message

^1-2 I, Paul, have been called and sent by Jesus, the Messiah, according to God’s plan, along with my friend Sosthenes. I send this letter to you in God’s church at Corinth, believers cleaned up by Jesus and set apart for a God-filled life. I include in my greeting all who call out to Jesus, wherever they live. He’s their Master as well as ours!

³ May all the gifts and benefits that come from God our Father, and the Master, Jesus Christ, be yours.

^4-6 Every time I think of you—and I think of you often!—I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There’s no end to what has happened in you—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives.

^7-9 Just think—you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We learn from Paul how greet people in love, thanking God for them.  When we pray for people, love all people, and thank God for each life; we begin to see people from God’s perspective—even our “enemies.”  “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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  (John 3:16-17)  And this same God who created “our innermost being” will not give up on us!

To love like God loves us begins by believing and repenting to Jesus who takes away our sins.  God’s Holy Spirit immediately comes to live in us to do the work of forming and shaping this love as our relationship with God grows more intimate each day. 

May God do this work of love in all of us so we will judge less and love more!

I thank God for all who are reading this right now!  You are so loved by God and by me!

Lord,

May the “evidence of Christ” be seen in all of us today!  May our love for you be contagious to the world who is broken and in need of a Savior.  Help us to make the most of every opportunity to tell your story for your glory as we point the way to salvation to you.  We don’t need a thing when we have you!  God of all, in all, and over all…who saved us from our selfish sins and renewed our lives!  We have it all!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen!

Holding back from you is so ironic
You made me so you know when I pretend
Your faithfulness resolves my indecision
So I choose to yield myself over again
And I’ll do it every chance that I get

You can have it all
You can have it all
Lord, You can have it all
You can have it all

(North Point Worship & Clay Finnesand Lyrics)

Let Him turn it in your favor
Watch Him work it for your good
He’s not done with what He’s started
He’s not done until it’s good

Hello, peace
hello, joy
Hello, love
Hello, strength
hello, hope, It’s a new horizon

(“Fear Is Not my Future”; By Chandler Moore, Kirk Franklin, and Maverick City Music)

May we take the time to pause to remember all the people who came alongside us and helped us on our journey to know God more by believing Jesus?  These people helped us trust and obey Jesus by being examples themselves with how to respond and react in this world. They mentored us and reminded us that our joy is complete in Jesus when we are fully attentive and devoted in our relationship with the One who loves us most and best.  They lived Jesus and were his hands and feet to us.  They were always for us and with us as we pursued God—the most important relationship we will ever have in this world and the next.

Yes, thank God for them!  For God so loved us that He sent certain people into our lives at just the right time to encourage us in our faith!  Paul’s writings always name and thank God for certain people who believed, trusted, and obeyed Jesus with whom He met and walked alongside.  Write them a note if they are walking on this earth offering holy hugs of thanksgiving and encouragement. 

The people who Paul has named are part of our journey, too. Thank God now for them!

Fear is not my future
You are (You are)
Sickness is not my story
You are (You are), You are (You are)

Heartbreak’s not my home
You are (You are), You are (You are)
Death is not the end
You are, You are (oh)

So, Hello, peace
hello, joy
Hello, love
Hello, strength
hello, hope, It’s a new horizon

All because of Jesus…

Romans 16, The Message

^1-2 Be sure to welcome our friend Phoebe in the way of the Master, with all the generous hospitality we Christians are famous for. I heartily endorse both her and her work. She’s a key representative of the church at Cenchrea. Help her out in whatever she asks. She deserves anything you can do for her. She’s helped many a person, including me.

^3-5 Say hello to Priscilla and Aquila, who have worked hand in hand with me in serving Jesus. They once put their lives on the line for me. And I’m not the only one grateful to them. All the non-Jewish gatherings of believers also owe them plenty, to say nothing of the church that meets in their house.

Hello to my dear friend Epenetus. He was the very first follower of Jesus in the province of Asia.

⁶ Hello to Mary. What a worker she has turned out to be!

⁷ Hello to my cousins Andronicus and Junias. We once shared a jail cell. They were believers in Christ before I was. Both of them are outstanding leaders.

⁸ Hello to Ampliatus, my good friend in the family of God.

⁹ Hello to Urbanus, our companion in Christ’s work, and my good friend Stachys.

¹⁰ Hello to Apelles, a tried-and-true veteran in following Christ.

Hello to the family of Aristobulus.

¹¹ Hello to my cousin Herodion.

Hello to those who belong to the Lord from the family of Narcissus.

¹² Hello to Tryphena and Tryphosa—such diligent women in serving the Master.

Hello to Persis, a dear friend and hard worker in Christ.

¹³ Hello to Rufus—a good choice by the Master!—and his mother. She has also been a dear mother to me.

¹⁴ Hello to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and also to all of their families.

¹⁵ Hello to Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas—and all the followers of Jesus who live with them.

¹⁶ Holy hugs all around! All the churches of Christ send their warmest greetings!

^17-18 One final word of counsel, friends. Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching that you learned and then use them to make trouble. Give these people a wide berth. They have no intention of living for our Master Christ. They’re only in this for what they can get out of it, and aren’t above using pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents.

^19-20 And so while there has never been any question about your honesty in these matters—I couldn’t be more proud of you!—I want you also to be smart, making sure every “good” thing is the real thing. Don’t be gullible in regard to smooth-talking evil. Stay alert like this, and before you know it the God of peace will come down on Satan with both feet, stomping him into the dirt. Enjoy the best of Jesus!

²¹ And here are some more greetings from our end. Timothy, my partner in this work, Lucius, and my cousins Jason and Sosipater all said to tell you hello.

²² I, Tertius, who wrote this letter at Paul’s dictation, send you my personal greetings.

²³ Gaius, who is host here to both me and the whole church, wants to be remembered to you.

Erastus, the city treasurer, and our good friend Quartus send their greetings.

^25-26 All of our praise rises to the One who is strong enough to make you strong, exactly as preached in Jesus Christ, precisely as revealed in the mystery kept secret for so long but now an open book through the prophetic Scriptures. All the nations of the world can now know the truth and be brought into obedient belief, carrying out the orders of God, who got all this started, down to the final detail.

²⁷ All our praise is focused through Jesus on this incomparably wise God! Yes!

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Paul sent his warmest greetings to his fellow workers in the kingdom of God.  Though often overlooked, the behind-the-scenes service of faithful Christians forms a vital part of any ministry. Paul expressed his thanks to a wide variety of people, most of whom are noted for simple, everyday acts of service.

