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1 Corinthians Introduction – Nothing New Under The Sun

The city of Corinth is on an isthmus which is a narrow stretch connecting the mainland of Greece to the Peloponnese peninsula halfway between Athens and Sparta. Scientists have found artifacts which they believe date back to 6,500 B.C., but the city was destroyed by the Romans in 146 B.C. Under Roman rule, Julius Caesar built the city back up in 44 B.C. It became the capital of the Roman province Achaia. A few weeks back we were visiting family in Auburn which is near Springfield, and we attended West Side Christian church there. Pastor Eddie Lowen gave a great sermon on God’s plan for sex and marriage and the damages of sexual sin with the focus being on 1 Corinthians. He called Corinth “the original anything goes city like Vegas. In fact, it would make Vegas look good.” I have a note written in my Bible which says, “Vegas with the power of D.C.” It was known for its commerce, rampant immorality, and multiple religions.

Paul established the church and lived there for approximately 18 months with Priscilla and Aquila as we learned in Acts 18:1-18. In these verses, Jesus told Paul in a vision to stay there and to speak up because he would protect him.  Despite the immorality there, he also told Paul there were many there who were his people. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians to the church he established there a few years later while in Ephesus between 53-57 A.D.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul not only addresses sex, marriage, gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the Resurrection, but also unity in the church. He was concerned with division and wanted the church to have one thought and one purpose which was to glorify God. A few years ago, I came across my Grandfather’s Bible, and I found his many notes written in the margins and a Sunday school lesson he had likely written 40-50 years ago. As a side note, I love the Bible app and the ability to get  into the Word anytime when I don’t have my Bible. However, I want to thank Pete Wiedman who challenged me a few years ago to go back to using a physical Bible and to write my thoughts and notes in it so that my kids and grandkids could read it someday. Not I only have I found it helpful to reference back to past notes myself, but it is one of the main spiritual legacies, outside of words, teaching and actions, I want to leave to my kids and grandkids that can go on and hopefully impact them long after I leave this Earth. As far as we can figure out, my Grandfather was a chain breaker in his family as a believer and the legacy he left by raising my Mom in that way which now (with the help of our Father too) has carried on with my brother and me and down to our kids and I pray for their kids someday is truly awesome. I can’t describe how neat it was to go back and read his notes in his Bible. I would encourage you to give some thought to going back to physical Bible if you don’t use one. Anyway, I digress. My grandfather referenced in his Sunday school teaching notes many of the issues and problems at that time such as absent fathers leaving and creating single parent homes and the damage of some of the same sins Paul references in 1 Corinthians. Doesn’t sound much different than today in 2017 does it? One of my former mentors, John Wright, would often reference Ecclesiastes 1:9 which says, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”

As we read 1 Corinthians, I would encourage you to look for Paul’s themes mentioned above and how the Gospel is the answer to many questions. Imagine how different the world would be today if we followed the instructions given to us by God through Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth…one unified church, following one source of instruction on how to live which is the Bible, with one common goal of glorifying God in all we do.

Greetings my friends!

Romans 16

How many times a week do you greet someone? Have you ever stopped to think about how many times you either introduce yourself to someone new or say hello to a friend you know well. How do you make these greetings meaningful? Do you think about the impression you leave on someone just by smiling and saying hello?  How about when you introduce a friend to another person?  Do you go out of your way to make the “greeting” memorable?

At an early age, our parents taught us to mind our manners when we meet someone new. Reminders of etiquette included “smile”, “have a firm handshake”, “make eye contact”, say “nice to meet you”. It is not always easy to do, is it? Or it wasn’t back when we were little and adults sometimes seemed a bit scary or intimidating. If you are meeting someone new, it is all about being confident and trying to be in moment with this new individual. It takes some practice for many of us. We also want the person we are meeting to remember us. How do we make a positive, memorable impression? Again, easy to say, hard to do. For me, it is easier to meet someone new if I am being introduced rather than initiating the greeting or first meeting. It gives you a common ground on which to begin. With practice, it becomes easier the more we think about greeting someone for the first time.

Think of the world today and how greetings have changed. We often “meet” people online, via e’mail, or on a conference call. How do we make these initial introductions important? Do you have a phrase you use? “Nice to know you” is my favorite. Even greeting someone on the trail; you may not know the person but on a run or walk, it’s hard to pass someone without giving some sort of acknowledgement, such as a wave or “good morning”.

