Scripture: Ephesians 2:17 When he came, he announced the good news of peace to you who were far away from God and to those who were near. Thought for the Day: Though these words could be easily overlooked, Paul uses them as just another way of speaking about the character of God’s grace. The message of Jesus is not looking for the audience that is most accessible or
Scripture: Romans 14:7-9 We don’t live for ourselves and we don’t die for ourselves. If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to God. This is why Christ died and lived: so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. Thought for the Day: Today will be
Scripture: Romans 10:4 Christ is the goal of the Law, which leads to righteousness for all who have faith in God. Thought for the Day: Christ is the teleos of the nomos – Christ is the culmination of the Mosaic teachings. Though we cannot achieve by ourselves the numerous and demanding taskS of the Mosaic (Moses) teachings, Christ is the fullness of such teaching in human form. As
Scripture: Romans 9:24-27 We are the ones God has called. We don’t come only from the Jews but we also come from the Gentiles. As it says also in Hosea, I will call “my people” those who aren’t my people, and the one who isn’t well loved, I will call “loved one.” And in the place where it was said to them, “You aren’t my people,” there they
Scripture: Romans 8:38-39 I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created. Thought for the Day: As we continue to work our way through Romans, I am quickly drawn to these words found at the
Scripture: Romans 8:2 The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. Thought for the Day: What is the Spirit doing with the Law? You would think the two would not go hand in hand, yet Paul taught back in the 7th chapter how the Law was spiritual before it encountered the corruption of sin. The
Scripture: Romans 7:18-20 I know that good doesn’t live in me—that is, in my body. The desire to do good is inside of me, but I can’t do it. I don’t do the good that I want to do, but I do the evil that I don’t want to do. But if I do the very thing that I don’t want to do, then I’m not the one
Scripture: Romans 7:24 I’m a miserable human being. Who will deliver me from this dead corpse? Thought for the Day: This is one of those questions you ask on a bad day, yet for Paul, it was the necessary starting place for understanding the grace of God made real in Jesus Christ. Though like a number of things, an idea trying to make its point can create unforeseen
Scripture: Romans 6:23 The wages that sin pays are death, but God’s gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thought for the Day: If you have been around me much, then you have heard this before. I believe it is both important and essential to understand the word Aionios (Greek word translated as Eternal). Christians are very focused on eternal life as it relates to what
Scripture: Romans 6:14 Sin will have no power over you, because you aren’t under Law but under grace. Thought for the Day: Those are some pretty bold words. To suggest that mistakes, blunders and outright violations of our relationship with God will not have power over us sounds a little too good to be true. Why not continue to move forward with more and more mistakes, blunders and