1:19 "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them."
God's wrath is being made known to us because we have sinned. We have turned away from the truth and turned toward the untruth. God has made it plain to us that He is Holy and Righteous and hates wickedness.
2 Kings 22:13b "Great is the Lord's anger that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us."
John 3:36 "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."
Romans 2:8 "But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger."
1:20 "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- His eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
People ask, what about the person who has never heard of God? Is God so unjust that He would sentence that person to hell? This verse answers both. God has made Himself so clear to us in what He has made. Genesis chapter one tells us of the creation of the world. The more I learn about creation the more I am in awe of God. He has created us so perfectly and the world is so amazing. I know that even if humans live on this earth for several billion more years they will only discover a small part of God's creation. It is not humanly possible to discover how every detail of Creation works. I do not understand how people can say there is no God. The world is living proof that there is a God.
Psalm 19:1-4 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Studying Through Romans Part 2
1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.
It is amazing how this verse says so much. Paul is thanking God through Jesus Christ. This reminds us that Jesus is the mediator between us and God.
John 14:6 "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
The Romans faith was being reported throughout the world. That is amazing. Paul does not talk about their ministry or good deeds. He says that their faith is being reported. Should we not all want to be known for our faith in God?
1:9-13 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you. I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong- that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
It is wonderful to know that someone is praying for you every day. My grandparents have been praying for me every day of my life. When I am going through hard times it comforts me to know that someone is praying for me. Paul is reminding them of his love. Even though he has not been able to journey to them he is constantly praying for them. Paul wants to fellowship and produce fruit among them also.
1:14-17 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
Paul is so eager to preach because he feels like it is his duty. He is not ashamed of it because the gospel reveals God's righteousness.
It is amazing how this verse says so much. Paul is thanking God through Jesus Christ. This reminds us that Jesus is the mediator between us and God.
John 14:6 "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
The Romans faith was being reported throughout the world. That is amazing. Paul does not talk about their ministry or good deeds. He says that their faith is being reported. Should we not all want to be known for our faith in God?
1:9-13 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you. I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong- that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
It is wonderful to know that someone is praying for you every day. My grandparents have been praying for me every day of my life. When I am going through hard times it comforts me to know that someone is praying for me. Paul is reminding them of his love. Even though he has not been able to journey to them he is constantly praying for them. Paul wants to fellowship and produce fruit among them also.
1:14-17 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
Paul is so eager to preach because he feels like it is his duty. He is not ashamed of it because the gospel reveals God's righteousness.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Studying Through Romans Part 1
I started to study the book of Romans with one of my best friends. Now it looks like we are not able to continue studying together. I think that Romans is such a good book that I don't want to stop studying it. I am going to write about what stands out to me and make my own comments.
1:1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God-
The two words that stand out to me are "set apart". I think about how we are to live our lives set apart from the rest of the world. God calls us to be holy.
1 Peter 1:14-15 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
As christians we should be living our lives differently than non-christians. We have Christ in our lives. Shouldn't we strive to become more like Him?
1:2-6 the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding His Son, who as to His human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Him and for His name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
This gospel was promised in the Old Testament. There are hundreds of prophesies foretelling the first coming of Christ. Some of the most famous ones can be found in Isaiah. It is only through Jesus that we receive grace. There is no other way. The reason we receive grace and apostleship is for Christ's name sake. We receive not that we might become great, but that God may be glorified.
Verse seven tells us that the book of Romans was written to the believers in Rome. It is important to know who Paul is writing to.
1:1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God-
The two words that stand out to me are "set apart". I think about how we are to live our lives set apart from the rest of the world. God calls us to be holy.
1 Peter 1:14-15 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
As christians we should be living our lives differently than non-christians. We have Christ in our lives. Shouldn't we strive to become more like Him?
1:2-6 the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding His Son, who as to His human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Him and for His name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
This gospel was promised in the Old Testament. There are hundreds of prophesies foretelling the first coming of Christ. Some of the most famous ones can be found in Isaiah. It is only through Jesus that we receive grace. There is no other way. The reason we receive grace and apostleship is for Christ's name sake. We receive not that we might become great, but that God may be glorified.
Verse seven tells us that the book of Romans was written to the believers in Rome. It is important to know who Paul is writing to.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
My Testimony
I was born into a christian family. I accepted Christ as my Saviour when I was seven or eight at a Vacation Bible Club. I don't remember much about that. But I do remember the change. It is amazing to see my journey and how God has been so patient with me. My spiritual life has been somewhat like a roller coaster. I have ups and downs. During my junior high and high school years God seemed very real and close. I had awesome experiences attending youth group, going on a missions trip to Mexico, attending SLAM (a week long youth conference on evangelism), and working at Camp Good News.
But then a few things happened. Our pastor left the church to minister elsewhere and we had an interim for a year. Then we got a new pastor. Personally I was drifting away from God. He didn't seem close at all. I was living in sin. To tell you the truth I was struggling with lust. I didn't feel worthy to talk to God or read His Word. I felt dirty. Last summer I was a counselor at Camp Good News again. When I arrived I asked myself "What are you doing here?" I was not a good example. I was not even reading my Bible. I was miserable.
Then God woke me up. I caught whooping cough at camp and was sick for the rest of the summer and fall. God brought me to the lowest point in my life. I was struggling to breath. I cried out to God "please heal me" but he did not. Finally one night as I cried I begged God's forgiveness and deliverance from my sin. God heard my cry and healed me. Since then I have grown closer to God. I still struggle with lust but now I have faith in God's love and mercy. I refuse to let Satan use guilt to keep me away from glorifying God.
But then a few things happened. Our pastor left the church to minister elsewhere and we had an interim for a year. Then we got a new pastor. Personally I was drifting away from God. He didn't seem close at all. I was living in sin. To tell you the truth I was struggling with lust. I didn't feel worthy to talk to God or read His Word. I felt dirty. Last summer I was a counselor at Camp Good News again. When I arrived I asked myself "What are you doing here?" I was not a good example. I was not even reading my Bible. I was miserable.
Then God woke me up. I caught whooping cough at camp and was sick for the rest of the summer and fall. God brought me to the lowest point in my life. I was struggling to breath. I cried out to God "please heal me" but he did not. Finally one night as I cried I begged God's forgiveness and deliverance from my sin. God heard my cry and healed me. Since then I have grown closer to God. I still struggle with lust but now I have faith in God's love and mercy. I refuse to let Satan use guilt to keep me away from glorifying God.
First Post
I have been itching to have a blog for quite a while. Finally I have one. I have decided to use this blog to keep my friends posted on my experiences, joys and sorrows. But most importantly I want to let others know what I am learning in my walk with Christ. This blog is going to be about keeping God first.
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