In today’s reading, Paul helps point out how important greetings can be.  He starts out greeting women and fellow workers in the church.  He almost goes around the room introducing each person.   I can hear the excitement and compassion he has for these people as he goes through the round of greetings. He wants people to know these women.  He also demonstrates the significance of these women in the early days of the church. He demonstrates his caring attitude toward those who worked hard with him and for him, and those who stood by him.  He wants to offer proper greetings.

3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 5 Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert[b] to Christ in Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia,[c] my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles,[d] and they were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12 Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers[e] who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

May we be role models in greeting others, both those people who we may know and those we are meeting for the first time. Let us make a concerted effort in our “greetings” to introduce friends to other friends.  May we use greetings as a way to practice being good role models and good disciples.  Make a stranger’s day with a friendly hello. Don’t wait to be told to make that introduction or greeting. Just do it!

 

Endurance and Encouragement

“We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.  Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.  For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”  For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.  May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:1-6

Do you ever feel that scripture has been written to you through our Heavenly Father? Oh right, hello, it’s Jillian writing under cover for our Bible Journal author Luke today! I’m writing for him because a few weeks ago he wrote for me when our daughter was very ill. At the time I asked him to be sure to allow me to return the favor, and today, he did! I accepted the opportunity blindly. I hadn’t looked ahead in the scripture and to be quite honest, I had fallen behind on reading God’s word. In fact, for weeks we’ve been drowning in turmoil at our house. Our three year old continues to struggle with seizures daily, her new medication makes her aggressive and volatile.  Our two year old has been ill and we’ve spent most of our time trying to protect our truly sick kid from all the germs! On top of that I’m working at two new jobs and trying to find a livable working Mom balance. It has seemed as if each day brings a new challenge for me to endure. It’s taken me to that place of asking, “why me?” When are these hardships ever going to end for our family? I fall prey to the constant social media trap that lures us into believing that everyone else is living a flawless life. And then I read this:

“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Romans 15:4

 There it is. Paul is literally speaking to us.  He’s revealing the promise of the living gospel. Not only that but he’s encouraging us to build one another up through faith in Jesus Christ.  Don’t miss it! Today’s reading was specifically designed to give us hope and empower us to hold one another up. He then goes on to say that when those of us that are strong hold up others that are weak, we’ll live in harmony. What a convicting message to hear when our small corner of the world has become so divided. Paul’s message is simple. We must be strong in our commitment to the Lord and reading His Word. In turn we must then hold up our fellow Christians and support them when they are weak. It’s only through the God of endurance and encouragement that we can praise him with one strong voice. I hope you’ll take this simple message today and use it.  Use it to praise Him for making you strong and unshakeable in the face of the enemy or use it to hold others when they need support.

 

Lord, we thank you for words that come directly from you when we really need them. We know that when we stand together we are stronger than when we stand alone.  Thank you for blessing us with your presence and for giving us endurance for the long journey.

How Shall We Decide?

Todays reading is Rom 14

This chapter in scripture is dealing with the freedom we have in making choices about how we live since we are no longer held to the specifications of the Jewish law for our salvation. Since Jesus gave His life to pay the price for our sin, we no longer have to follow the rules about making sacrifices to atone our sin. Just as our culture today is full of opinions and disagreements about what is sin and what is not sin, the people of the church in Rome were struggling with working out their new freedom (from the law) in Christ’s salvation since all the “rules” had just changed. I think it is important to note here that while the “system” of how we get to have relationship with God, changed drastically because of Christ, God didn’t change at all before, during or after the “system” change. He has loved us and longed for relationship with us since the beginning of time, and that will NEVER change!

So what does Paul have to say about these disagreements, or the deeper issue at hand, people judging and criticizing each other? First Paul says, “Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants?” God has accepted both groups of people and He will judge whether they stand or fall. (vs 4) It’s not up to us. He goes on to say in vs7 that, “We don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord.” Paul continues in vs 12 telling us that each of us will give a personal account to God, so let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. God wants us to look at our own hearts and check our motivations for why we are making the choices we are making, not be concerned with other people’s decisions. Furthermore, if we know that a freedom we are taking is causing another person to question their motives or decision then we should be willing to choose differently to help the other person along in their faith.