How often do we give thanks to the unseen as well as the seen up-front?  How often do we pray over and praise dedicated people who faithfully serve because it has become their new nature as they live as new creations in Christ?  Not enough would be my guess.  This is not vain, insincere flattery for what they do necessarily but because of who they are in Jesus!  What if more of our praises began with, “I see Jesus in you when you…” (pray with others without even thinking about it, help others not matter what the cost of your time, etc.)

As giving thanks to God for all He has done for us becomes our breath of life, may giving thanks to God for those who are “helpers” to all people in the Kingdom of God also be a regular, sincere, routine of building the Body of Christ!  Paul has set the example.  Look around, there is always someone to thank God for because of their friendship and service!

I thank God for you right now and continually for reading this and responding like you do!  As habit—

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:3-6)

In Jesus Name, Amen!

Being a recipient of passionately committed pastors and then being a called and devoted ministry leader myself in my growing up years into adulthood; I understand and appreciate the words of Pastor Paul to all his friends in his journey to tell the redemption story of Jesus.  Our passion for what God has called us to be, along with our extreme enthusiasm for the “highly focused assignment” He has given us to accomplish, may sound blunt and harsh to those who have yet to follow God by believing in Jesus who died for our sins.  We are like the Derby horses at the beginning of the race, prancing their hooves, chopping at the bit, ready to run the race to the finish but for us we see  Christ in view at the finish!

Romans 16, The Message

^14-16 Personally, I’ve been completely satisfied with who you are and what you are doing. You seem to me to be well-motivated and well-instructed, quite capable of guiding and advising one another. So, my dear friends, don’t take my rather bold and blunt language as criticism. It’s not criticism. I’m simply underlining how very much I need your help in carrying out this highly focused assignment God gave me, this priestly and gospel work of serving the spiritual needs of the non-Jewish outsiders so they can be presented as an acceptable offering to God, made whole and holy by God’s Holy Spirit.

^17-21 Looking back over what has been accomplished and what I have observed, I must say I am most pleased—in the context of Jesus, I’d even say proud, but only in that context. I have no interest in giving you a chatty account of my adventures, only the wondrously powerful and transformingly present words and deeds of Christ in me that triggered a believing response among the outsiders. In such ways I have trailblazed a preaching of the Message of Jesus all the way from Jerusalem far into northwestern Greece. This has all been pioneer work, bringing the Message only into those places where Jesus was not yet known and worshiped. My text has been,

Those who were never told of him—
    they’ll see him!
Those who’ve never heard of him—
    they’ll get the message!

* * *

^22-24 And that’s why it has taken me so long to finally get around to coming to you. But now that there is no more pioneering work to be done in these parts, and since I have looked forward to seeing you for many years, I’m planning my visit. I’m headed for Spain, and expect to stop off on the way to enjoy a good visit with you, and eventually have you send me off with God’s blessing.

^25-29 First, though, I’m going to Jerusalem to deliver a relief offering to the followers of Jesus there. The Greeks—all the way from the Macedonians in the north to the Achaians in the south—decided they wanted to take up a collection for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. They were happy to do this, but it was also their duty. Seeing that they got in on all the spiritual gifts that flowed out of the Jerusalem community so generously, it is only right that they do what they can to relieve their poverty. As soon as I have done this—personally handed over this “fruit basket”—I’m off to Spain, with a stopover with you in Rome. My hope is that my visit with you is going to be one of Christ’s more extravagant blessings.

^30-33 I have one request, dear friends: Pray for me. Pray strenuously with and for me—to God the Father, through the power of our Master Jesus, through the love of the Spirit—that I will be delivered from the lions’ den of unbelievers in Judea. Pray also that my relief offering to the Jerusalem believers will be accepted in the spirit in which it is given. Then, God willing, I’ll be on my way to you with a light and eager heart, looking forward to being refreshed by your company. God’s peace be with all of you. Oh, yes!

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” Ephesians 4:15

People know when your love is honest and true.  We cannot fake God’s love.  We have it or we don’t.  Unbelievers are seeking authentic love, real life, and acceptance as well as mercy and grace.  They already feel bad for where they are and know they need something better, richer, more real.  Shouting judgement, speaking sarcastically with criticism, or beating people over the head with our Bibles (figuratively) is not the way to tell the Truth of God’s amazing grace.

God has filled us to overflow with His love. Jesus forgave and set us free from sins.  We must tell everyone we meet who God is and what He will do to transform their lives, too!  There is no closer relationship than the love of God shared between believers in Christ.  We share the same interests and we share the same language—the Holy Spirit language of God.  Everything changes about us because of Jesus.  We must tell others!

Many times, Pastor Paul tells believers to “speak the Truth in love.” Paul received this information from Truth—Jesus His Savior, with whom he met on the road to Damascus with deeds of darkness on his mind.  But Jesus came to him and transformed his thinking and being!  Jesus’ love and compassion poured out over this man who wanted to hurt, maim, and even kill His followers.  (See Acts 9)

But the first thing, Jesus said to him was, “Saul, Saul,” (former name/former life name of Paul), “why do you persecute Me?”  Saul’s first response was “who are you?”  Paul did not know who Jesus was, had no relationship with Him, so he did not recognize him when he called him.  Saul had been blind to God and now blinded physically for a few days until He could finally “see” the real, alive from dead Jesus who saved him.  Jesus then gave Saul/Paul specific directions to follow so that his physical sight could be restored but more importantly his spiritual sight would be made new!  This is amazing love!  This is amazing grace!  Jesus came to Saul/Paul and spoke the Truth; delivered with love, mercy, and grace. 

It is not in the heat of the moment that we win souls for Jesus. It is not by shame, either.  It is when extreme love is expressed with no manipulations.  We are driven by God’s love and desire for all people to not perish but to believe in Jesus and have eternal life!  We have help in the delivery when love guides us and His power is tapped!  God’s Holy Spirit speaks through us as we listen to Him!   We then speak the Truth of Jesus to those in need of a Savior by word and deed—sincerely and honestly. Yes, “speak the Truth in love”—Goals. 

Bonus!  When we speak the truth in love; we will develop relationships among all believers in Jesus—our brothers and sisters—in Christ that will last for eternity!  Paul has many friendships who he trusts with pray for and with him!  He can count on their love, care, and concern because of sharing this love of God between them. 

May we all lead with love, remain in God’s love, and speak the truth in love.  Help us to respond and react in love—always.

