Digging in Deeper: Romans 1:16-17

1 Comment

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the ironic secrets of good writing is that it takes longer to write shorter pieces than it does longer ones. It’s easy to dump a bunch of words out on a page. Pairing those down to the point that you have just the right words takes longer. The same goes with explaining a large and complicated idea. Boiling things down to few words that are clear and compelling takes work. With that in mind, these two verses from Paul must have taken a lot of work. This is one of the clearest, most direct statements of the Gospel ever written. Let’s talk about it.

Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Romans 1:13-15

Leave a comment

“Now I don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I often planned to come to you (but was prevented until now) in order that I might have a fruitful ministry among you, just as I have had among the rest of the Gentiles. I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When I get something in my mind a certain way, I struggle to think about it in any other terms. That makes me remarkably tenacious in pursuit of a goal, but it can also make me irritatingly stubborn and unable to easily shift away from one idea when it turns out to not work very well. Sometimes, though, the problem isn’t with the idea itself, but with the path I’m taking to get there and the timing of the whole thing. Paul was going in the direction God wanted him, but the timing wasn’t always right. His mission was clear, though, so he knew where he was going. Let’s finish off Paul’s greeting to the Roman church today, and join in his mission.

Read the rest…

A Relational Pathway

Leave a comment

Last week, we started a brief conversation about doubt. Today, we’re going to finish it. Last week we established the fact that the source of our doubts matters. It matters whether they come from a place of faith or a place of skepticism. But knowing where our doubts come from isn’t the same as knowing what doubt is in the first place. In this second part of our journey, we are going to clarify that, and with the direction of the teachings of Jesus, talk about how to get from doubt to faith. Read on to find out how.

A Relational Pathway

Several years ago, I went through a season in which I did a fair amount of woodworking. Now, I’ve long enjoyed woodworking ever since I took a woodworking class in junior high. I don’t know that it’s the woodworking itself so much as doing projects that have very clear instructions and which I can follow carefully to reproduce the results of the model. I enjoy it for the same reason I enjoy making the metal models that are all over my office. The difference between building metal models and woodworking, though, is that anybody can build those models. Woodworking is a developed skill. Having the right tools, but not knowing how to use them well will result in a lot of really bad woodworking. 

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Acts 2:46-47

Leave a comment

“Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When the church exploded into existence and as it began to spread across the Roman Empire thanks to the faithful, devoted work of the apostle Paul, it was something new. Entirely new. There wasn’t anything else in the world quite like it. Because of that, it was often attractive to people who were wealthy and influential. It was a novelty, and people who fancy themselves as sitting at the top of the social ladder are often drawn to new things so they can say they were the first to see and experience them. Some two thousand years later, Christianity wasn’t new anymore. It was old. Very old. It was passe. The wealthy and influential didn’t care much anymore. And this was separate and apart from all of the criticism it was receiving for both imagined and real faults on the part of the church. But in the last couple of years, something interesting has begun to happen. Let’s talk about it for a few minutes today.

Continue reading “Digging in Deeper: Acts 2:46-47” →

Morning Musing: Romans 1:11-12

Leave a comment

“For I want very much to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that is, to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Cultural Christianity was a real thing in this country for much of the 20th century and into the 21st. If you wanted to be someone, you had to be an active member of a church. Preferably a Mainline Denominational church, and the closer it was located to the center of town, the better. Gradually, though, the active member part was dropped in favor of merely an association with a church. Today, even that is mostly gone. The church really isn’t seen as a necessity anymore culturally, and that cultural trend is bleeding into the church itself. So, why does the church matter? Let’s talk about that as we continue Paul’s greeting to the Roman believers today.

Continue reading “Morning Musing: Romans 1:11-12” →