It seems to me that the crux of what Paul is trying to convey here is in vs 17-19. “ The Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up. “

Disagreements will arise. God didn’t lay out every possible sin in every possible situation so we would have a catalogue to refer to. He has shown us His character, written His principles in His word, and given us countless guidelines to test our situations and attitudes against. Our job is to search the scriptures for answers to questions on our own sin, while seeking God’s heart through relationship with Him. It’s not our job to judge, criticize, or shame others for their decisions. If we try to build each other up and aim to live in harmony, the relationships that are created through genuine love and care for others, just might foster relationships where the other person respects your opinion enough to ask you what lead you to the decision you made on an issue.

The Body

Today’s Reading: Romans 12

Romans 12:4- 8

For as in one body we have many members,[e] and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,[f] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

After reading and reflecting on this chapter I am reminded of my 19th birthday. I was a sophomore in college and I had a part-time job as a “Casual Handler” at FedEx. I basically unloaded the small commuter trucks and loaded the semi-trucks in the evenings. This was a labor intensive two hours that you had to perform without delay or injury. On my birthday, I decided to go into work early and get into a particular work rhythm to get off earlier. As my teammate and I started to get into a groove, I misjudged a packaged and crushed my right hand into the conveyor belt [I am right-handed].   At first I wanted to continue to work, but was pulled off the line to get checked out. I was okay, except a couple of pulled tendons on my two middle fingers. I had one expectation of the workday and another one was resented to me. I found myself unable to type, write or prepare anything for a while.

My beautiful wife and I have three amazing kids. I think of us as a hand, five members of a unique unit. Each of us a vital member that if something happens to one part, the unit cannot function properly. Last year and through out this year different parts of the hand have been bruised, clipped, or pricked, but we have been able to preserve with the strength of Christ and His love.  Exactly a year ago, Oliver was in the hospital with what we have found to be a Crohn’s Flare.  Ruby has been having absence seizures for the past couple of months.  On top of the “normal” parenting and growing pains.  God has place each of us into the body of Christ we need each other to survive and grow.

This community of believers forms a beautiful body which each person and household represents a vital part of the central body: some may be the legs, arms, feet, neck, torso but we all need each other to function. The Holy Spirit is the connection to us all, but we need to make sure that we can communicate with the Spirit and with each other in order to grow and prosper. The finger cannot know that there is a thorn in the toe; and the arm does not know that the tooth has a cavity. We must be intentional about what our needs are to each other, only then will we be able to provide for each other in the way that will allow us to grow.   I am blessed to be a part of the body and if there is anything I can provide let me know, as I will reach out to you.

Accept-Believe-Confess

Romans 11:33-36

33Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! 34For who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who knows enough to be his counselor? 35And who could ever give him so much that he would have to pay it back? 36For everything comes from him; everything exists by his power and is intended for his glory. To him be glory evermore. Amen.

The end of verse 33 pretty much sums up this 11th chapter of Romans for me…”How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods!” I have spent countless hours dissecting this chapter and still do not understand all of the information well enough to share in an eloquent way! I have learned much history about Israel, the Jews, and God’s plans. But, I  have So Much More to learn!! This is a chapter I would have skimmed over in the past. But, because I have been assigned this chapter today, I had to really seek what there is for me to take from it and share with you.

Here is my VERY simplified version of what happened here:

God has chosen Israel to be His chosen people. Paul used this chapter of Romans to present proof that God is not through with Israel. The Israelites rejected God and their hearts were hardened. Because they closed the door on the Messiah, the door was opened to us, the Gentiles. There are many theories out there as to how many of the Jews will be “saved” in the end times, and I will leave you to do your studying and come to that conclusion on your own…

BUT here is the crux of this chapter…it does not matter if you are JEW or GENTILE, what background you have, what family you come from, what traditions you hold, what kind of person you are, if you are a rule follower, if you have made the worst decisions ever, if you have made the best decisions always…there is only ONE way to salvation! It is through GRACE alone. It is through A) Accepting that Jesus Christ came to this earth as the Son of God. B) Believing that Jesus Christ went to the cross and died for YOU and for YOUR sins. and C) Confessing His love for you and sacrifices for you to others.

We may boast in Jesus only! He wants a personal relationship with us and that is all that He asks! This chapter is proof that God has a plan and it began back in Genesis! He will not falter from it.