Lord,

Thank you for Paul’s examples of relationship building that is formed by your love in him.  May your love lead us in all we think, say, and do today.  Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds, and fill us with your love.

In Jesus Name, Amen

“…in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” –Paul, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, NIV

God is God alone.  We are not God. 

God knows our hearts and His purpose for His created beings as we well know from reading His Word and listening to His Holy Spirit.  But God also knows when we are approaching a breaking point—even before we know it!  God stands ready to deliver trusting believers at that exact moment of need by exchanging our weaknesses for His strength coupled with His power working in us. 

Why?  Hope rises within us as we trust Him in our weakness!  In fact, Hope cannot be contained within us—we must serve others in need of Hope because we know the reason for Hope!  Our testimony as we serve, helping other, extends God’s Hope to others!  And this Hope has a name! He is called Jesus, Savior and Lord!

“Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You’ve even seen him!” –Jesus, John 14:6-7

Romans 15, The Message

^1-2 Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”

^3-6 That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out. “I took on the troubles of the troubled,” is the way Scripture puts it. Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it’s written for us. God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next. May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we’ll be a choir—not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus!

^7-13 So reach out and welcome one another to God’s glory. Jesus did it; now you do it! Jesus, staying true to God’s purposes, reached out in a special way to the Jewish insiders so that the old ancestral promises would come true for them. As a result, the non-Jewish outsiders have been able to experience mercy and to show appreciation to God. Just think of all the Scriptures that will come true in what we do! For instance:

Then I’ll join outsiders in a hymn-sing;
I’ll sing to your name!

And this one:

Outsiders and insiders, rejoice together!

And again:

People of all nations, celebrate God!
All colors and races, give hearty praise!

And Isaiah’s word:

There’s the root of our ancestor Jesse,
    breaking through the earth and growing tree tall,
Tall enough for everyone everywhere to see and take hope!

Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Be a choir of Hope to the hopeless with Jesus!  Those who are strong in faith are called to help those who are struggling and feeling hopeless.  We are the hands and feet of Jesus who can help by God’s strength in us in tangible ways while telling of the Hope of Jesus while we help.  “Strength is for service—not status”, says Paul.  Oh church, read that again.  Because we are strong in faith at the moment does not mean we are better than those we help, it means God is blessing us with His character traits, being more like Jesus, so we will serve like Jesus.  Jesus walked this earth, not only observing the hopeless but delivered them with generous helpings of healing and Hope—Himself!  It is Jesus who changes everything!

“I hope it works out for you”, “I hope you find what you’re looking for”, “I hope it turns out not to be as bad as you think.”  We admit, we say this with mostly good intentions.  But, think about it, when we hear or use phrases like these they’re actually loaded with hopelessness. Even though our hearts can be in the right place when we say them, they often form a significant part of our response to situations where it seems that there’s very little hope. While there’s something to be said for aspirational affirmations – vocalizing what we we’re working towards, it’s also fitting that out of hopelessness comes hope – even if it does take and need some work.

Authentic hope requires us to do more than just say the word in a bid to make ourselves or others feel better. If we want to genuinely “hope” for something, we need to understand what that means. Here are some Bible verses that can help.

• Psalm 3:2-6 – Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.
• 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 – Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
• Romans 15:13 – May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Hope – a four letter word of rescue, for those who know the stifling constraints of a situation that seems utterly hopeless. Hope – the sure knowledge of a future in heaven with a loving heavenly Father. Jesus is Hope.  Jesus delivers Hope through us as we helpfully serve the hopeless in Jesus Name.

Need more Hope?

• Mark 5:35-36 – While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
• Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
• Job 11:18-19 – You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor.
• Psalm 147:11 – The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Yes, Hope and strength—Both rise up to help us in our need and service of love!  That’s who God is and what He does!

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord,
we will wait upon the Lord,
we will wait upon the Lord.

Our God, you reign forever.
Our hope, our Strong Deliverer.

You are the everlasting God,
the everlasting God.
You do not faint,
you won’t grow weary.

You’re the defender of the weak,
you comfort those in need.
You lift us up on wings like eagles.

(Brenton Brown and Ken Riley) 

Lord,

Thank you for your strength given to serve.  Thank you for Hope that replaces all our fears. Fill us with Hope!

In Jesus Name, Amen

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name…

“You’ll catch more bees with honey than vinegar,” said Grandma quietly as she overheard her grandkids’ conversation that was filled with sarcasm and gossip while mocking people we didn’t like being around.  This behavior became our sport when we had nothing else to do.  Putting people down was all for our own amusement as we exaggerated the actions of others that seemed odd to us.  We made fun of how they walked and talked with sarcastic, arrogant attitudes.  However, we soon learned this was not going to be acceptable in Grandma and Grandpa’s house.

I had grandparents who loved well. They accepted all people into their house for a meal round their table—always!  Grandma was the definition of hospitality in epic proportions!  How do I know?  We were a part of the process.  We went to Grandpa and Grandma’s house for a fried chicken dinner EVERY Sunday after church.  By “we,” I mean our family, and the family of mom’s sister.  It was a full house in a modest dwelling built by my grandpa, a carpenter and farmer, who lived a farm.

All the cousins roamed their beloved acres of farmland after dinner to see what we could invent to do with all kinds of animals following along.  But, this meal wasn’t always just “family”.  I remember watching Grandma after church was over as she saw to it that visitors and others who came to church were also welcomed at her table.  She rose early on Sundays to make more than enough food for our family with enough to share. 

After church, Grandma intentionally looked around and then made a “bee-line” to those she knew, but especially those she didn’t know to speak with them.  She would then ask them if they would like to come to the farm for lunch.  Grandma’s biscuits, fried chicken, and pies became famous but the epic part was the welcome people received at their table; full of unconditional love while demonstrating the graciousness of cultivating healthy relationships with all people.

I remember some of the conversations and wondered how my grandparents would react to odd views of life that I knew didn’t match what they believed, but somehow love and respect rose to override the debates that ended in hugs all around as people left for home.  This is amazing love.  For years after that, my parents, myself, and now our kids carrying on this hospitality gene in different ways.  We learn from example so I praise God for the example of my grandparents.  Hospitality such as this seems to be becoming a “thing” of the past. Maybe we need to slow down and bring this method of building relationships back into our lives.  Just wondering…

Let’s see what Paul has to say with how to be and do this relationship thing inways that please God—our goal.

Romans 14, The Message

Cultivating Good Relationships

Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.

^2-4 For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume he should only be a vegetarian and eat accordingly. But since both are guests at Christ’s table, wouldn’t it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn’t eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God’s welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.

