Category Archives: Romans

One Week

My Facebook post of several days ago read: I can’t afford to live angry or afraid – it makes me ill.

I was serious.

I am serious.

And I am about to use a word that will shock some of you – don’t be, believe me, I’ve used more shocking words and probably more recent than you think. :) Certainly, you know words are vehicles of communication and you will surely understand what I am saying when I say:

If you could live just one week not pissed off, you’d never want to go back.

Just one week without the least little thing making the hair on the back of your neck bristle.
Just one week without letting out one of those sighs, you know the kind, when he/she left the door open again or their shoes under the table again, or their clothes on the floor again, or took out their stuff and just left it right there! Again! Just one week that they did not piss you off at the drop of a hat. Just one week.

Warning. This now gets really ugly. Just one week wherein you were self-aware but not self-centered. Just one week when all that stuff they do is not about you. I recently came face to face with ME. And it was UGLY! The ticked off we get at the inconsideration and selfishness and laziness and yang yang yang of them! Guess what? We just described ourselves. How dare them to leave that out for ME to pick up. See the emphasis? It’s ME not them. Now, should they abandon their stuff? Of course not! But are we offended because they are human or because they inconvenienced us?!  I know the answer. I have LIVED it! And I lived it long enough to make me sick!

This is what you want. Just one week when you see such things, you draw in a sweet breath of peace, smile and softly say gotcha! I’m not going there and you can’t make me. Another big smile. A deep breath of peace and the Sweet Smile of JESUS inside. There ain’t nothing like it! Like I said just a week of it and you will fight yourself to the ground to keep it! :)

We don’t have to live angry or afraid. I said LIVE because we all are going to experience anger and fear; this is an angry world, full of fear but we don’t have to LIVE that way even when it snatches us by the throat from time to time. We can breathe in the peace of GOD, smile and say nope, no going there. Not today.

Can we do this perfectly every day? Nope. But we can practice and get better and better at it until we see JESUS Face to face.

Romans 8:37 (AMP) 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us].  source

Therefore

Question. Have you read Romans 1:21-32 lately?

In verse 24, we dare not miss the word, Therefore.  I suppose, you like I, have heard it said when you see a therefore in Scripture, we must ask ourselves what it’s there for. So I do and I did.

Verses 21, 22 and 23 speak of idols; for humans to engage in idol worship something must first occur. Verse 21 tells us what that is.  THEY DID NOT HONOR HIM AS GOD OR GIVE THANKS. ON THE CONTRARY, THEY BECAME WORTHLESS IN THEIR THINKING.

When mankind begins and continues to think they know more than GOD, refuse to honor Him with their day to day living, they become idol worshippers. Is that not what it says?

And as man (and woman too, of course) becomes more and more involved in this worship of creatures rather than the Creator something else happens.

Verse 24.

Therefore.

God gave them over. We can push GOD away so many times that He turns us over to our own way.

Go ahead, read the Text. And when you do you will find GOD is not politically correct, He’s just correct; forever and always correct. Once man and woman have pushed Thus Saith the LORD from their minds, hearts, and will time after time, look what follows.  Every imaginable sin is committed and flaunted by these people. Sexual perversion is not the only sin listed but it is listed. Read. Read the Text for yourself. Click HERE.

Now. Therefore. What actions do we need to take today?

How Busy?

May I propose a thought to you?

Romans 1:20.

It’s a familiar verse to us Bible Thumpers.

20 His invisible attributes—His eternal power and His divine nature—have been clearly seen ever since the creation of the world, being understood through the things that have been made. So people are without excuse—   source

Have we considered the reason for the all-out assault Creation has weathered for many decades can be found in this verse?

It says the attributes, eternal power, divine nature have been clearly seen and we can come to some understanding of HIM through His creation.

Attributes. What GOD is like. Well, from creation, even without my Bible,  I know He is way smart and way kind! How He constructed the planet, how it functions in harmony with the bazillion components of it; how mama birds feed baby birds; how dogs love humans; etc. etc. etc.

Eternal power. Just what I can see with my naked eye, let alone a microscope and a telescope, tell me nothing matches His power and it never runs out.

Divine Nature. Yep. Creation tells me I am not like Him. He is divine. I’m not.

So, if I want to know there is a GOD and that HE is good and that HE is kind and loves me, all I have to do is look around me; and even in the mirror.

Is it any wonder then that there would be those who would want to discredit, nullify or just flat-out keep us too busy to look?

Myself

If we want to know why we have received the Grace of GOD; why we have been called to Him let us go to Romans 1:5 and find a glorious answer.

 It is through Him that we have received grace and [our] apostleship to promote obedience to the faith and make disciples for His name’s sake among all the Gentiles,  source

To promote obedience to the faith and make disciples for His namesake.

So, if I am not promoting you, reminding you, encouraging you and helping you become more obedient to the Scriptures and helping you become more yielded to JESUS, then I am disobedient to this Word myself.

LORD JESUS, help we Your Church not fail You here. Amen and amen.