Accept – Believe – Confess

To Him be the Glory

Today’s reading:  Romans 11

The primary message of Romans 11 is God’s gift of grace to all mankind.  Last month in my post, An Invitation for All, I talked about God’s plan for salvation.  It started with the Jews, then expanded to the Gentiles.  Based on our text for today, we could dig deeper into how his plan played out through the Old and New Testament.  Instead, I’d like to focus our thoughts on who the plan is about.  Did you pick up on it?  The plan isn’t about the Jews or the Gentiles, it is about God.  Look how Paul describes him in the last four verses of chapter 11.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen (Romans 11:33-36).

In verse 33, Paul describes three attributes of God:  wisdom, knowledge, and judgment.  Dictionary.com defines knowledge as the perception or state of knowing facts or truths.  Wisdom, is then about how knowledge is applied – the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment. God is perfect.  Not only does he know everything, but he also has the ability to perfectly apply knowledge in every situation.

I smiled when I read these definitions.  Every weekday when I drive my kids to school, we spend time talking to God on the way.  We confess our need for him.  We ask him to be by our side as we move through the day’s activities, and we specifically ask for his help to make WISE choices.  Wise choices are hard for fourth and seventh grade kids.  (They are still hard for their forty-four year old mother, too.)  Peer pressure is strong, and they don’t always have the wherewithal to think about the consequences of their choices ahead of time.  Our prayer helps remind them relying on God’s knowledge and wisdom can make up for their shortcomings.

Paul goes on to describe God’s judgment as unsearchable and inscrutable.  I’ll admit, I had to look these words up to really understand the second half of this verse.  It means God’s judgment is unable to be clearly understood.  This makes sense.  Without his complete knowledge and perfect wisdom, we don’t have the capability to really understand the depth of his plan.  At times we are able to connect the dots through study and experience, but generally only after the fact.  Seldom are we able to prospectively figure out what God has in store for us and why.  I think this is by design.  I’m a planner.  While I’d love to know every detail of what is to happen (surely I’d make wiser choices if I knew it all), it would lead me to rely on myself rather than rely on God.  My human nature wants it, but without God’s perfect knowledge, wisdom and judgment, I know it wouldn’t have a good ending.  How do I know?  The prophet Isaiah reminds me,

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Paul closes the chapter with the following statement to remind us the plan is about God not us – For from him and through him and to him are all things…

  • It is all from him – the plan came from God, it wasn’t our idea.
  • It is all through him – even if we had the plan, we couldn’t make it happen.  We couldn’t free ourselves from the bondage of sin.
  • It is all to him – the plan is not for me, it is not for you.  We were created to glorify God, and we find our fulfillment in bringing him glory and honor.

…To him be glory forever.  Amen (Romans 11:36).

But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD

This week’s post is in memory of my sister Marne’s father in law, Benjamin Dharmaraj who went home to be with the Lord on May 5th, 2017. Benjamin was first and foremost a follower of Jesus Christ and if you’ve met him or his family, you’d likely know that this verse very much applies to them:

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15b)

Benjamin was a devoted husband; having faithfully, lovingly and intentionally kept his marriage vows until the very end. He was a father, a grandfather, a best friend, and much more.

Benjamin with Ajit

I did not know Benjamin well but I have some glimpse into his impact on his family and my family. He raised a son Ajit, who would become my brother in law; a perfect match for my sister, and that has been evident since the two fell in love many years ago.

Benjamin’s wife Renuka shared with me that the two of them were born and raised in Christian families, however she said it wasn’t until the late 1990s that “God got a hold of them”.

They were attending a non-denominational church, learning and growing and then decided to be baptized out of obedience to the scriptures. Renuka shared this is when they really started growing in their faith; she also shared her belief that praying for others and others praying for them made a significant impact.

Meditating on Romans chapter 9 this week and thinking about the rich heritage in the Benjamin family, the theme of this verse kept hitting me:

What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. (Romans 9:30-31)

Any of us who pursue the law or traditions out of the sake of tradition can miss the righteousness, the gift, and the joy of knowing Jesus through faith.

Benjamin’s family has a rich tradition, a legacy, but their deep rooted faith was evident this week. With the mourning of the earthly loss, there has been joy and acknowledgment that Jesus is King, and through his death on the cross, there is hope and promise of an afterlife with our Father God in Heaven.

Our prayers continue for the family of Benjamin.

The remainder of today’s post was written by my sister Marne as a reflection in her time of grief.

Grieving is like an invisible wind whose predictability blows neither here nor there. One never knows when it is coming or how powerful its strength will be. A certain fragrance or a sound of laughter, an unrelated event or a gesture of a stranger can suddenly ignite grief’s presence into such force that it tosses the victim into the eye of a storm and dangerously lands them in the unknown to pick up the shattered debris.