⁵ Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience.

^6-9 What’s important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God’s sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you’re a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It’s God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.

^10-12 So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother? And where does that leave you when you condescend to a sister? I’d say it leaves you looking pretty silly—or worse. Eventually, we’re all going to end up kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God. Your critical and condescending ways aren’t going to improve your position there one bit. Read it for yourself in Scripture:

“As I live and breathe,” God says,
    “every knee will bow before me;
Every tongue will tell the honest truth
    that I and only I am God.”

So mind your own business. You’ve got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God.

^13-14 Forget about deciding what’s right for each other. Here’s what you need to be concerned about: that you don’t get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is. I’m convinced—Jesus convinced me!—that everything as it is in itself is holy. We, of course, by the way we treat it or talk about it, can contaminate it.

^15-16 If you confuse others by making a big issue over what they eat or don’t eat, you’re no longer a companion with them in love, are you? These, remember, are persons for whom Christ died. Would you risk sending them to hell over an item in their diet? Don’t you dare let a piece of God-blessed food become an occasion of soul-poisoning!

^17-18 God’s kingdom isn’t a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness’ sake. It’s what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy. Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ. Do that and you’ll kill two birds with one stone: pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.

^19-21 So let’s agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words; don’t drag them down by finding fault. You’re certainly not going to permit an argument over what is served or not served at supper to wreck God’s work among you, are you? I said it before and I’ll say it again: All food is good, but it can turn bad if you use it badly, if you use it to trip others up and send them sprawling. When you sit down to a meal, your primary concern should not be to feed your own face but to share the life of Jesus. So be sensitive and courteous to the others who are eating. Don’t eat or say or do things that might interfere with the free exchange of love.

^22-23 Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don’t impose it on others. You’re fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. But if you’re not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe—some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them—then you know that you’re out of line. If the way you live isn’t consistent with what you believe, then it’s wrong.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESOND?

Prayerfully, carefully and honestly reflect and evaluate your thinking and doing over the last few weeks and months. 

Do I really believe what God says to be really real? 

If I say yes, does my behavior match what I say I believe? 

Yes, I know this is very personal.  This is personal because of our personal, intimate relationship with God, our Father who knows our hearts from the inside out.  Don’t be foolish, thinking we can fool God by hiding what is in our hearts and minds from someone who created us and loves us more than anyone on earth possible can.  Our relationship with God IS the most important relationship we will ever have for all eternity—that’s why He sent Jesus, His One and Only Son to save us!

“As I live and breathe,” God says,
    “every knee will bow before me;
Every tongue will tell the honest truth
    that I and only I am God.”

So, I will leave you alone in your thoughts as I do the same…

Lord,

Thank you for memories and examples in my life and in your Word that teach me what is right and pleasing to you.  As I reflect and evaluate my life and relationships; cleanse my heart, renew my mind, refresh my soul with your new mercies, remove all that offends you, and restore the peace and joy of you in me and me in you.  Then help me to behave like you have taught me to believe!  May my life tell your story for your glory so others will know you, too.  My relationship with you is the most important relationship of all!

In Jesus Name, Amen

God knows we live in an imperfect world.  God who loves us and delights in the details of our everyday lives provides how to live in this world while loving Him back and loving others like He loves us.  God’s Holy Spirit works through Paul, a good Roman citizen, born and raised in the Jewish faith, to clearly outline what is means to be a redeemed believer in Jesus in this imperfect world. 

Paul dives into the details and gives new believers wisdom to turn from their rebellious ways of grumbling and complaining about the oppressive Roman government they must live under with the opposite attitude of “be a responsible citizen”!  Paul says God will hold us responsible for being a good citizen! 

Stop and really think about it, isn’t this “being a good citizen” an example of living an obedient life for others to see who don’t know God? We work to be a good citizen, obey the rules, stay out of trouble, so we can show the love of God to those who need a Savior in their lives.  By our lives of love, they will see God reflected in our lives. 

God is over all and in all—even our governments.  In our country, we must do our part to vote, serve, uphold the law, and get along with others.  With this attitude, we don’t obey the laws of government just to avoid punishment but because it is the right way to live—according to God.  If we love God, we will obey what He says.

And God delights in the details of our lives…

Romans 13, The Message

To Be a Responsible Citizen

^1-3 Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you’re irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.

^3-5 Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you’ll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you’re breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren’t there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it. That’s why you must live responsibly—not just to avoid punishment but also because it’s the right way to live.

^6-7 That’s also why you pay taxes—so that an orderly way of life can be maintained. Fulfill your obligations as a citizen. Pay your taxes, pay your bills, respect your leaders.

* * *

^8-10 Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code—don’t sleep with another person’s spouse, don’t take someone’s life, don’t take what isn’t yours, don’t always be wanting what you don’t have, and any other “don’t” you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.

^11-14 But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Be a good citizen for it is God will and God will help us in all the details.  Avoid extra debt so we are not enslaved to a debtor.  Avoid paying “extra” for goods with interest charges.  Be cautious when borrowing for housing.  Think of your goals.  Ask for God’s wisdom.  Ask yourself, if a financial crisis occurs, can I sell this and pay the debt I owe.  Remember God delights in the details of life—go to God for all of life!  He loves to help us!

Be generous with the love God has given us.  As were freely given love and forgiveness—freely give it.  It’s what God expects.  It’s what Jesus taught us.  And it’s for our best and gives God glory—the originator of real life and real love!

God first. God in the middle.  God at the end.  Pray without ceasing means we are in constant communion with God assured that will listen and guide us.  Spend time with God, unscheduled and free, throughout each day.  The result is a peace that the world does not know until they accept Jesus and have the peace of Christ in them, too.

Lord,

Thank you for being with us always. Thank you for wanting to be in the details of our lives.  You know before we get there exactly what we need most—and you provide. Thank you for listening and speaking to our hearts and minds throughout each day lived for you and with you.

In Jesus Name, Amen

The first time I read this passage in The Message Bible, a paraphrase prayerfully and carefully written by Eugene Peterson for his congregation in which he was pastor, I was blessed beyond the words!  I had always enjoyed Paul’s inspired words to the Roman churches but even more so as directives in how to live a life committed to Christ are made crystal clear in my language of understanding! 

This particular part of the letter to the Romans is the pivot point from explaining who we are to what we do. I have used this passage over the years for training young leaders in The Body of Christ too many times to count!  Romans 12 has become the key passage for understanding how to be in Christ, as a representative of Christ, as we serve The Body in God’s Sprit of love and truth.  The secret?  Jesus lives in us, (Romans 8:10) and His Holy Spirit guides us. God’s is always at work to mold and shape us into what HE created us to be in the Body.  To God be the glory!  Yes!

