Out of Satan’s darkness, into the light of the Lord

How do we get from this - "Lord, you are the God who saves me" (Psalm 88:1) - to this - "darkness is my closest friend" (Psalm 88:18)? - "An enemy has done this" (Matthew 13:28). God's people are under constant attack - from Satan, the enemy of God and his people. Satan is a …

Jesus was a Jew. Jesus is for all nations.

Learning From God's Word

Jesus was a Jew – “a descendant of David” (Romans 1:3).

Jesus is for “all nations” (Romans 1:5).

Jesus was a Jew.

If we are to understand Jesus, we need to go back to the Old Testament Scriptures, We need to read about what God did for his people, Israel. This is not to say that we should lose ourselves in the history of Israel. As well as learning from the Old Testament, we should, also, turn our attention to the New Testament Scriptures.

Jesus is for all nations.

In the Old Testament, there are a few glimpses of the “all nations” purpose of God. When we come to the New Testament, this emphasis on “all nations” becomes the dominant teaching. We don’t forget what we have learned from the Old Testament – but we learn to read the Old Testament in the light of what we read in the…

View original post 2 more words

With Christ’s example, the encouragement of the Scriptures and the enabling power of God, let us love one another.

Romans 15:1-33 -  With Christ’s example, ‘the encouragement of the Scriptures’ and the enabling power of God, let us love one another,‘with one heart and one voice’ (1-6). This is the way of glorifying God. Trusting in Christ, ‘the root of Jesse’, we are blessed by ‘the God of hope’, filled with ‘the power of …

Romans 11-14

Romans 11:1-36 -  ‘You stand fast only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe’ (20). In 9:32, Paul contrasted ‘faith’ and ‘works’. Here, he contrasts ‘grace’ and ‘works’ (6). Grace and faith belong together. ‘Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy Cross I cling’ (Church Hymnary, 83) – This …

When you feel like giving up

ROMANS 1:1-32 -  ‘I am not ashamed of the Gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith’ (16). Do you think it was easy for Paul to maintain such commitment to Christ, such confidence in Christ? What kind of world did he live in? – A world of …

Praying Through God’s Word: Romans

Romans 1:1-32 "I am not ashamed of the Gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith" (Romans 1:16). Lord, we thank You for Your Gospel. It is Good News. It comes to us with power. It brings to us salvation. Help us to believe Your Gospel, to release …

We thank You, Lord, that “we have peace with You through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We thank You, Lord, that "we have peace with You through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). We thank You that "Jesus is our peace" (Ephesians 2:14). This peace is not something that comes from within ourselves. It comes to us from outside of ourselves. It comes from above. It comes to us from You. …

Led by the Spirit, strong in the Spirit, let us press on to glory.

Romans 8:1-39 -  Each of us must choose. We can ‘live according to the flesh’ or we can ‘live according to the Spirit’. We can ‘set the mind on the flesh’ or we can ‘set the mind on the Spirit’ (5-6). The new life in the Spirit is just the beginning. God is preparing us …

Spiritual change

"There is joy in the presence of the angels of God when one sinner repents" (Luke 15:10). This is more than our joy in the Lord. It's rejoicing in heaven. What is it about our repentance which brings such joy to the heart of our Lord? When we speak about repentance, what are we saying? …

Salvation is not a reward. It’s a gift.

Romans 4:1-25 -  Salvation is not a ‘reward’ to be ‘earned’. It is God’s ‘gift’ (4-5). Salvation comes from the Lord. ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only Son’ (John 3:16): Without the love of God, the gift of God, the Son of God, there can be no salvation. The way of …