Grief has an element of creativity. It is often brought on spontaneously and is unstructured. It colors one’s life like a canvas of unexpected shadows, designs, paths of light or jagged lines. It seems like a mistake, or even a highly dangerous medium to explore, and yet it has an intriguing beauty at it’s very core.

For in our despair, we are not left without hope. In our emptiness, we are not left alone to sort through the brokenness. In our doubt, He is still trustworthy. In our pain, we are never without His love. Jesus has never abandoned us in any circumstance, in the past, present or whatever is to come. Because of His rich love for us, we look ahead with confident expectation of His goodness, mercy and loving kindness.

We look forward to His creativity and how He masterfully designs everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. (2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT)

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (2 Corinthians ‭4:16-18‬)

No longer slaves indeed!

Today’s Reading: Romans 6

Good Morning,

Today we have one of our regular guest writers over the last couple years Kris Walker.  Prayers for all of us as we continue this awesome journey together. No longer be slaves to fear and enjoy these words to a song that we will live fearless as a child of God! 

As we look in Romans, I once again find myself gravitating towards music. I can’t help it. It’s how I’m wired.

“I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God”.

 Romans 6:11-14
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

I feel like the song leaves out some important thoughts! I love how verse 13 says you have to offer yourself to God for this to happen! We have to make that conscious effort!

I also like how there is still accountability. There are some people that would say, “well, I’m saved now, I’m a child of God. Why strive to do better? Why push to serve with righteousness?”

Romans 6:15-18
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

I feel this is so important, because we cannot abuse our grace we are given. We are no longer slaves to sin, but we have to make ourselves be slaves to righteousness! So, we still are slaves… but we are VOLUNTEERING ourselves! We have to! It’s how we should serve!

The biggest take away from this?? Obviously is the reward for being a slave to righteousness.

Romans: 6:22-23
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is my hope, OUR HOPE, as we serve together, as brothers and sisters, that we can all be in everlasting life together! We can live in holiness! I can’t even imagine! I know personally my life is constantly filled with disaster. I look forward to a time to live in everlasting holiness. And, all we have to do, is make that choice, and become a willing slave to righteousness!

No Longer Slaves  – Jon David & Melissa Helser

 

 

Enough.

“By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.”

I think these words above could be enough of a devotional for me today… wouldn’t you agree? The first verses of Romans 5 completely spoke to my heart as I prepared to write about Romans 5 for this Monday morning, and I can’t help but think that perhaps Jesus wanted to remind us that we are ENOUGH as we start off another new week.

I don’t know about you all, but I certainly do not have my act together 100% of the time. Scratch that… I don’t have my act together MOST of the time, and that fact is becoming more apparent the older I get! You see, for a while, I was really good at pretending that I had everything in my life tied up with a pretty little bow. I was good at saying “no” when my calendar got too full, but I avoided any reasons to let the world know that sometimes my house got messy, I wore yoga pants all day, or that I struggled with something much deeper than yoga pants. In fact, deep need to always be enough and to be perfect even began to impact my relationships. Often, I kept people in my life at arm’s length so that they would never know that I was not, in fact, perfect… that I struggled, that I doubted, that I became frustrated and angry and overwhelmed easier than I cared to admit. In case you were wondering, the very pursuit of being enough on my own left me lonely and feeling like anything BUT enough!

Friends, I’m convinced that the longer we run that race and try to reassure the entire planet that yes, we’re perfect, we’re enough, we have it all together all the time and can balance all the things without dropping the ball, the more we WILL begin to realize how false that is. As a result, we’ll realize our deep need for Jesus, because He is the only way we are enough. Yet, in a world that praises hustle over harmony and in a culture that believes one must be busy to be blessed, running that race to become enough seems to be what’s expected of us.

Let me step into your day really quickly (hopefully, before your busy start to your week begins) and remind you that there is another option available for us as children of God. All we have to do is slow down enough to see it and to take it. Read those first few verses of Romans 5 with me again today:

“By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.”

“…we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus.” Breathe that verse in as a sigh of relief this Monday and picture yourself throwing open those doors to invite God into your week, only to find that He has already thrown open the doors for us, just as those verses above say. This week, you can start off “out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory…” THAT is what Jesus offers to us. With Him, you are enough.

Happy Monday, indeed. 🙂