So, here’s what I want you to do—God helping you…

Romans 12, The Message

Place Your Life Before God

12 ^1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

³ I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

^4-6 In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.

^6-8 If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

* * *

^9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

^11-13 Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

^14-16 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.

^17-19 Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.”

^20-21 Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

WHO WE ARE—EMBRACE THE GRACE!

Paul spent time meticulously assuring us who we are in Jesus who died for our sins, removing them completely from us as we repent.  “All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory,” Romans 3:23.  No one is exempt.  But the Good News is that everyone who confesses that Jesus is Lord, (Jews and non-Jews), is saved from all our sins—forever!  We are all God’s beloved, the “chosen” and the “grafted-in adopted” together!  God set things right in our relationship to Him by sending His One and Only Son to save us from those sins that blocked our view from God!  Jesus, raised from death as the Victor over the enemy, gives hope to all who believe in Him—eternal life. 

Yes, all are welcome. All are offered the gift of God’s salvation.  It is us who mustdecide to accept the offered gift with humbled gratitude.  Those who do accept, believe and repent of our sins in Jesus Name have not only been forgiven; we become children of God—a work of God’s generous love, mercy, and grace—forever!  Our loving relationship with God secured, made right by Jesus.  This is blessed assurance, indeed!  This is unfailing love.

WHAT WE DO

Now God inspires Paul to write how to live a life that gives God glory as we seek His help to be more and more like Jesus, His Son in our everyday lives.  Paul not only gives us the “should” he tells us the “how.”  Paul teaches us what to expect when God’s Holy Spirit causes new shifts in our behavior that will occur as we cease pursuing self and wholeheartedly pursue what God wants most—His best for our good!

Notice all the commanding action verbs…

• PLACE our lives before God as an offering giving all of us to all of Him.
• EMBRACE what God does.
• FIX OUR ATTENTION on God.
• READILY RECOGNIZE what God wants and QUICKLY RESPOND.

All this action, in Jesus Name, for God’s glory, comes with a promise:  God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.  God, helping us…

Gratefully embrace the grace of God to avoid arrogance and pride!

“The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.”

God gives us gifts withing the Body to help the Body of Christ grow healthy and strong—for our good and His glory!  Paul warns of evil’s schemes and behaviors that distract, deceive, and destroy our relationships with God and each other:  greed, irritation, frustration, envy, arrogance, pride, and comparisons.  Instead, “Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it.” 

Oh church, how we need this message to penetrate our hearts today.  Being the Body of Christ is not just another business entity who strives to make a profit—instead we are God’s children, molded and shaped by God, to be ambassadors of the One who saved us from our sins and sets us free to love each other like He loves us.  “Freely you have received; freely give.” –Jesus, Matthew 10:8 “We love God because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:29 

The “center of who we are” is God’s perfect love that grows within a heart given to Him.  Loving and living from the core of our being given to God, God helping us, we will learn to:

• Keep ourselves fueled and on fire—not to do harm but to provide warmth so others will be drawn to Jesus in us with whom we serve with enthusiasm.
• In hard times, we will pray, asking for more help and wisdom.  Quitting isn’t an option.
• Be inventive in hospitality—even to our enemies!  This becomes fun!
• Our new goal in life is to “make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.”
• Discover beauty in everyone.  Judge less—love more.
• Treat others better than they treat you—especially those who hate you for who you are.  Pray for your enemies. Pick a “take your enemy to lunch” day and serve them with real love.  Listen to their hurts.  Pray for their needs.  “Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.”

These are God inspired words of wisdom have penetrated Paul’s being at the core!   Paul was a life changed by Jesus and now lives differently in his thinking and behaving.  Take it from one who was and still is being changed and transformed by Jesus—give all of you to all of Him.  You won’t regret it!  We are New lives becoming a new creations that God planned for us to be from the beginning!

Lord,

Thank you for these words that teach us your ways of Kingdom living.  Thank you for helping us to be then do what you say.  Thank you for saving our souls and making us whole in the Body of Christ.  Thank you for continually cleansing our hearts, renewing our minds, transforming our behaviors with your love, tender mercies, and amazing grace. Thank you for restoring the joy and peace of you in me and me in you daily.  I believe.  I’m listening as I embrace the grace you so generously give.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen!  Yes!

Father Abraham had many sons
Many sons had Father Abraham
I am one of them and so are you
So let’s just praise the Lord…

I hear this children’s song, encouraging praise with all that we have; arms, legs, and torso’s, playing in the background of Paul’s letter to the Jews who are deciding whom they will follow.  Paul, who is a Jew, brought up in Jewish ways, but born again as a believer in Jesus has been given God’s Message of salvation through Jesus to the Jews and non-Jews alike.  Same Message to all people!

Paul delivers this Message in the right Spirit from God to urge the “insiders” Jews to accept Jesus as Messiah; reminding them of their heritage.  After all Jesus, also raised as a Jew, came through the “line of David” as the Messiah they hoped would come!  But some had given up on God and are self-serving in all their ways.  They walked out on God.  These words say it all; “Ironically when they walked out, they left the door open and the outsiders walked in.”  God welcomed all who believe in Jesus the gift of eternal life!

Has God given up on them?  Not a chance—God’s love never gives up on us!

Romans 11, The Message

The Loyal Minority

^1-2 Does this mean, then, that God is so fed up with Israel that he’ll have nothing more to do with them? Hardly. Remember that I, the one writing these things, am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham out of the tribe of Benjamin. You can’t get much more Semitic than that! So we’re not talking about repudiation. God has been too long involved with Israel, has too much invested, to simply wash his hands of them.

^2-6 Do you remember that time Elijah was agonizing over this same Israel and cried out in prayer?

God, they murdered your prophets,
They trashed your altars;
I’m the only one left and now they’re after me!

And do you remember God’s answer?

I still have seven thousand who haven’t quit,
Seven thousand who are loyal to the finish.

It’s the same today. There’s a fiercely loyal minority still—not many, perhaps, but probably more than you think. They’re holding on, not because of what they think they’re going to get out of it, but because they’re convinced of God’s grace and purpose in choosing them. If they were only thinking of their own immediate self-interest, they would have left long ago.

^7-10 And then what happened? Well, when Israel tried to be right with God on her own, pursuing her own self-interest, she didn’t succeed. The chosen ones of God were those who let God pursue his interest in them, and as a result received his stamp of legitimacy. The “self-interest Israel” became thick-skinned toward God. Moses and Isaiah both commented on this:

Fed up with their quarrelsome, self-centered ways,
    God blurred their eyes and dulled their ears,
Shut them in on themselves in a hall of mirrors,
    and they’re there to this day.

David was upset about the same thing:

I hope they get sick eating self-serving meals,
    break a leg walking their self-serving ways.
I hope they go blind staring in their mirrors,
    get ulcers from playing at god.

Pruning and Grafting Branches

^11-12 The next question is, “Are they down for the count? Are they out of this for good?” And the answer is a clear-cut No. Ironically when they walked out, they left the door open and the outsiders walked in. But the next thing you know, the Jews were starting to wonder if perhaps they had walked out on a good thing. Now, if their leaving triggered this worldwide coming of non-Jewish outsiders to God’s kingdom, just imagine the effect of their coming back! What a homecoming!

^13-15 But I don’t want to go on about them. It’s you, the outsiders, that I’m concerned with now. Because my personal assignment is focused on the so-called outsiders, I make as much of this as I can when I’m among my Israelite kin, the so-called insiders, hoping they’ll realize what they’re missing and want to get in on what God is doing. If their falling out initiated this worldwide coming together, their recovery is going to set off something even better: mass homecoming! If the first thing the Jews did, even though it was wrong for them, turned out for your good, just think what’s going to happen when they get it right!

^16-18 Behind and underneath all this there is a holy, God-planted, God-tended root. If the primary root of the tree is holy, there’s bound to be some holy fruit. Some of the tree’s branches were pruned and you wild olive shoots were grafted in. Yet the fact that you are now fed by that rich and holy root gives you no cause to gloat over the pruned branches. Remember, you aren’t feeding the root; the root is feeding you.

^19-20 It’s certainly possible to say, “Other branches were pruned so that I could be grafted in!” Well and good. But they were pruned because they were deadwood, no longer connected by belief and commitment to the root. The only reason you’re on the tree is because your graft “took” when you believed, and because you’re connected to that belief-nurturing root. So don’t get cocky and strut your branch. Be humbly mindful of the root that keeps you lithe and green.

^21-22 If God didn’t think twice about taking pruning shears to the natural branches, why would he hesitate over you? He wouldn’t give it a second thought. Make sure you stay alert to these qualities of gentle kindness and ruthless severity that exist side by side in God—ruthless with the deadwood, gentle with the grafted shoot. But don’t presume on this gentleness. The moment you become deadwood, it’s game over.

^23-24 And don’t get to feeling superior to those pruned branches down on the ground. If they don’t persist in remaining deadwood, they could very well get grafted back in. God can do that. He can perform miracle grafts. Why, if he could graft you—branches cut from a tree out in the wild—into an orchard tree, he certainly isn’t going to have any trouble grafting branches back into the tree they grew from in the first place. Just be glad you’re in the tree, and hope for the best for the others.

A Complete Israel

^25-29 I want to lay all this out on the table as clearly as I can, friends. This is complicated. It would be easy to misinterpret what’s going on and arrogantly assume that you’re royalty and they’re just rabble, out on their ears for good. But that’s not it at all. This hardness on the part of insider Israel toward God is temporary. Its effect is to open things up to all the outsiders so that we end up with a full house. Before it’s all over, there will be a complete Israel. As it is written,

A champion will stride down from the mountain of Zion;
    he’ll clean house in Jacob.
And this is my commitment to my people:
    removal of their sins.

From your point of view as you hear and embrace the good news of the Message, it looks like the Jews are God’s enemies. But looked at from the long-range perspective of God’s overall purpose, they remain God’s oldest friends. God’s gifts and God’s call are under full warranty—never canceled, never rescinded.

^30-32 There was a time not so long ago when you were on the outs with God. But then the Jews slammed the door on him and things opened up for you. Now they are on the outs. But with the door held wide open for you, they have a way back in. In one way or another, God makes sure that we all experience what it means to be outside so that he can personally open the door and welcome us back in.

^33-36 Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out.

Is there anyone around who can explain God?
Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do?
Anyone who has done him such a huge favor
    that God has to ask his advice?

Everything comes from him;
Everything happens through him;
Everything ends up in him.
Always glory! Always praise!
    Yes. Yes. Yes.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“Now, if their leaving triggered this worldwide coming of non-Jewish outsiders to God’s kingdom, just imagine the effect of their coming back! What a homecoming!”

God turns the rebellion of His Chosen “insiders” into good for all non-Jewish “outsiders”! Only God can do that!  The Door they walked out of is still open wide for them to walk back in.  There is no one like our God! 

God is waiting patiently for the insiders Jews to realize what they are missing—a relationship with God by believing in Jesus, His Son as Messiah.  What a homecoming says Paul when the pruned and loyal non-pruned branches of Israel and the grafted-in branches of non-Jewish believers grow together from the same root of God’s love with His nourished care for all!

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23).  But all who believe in Jesus and repent of their sins are saved for Life!  There is no longer this “in” or “out” thinking—ALL who believe, original branches and grafted in branches growing on the same tree of Life is possible—all because of Jesus—God’s Plan!  Jesus changes everything.  God is everything we could ever hope for and truly need! 

God is God alone.  Don’t try to be God who saved you to others who don’t know God yet.  “Don’t get cocky”, says Paul, Remember, you aren’t feeding the root; the root is feeding you.”

 Everything comes from him;
Everything happens through him;
Everything ends up in him.
Always glory! Always praise!
    Yes. Yes. Yes.

Lord,

I believe.  I humbly confess that you are Lord and no one else.  I trust in You alone for Life!  Thank you for giving me life eternal.  No one but you can do that!

In Jesus Name, for Your glory, Amen!  Yes!

REDUCED TO RELIGION

I know a man, maybe you know him, too
You never can tell; he might even be you
He knelt at the altar, and that was the end
He’s saved, and that’s all that matters to him
His spiritual tummy, it can’t take too much
One day a week, he gets a spiritual lunch
On Sunday, he puts on his spiritual best
And gives his language a spiritual rest
He’s just a faaa…

He’s just a fat little baby!
Wa, wa, waaaaa…
He wants his bottle, and he don’t mean maybe
He sampled solid foods once or twice
But he says doctrine leaves him cold as ice
Ba, ba, ba, ba…ba, ba…ba, ba!
He’s been baptized, sanctified, redeemed by the blood
But his daily devotions are stuck in the mud
He knows the books of the Bible and John 3:16
He’s got the biggest King James you’ve ever seen!

I’ve always wondered if he’ll grow up someday
He’s momma’s boy, and he likes it that way
If you happen to see him, tell him I said,
“He’ll never grow, if he never gets fed”
He’s just a fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fa-at, fat…
Fat, Fat, Fat, Fat, Fat, Fat, Fatttt…Baby…

If Amy Grant were to sing this song she wrote in the eighties today, I can only imagine how many people in our world would be offended.  I’m chuckling to myself as I remember this song from my past.  I sang it in church because I got the message, but some did not.  Can you imagine the comments of today’s “offended” with icy stares from the religious?  “Who’s fat, why I’m fit as a fiddle!”  “I work hard to keep the fat off my body by working out every day!”  “You have no right to tell me who to live my life.”  “And another thing, I go to church every Sunday and do good stuff so I’m good.” 

Hint: It’s not about being physically fat. Yeah, missing the point, yet again world.  “Thou doth protest too much, me thinks”?

Romans 10, The Message

Israel Reduced to Religion

10 ^1-3 Believe me, friends, all I want for Israel is what’s best for Israel: salvation, nothing less. I want it with all my heart and pray to God for it all the time. I readily admit that the Jews are impressively energetic regarding God—but they are doing everything exactly backward. They don’t seem to realize that this comprehensive setting-things-right that is salvation is God’s business, and a most flourishing business it is. Right across the street they set up their own salvation shops and noisily peddle their knockoffs. After all these years of refusing to really deal with God on his terms, insisting instead on making their own deals, they have nothing to show for it.

^4-10 The earlier revelation was intended simply to get us ready for the Messiah, who then puts everything right for those who trust him to do it. Moses wrote that anyone who insists on using the law code to live right before God soon discovers it’s not so easy—every detail of life regulated by fine print! But trusting God to shape the right living in us is a different story—no precarious climb up to heaven to recruit the Messiah, no dangerous descent into hell to rescue the Messiah. So what exactly was Moses saying?

The word that saves is right here,
    as near as the tongue in your mouth,
    as close as the heart in your chest.

It’s the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—“Jesus is my Master”—embracing, body and soul, God’s work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That’s it. You’re not “doing” anything; you’re simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That’s salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: “God has set everything right between him and me!”

^11-13 Scripture reassures us, “No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it.” It’s exactly the same no matter what a person’s religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. “Everyone who calls, ‘Help, God!’ gets help.”

^14-17 But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That’s why Scripture exclaims,

A sight to take your breath away!
Grand processions of people
    telling all the good things of God!

But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: “Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?” The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to.

^18-21 But haven’t there been plenty of opportunities for Israel to listen and understand what’s going on? Plenty, I’d say.

Preachers’ voices have gone ’round the world,
Their message to earth’s seven seas.

So the big question is, Why didn’t Israel understand that she had no corner on this message? Moses had it right when he predicted,

When you see God reach out to those
    you consider your inferiors—outsiders!—
    you’ll become insanely jealous.
When you see God reach out to people
    you think are religiously stupid,
    you’ll throw temper tantrums.

Isaiah dared to speak out these words of God:

People found and welcomed me
    who never so much as looked for me.
And I found and welcomed people
    who had never even asked about me.

Then he capped it with a damning indictment:

Day after day after day,
    I beckoned Israel with open arms,
And got nothing for my trouble
    but cold shoulders and icy stares.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

This passage is filled with how not to think and behave with the wonders of how God changes us from the inside out—all because the work of God through Jesus, His Son.  The pleas of Paul reveals his heart for God’s people, the Jews.  Saul/Paul was born a Jew and has the heritage of growing up in the ways of the Jews.  But then Jesus changed his mind about what and who is of most importance and beyond the rituals and religion of the Jews—namely an intimate, growing relationship with God by accepting that Jesus is Messiah who died to take away the sins of the world!  No one else but God provides salvation with complete forgiveness of sins—all sins.

Salvation is a gift from God delivered by Jesus.  We don’t earn it with how many times we attend church each Sunday, how many times we sing in the choir, teach Sunday School, carry the biggest Bible so others will know who we are, or wear badges of distinction as we serve.  We realize we can’t wash ourselves clean from our sins by vowing to be a better person…tomorrow.  Only Jesus saves us from our sins when we ask Him.  This is God’s Work in us as He relates with us daily. This is why Jesus is preached, says Paul to the Jews who are wrapped up so tight in their religion and added laws that they can’t see Jesus who can set them free to have a right relationship with God! 

The Jews who do not believe Jesus as Messiah have become “impressively” fat because of the mental weight gain of all the added self-made religious laws, time spent in judgment of others who do not adhere to their laws, along with the busyness of administering punish to the people “under them” with their interpretation of the Law in ways that support their arrogant pride.  This is a lot of work, but they do not and will not give up their way for God’s way.

But we’re not like that, right?  We don’t judge “outsiders” who don’t seem to fit in our traditional church ways, do we?  We don’t punish people with icy states when they don’t talk and walk like us who have grown up going to church?  We don’t get frustrated when new believers take too long to act “appropriately” to be where are in our spiritual stage of growth…do we? 

We preach Jesus as the One and Only who died for the sins of world and rose from death in victory to give us hope of life eternal!  We preach that all are welcome to begin a relationship with God through Jesus!  By our behaviors, we create environments that take away the apprehensions and anxieties of seeking visitors who have thought it over and finally had the courage to come to a place where we worship God in Spirit and in Truth. 

Because God first loved us; we love Him back in a growing relationship with God. We trust Him, not ourselves.  We lean on His understanding as we ask Him for wisdom We ask what HE wants us to be and do. Because of our relationship with God and His love; our love for others is evident by the look on our faces.  We love more and judge way less. We don’t expect or demand people to be like us; instead, we point people to Jesus as the perfect example of living in relationship with God.    

Day after day after day,
    I beckoned Israel with open arms,
And got nothing for my trouble
    but cold shoulders and icy stares.

How our indifference to a relationship with the One who love us most must break the heart of God…

Believe and be saved. 

Trust God.  Follow Jesus.

Resist the urge to judge by calling on the Name of Jesus to help us.  He will.

“Devout yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a grateful heart,” writes Paul.  “Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.” Colossians 4: 2, 5-6, NLT

Lord,

Help us to avoid merely attending church from obligation with eyes that judge. Help us to seek you with open hearts, minds, and souls ready to be filled with Your Holy Spirit.  Help us to be still and really get to know as we learn from you and grow in our relationship with you.  Help us to be the church of people who live life in Jesus Name for Your Glory to all people. Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds, refresh our souls with your new mercies for today, and restore the joy and peace of you in us and us in you—growing in our love for you.  I love you, Lord.

In Jesus Name, Amen

No regrets…ever…when Jesus is the Master.

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” –Jesus, John 15:5, NLT

God’s purpose is not a hit-or-miss thing dependent on what we do or don’t do, but a sure thing determined by his decision, flowing steadily from his initiative.”—Paul, Romans 9:12, MSG

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! –Jesus, John 15:9-11, NLT

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still
And with all who will trust and obey

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey…

“I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies;
    I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved.”—Hosea, quoted by Paul

Romans 9, The Message

God Is Calling His People

^1-5 At the same time, you need to know that I carry with me at all times a huge sorrow. It’s an enormous pain deep within me, and I’m never free of it. I’m not exaggerating—Christ and the Holy Spirit are my witnesses. It’s the Israelites . . . If there were any way I could be cursed by the Messiah so they could be blessed by him, I’d do it in a minute. They’re my family. I grew up with them. They had everything going for them—family, glory, covenants, revelation, worship, promises, to say nothing of being the race that produced the Messiah, the Christ, who is God over everything, always. Oh, yes!

^6-9 Don’t suppose for a moment, though, that God’s Word has malfunctioned in some way or other. The problem goes back a long way. From the outset, not all Israelites of the flesh were Israelites of the spirit. It wasn’t Abraham’s sperm that gave identity here, but God’s promise. Remember how it was put: “Your family will be defined by Isaac”? That means that Israelite identity was never racially determined by sexual transmission, but it was God-determined by promise. Remember that promise, “When I come back next year at this time, Sarah will have a son”?

^10-13 And that’s not the only time. To Rebecca, also, a promise was made that took priority over genetics. When she became pregnant by our one-of-a-kind ancestor, Isaac, and her babies were still innocent in the womb—incapable of good or bad—she received a special assurance from God. What God did in this case made it perfectly plain that his purpose is not a hit-or-miss thing dependent on what we do or don’t do, but a sure thing determined by his decision, flowing steadily from his initiative. God told Rebecca, “The firstborn of your twins will take second place.” Later that was turned into a stark epigram: “I loved Jacob; I hated Esau.”

^14-18 Is that grounds for complaining that God is unfair? Not so fast, please. God told Moses, “I’m in charge of mercy. I’m in charge of compassion.” Compassion doesn’t originate in our bleeding hearts or moral sweat, but in God’s mercy. The same point was made when God said to Pharaoh, “I picked you as a bit player in this drama of my salvation power.” All we’re saying is that God has the first word, initiating the action in which we play our part for better or worse.

¹⁹ Are you going to object, “So how can God blame us for anything since he’s in charge of everything? If the big decisions are already made, what say do we have in it?”

^20-33 Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn’t talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, “Why did you shape me like this?” Isn’t it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans? If God needs one style of pottery especially designed to show his angry displeasure and another style carefully crafted to show his glorious goodness, isn’t that all right? Either or both happens to Jews, but it also happens to the other people. Hosea put it well:

I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies;
    I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved.
In the place where they yelled out, “You’re nobody!”
    they’re calling you “God’s living children.”

Isaiah maintained this same emphasis:

If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered
    and the sum labeled “chosen of God,”
They’d be numbers still, not names;
    salvation comes by personal selection.
God doesn’t count us; he calls us by name.
    Arithmetic is not his focus.

Isaiah had looked ahead and spoken the truth:

If our powerful God
    had not provided us a legacy of living children,
We would have ended up like ghost towns,
    like Sodom and Gomorrah.

How can we sum this up? All those people who didn’t seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing.

They were so absorbed in their “God projects” that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. And so they stumbled into him and went sprawling. Isaiah (again!) gives us the metaphor for pulling this together:

Careful! I’ve put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion,
    a stone you can’t get around.
But the stone is me! If you’re looking for me,
    you’ll find me on the way, not in the way.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God is the One and Only God; we are not.  We plan but God decides. 

Our response begins with fully trusting in God so that obeying God becomes who we are with God.  “Remain in Me,” says Jesus.  When we remain with God, believing in His promises, our desire to obey becomes stronger each day. 

When we ask God to lead us, we must not get in the way but follow how and where  He leads us.  God made us, we did not make Him.  God is the designer and creator, we are His beloved creation!

Loving God back is to obey what He says!

Paul reminded the Romans that no good work could bring salvation. Rather, God saves his people through his love.

But that’s not all!

When we come to Christ, God not only forgives us, he also adopts us and calls us His   beloved children—members of His family!  We once had no hope but now we have no fear!  Nobodies become somebodies as God’s own. 

How and why did God do this?  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” we learned earlier from Paul.  (Romans 3:23) We stand before God full of rebellion and mistakes. Because of God’s justice he cannot dismiss our sin, but because of his love he cannot dismiss us! So, in an act which stunned the heavens, God sent His Son to tke our punishment on the cross for our sins. God’s justice and love are equally honored. And we, God’s creation, are forgiven. But the story doesn’t end with God’s forgiveness!

God calls us by name—His Name!  We are His children—joint heirs with Christ!  It would be enough if God just cleansed our name, but he does more. He gives us his name. It would be enough if God just set us free, but he does more. He takes us home. He takes us home to the Great Big House of God.

Come and go with me
To my Father’s house
Come and go with me
To my Father’s house
It’s a big big house
With lots and lots of rooms…

(Audio Adrenaline, By Barry Blair, Bob Herdman, Mark Stuart, Will McGinniss)

We need to decide what kind of righteousness we are seeking, whether we are depending on good works and character or trusting Christ alone for salvation. God does not save people based on birth or behavior. “By grace we have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8, 9). The offer is made to “whoever believes” (John 3:16). To trust and obey Jesus, is to go and tell others teaching them about who and what God did for them, too, so they can become God’s own—all because of Jesus!

“I’ll say to Nobody, ‘You’re my dear Somebody,’and he’ll say ‘You’re my God!’”    –Hosea, God’s Prophet, Hosea 2:23

Lord,

Thank you for your gift of salvation. Thank you for saving me from myself!  Thank you for leading me, molding, and shaping me continuously to be all you created me to be before doing anything in Your Name.  Thank you for calling me by name and reminding me I am not just a numbered nobody but a beloved somebody in your family who has purpose in Your Kingdom.

In Jesus Name, Amen