Category Archives: Romans

³⁵ Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ³⁶ (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) ³⁷ No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:35-39

Dear God, the New Living Translation (NLT), which I enjoy reading, adds a few words here that the other translations don’t have. They don’t change the meaning, but I do think they add some clarity. The middle of verse 35 says, “Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity…?” The other translations just jump right in aftr the first question and say, “Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution…?” But I think the NLT makes explicit what is implied by the other texts. It’s an important question for all of us to answer, but it’s easy to miss if it’s not made explicit: “Does it mean you no longer love me if I have trouble…?”

I’m not sure I’ve ever felt unloved by you, but I’ve certainly felt let down before. I felt “disappointed,” as a pastor friend put it one time. Even disillusioned. The word “disillusioned” can get a bad rap, but I think it’s probably actually a good thing. If I am “illlusioned” then it is good for me to be “disillusioned.” You have taught me what your love does and doesn’t mean over the years. I still have much to learn. I’m not saying I understand everything. But over the last 15 years, I’ve certainly learned more than I knew before. I’ve learned to accept what your love doesn’t mean, just as Job did after your speech to him in chapters 38-41:

42 Then Job answered the Lord and said,

² “I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
³ ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”
⁴ ‘Hear, now, and I will speak;
I will ask You, and You instruct me.’
⁵ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees You;
⁶ Therefore I retract,
And I repent in dust and ashes.”

Father, I accept the life you have for me. Now, that’s easy for me to say because, overall and outside of a couple of deep sorrows, I have a pretty good life. And even with that good life, there are times I want to complain. Times when I’m not grateful for simply your love. You are a good God. Nothing can separate me from your love, for which I’m grateful. I have a relative who is checking into a rehab facility today. I pray for that precious person. I pray that they will find your love. I pray that you will guide me in knowing how to pray for them. Your love is waiting there for them. Pull away the clouds that hang like curtains from their eyes (Keith Green reference) and help them to see you’ve been there all along. And support their family. Their parents. Their child. Guide all of them into your love. Use this difficult time to help all of them, and to help me as well. Make this pain count for your glory and their joy and peace.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

⁹ Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ¹⁰ Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. ¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:9-21

Dear God, I think there’s something implied in verse 21 that we sometimes miss: If we don’t follow all of these verses, including 19 and 20, then evil is overcoming us. Vengeance is dangerous to the avenger. Retribution is cancerous. Bitterness and hatred are destructive. There’s a reason Jesus said hating is akin to murder. And I’ve hated. I’ve hated others. And I’ve been hated. I am hated.

This passage is a good reminder that if I am to live peacably with others I must turn loose of hate and embrace compassion, forgiveness and love. That might mean dying to my own rights. That might mean being taken advantage of. It might mean being seen as week or soft.

I’m going to be teaching a Sunday school lesson later this morning about Eli and his sons, but I wonder how Samuel saw them. AFter his vivist from you overnight, how did he see Eli, Hophni, and Phinehas? Did he hold them with contempt? Did he judge them? Did he pity them? How did you want him to feel about them? “Hate the sin, love the sinner?” Try to influence them?

Father, I have the Rich Mullins song “Let Mercy Lead” going in my head right now. Help me to let mercy lead. Help me to follow Paul’s admonition to love my enemies, abhor what is evil, and love what is good. And with everything that I do, let it be with the goal of leading others into complete relationship with you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

⁵ May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. ⁶ Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. ⁸ Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews^[b] to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors. ⁹ He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:

“For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles;
    I will sing praises to your name.”^[c]

¹⁰ And in another place it is written,

“Rejoice with his people,
    you Gentiles.”^[d]

¹¹ And yet again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles.
    Praise him, all you people of the earth.”^[e]

¹² And in another place Isaiah said,

“The heir to David’s throne^[f] will come,
    and he will rule over the Gentiles.
They will place their hope on him.”^[g]

¹³ I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:5-13

Dear God, the things the world tells me to get upset about are just things that I cannot control. Right now, it seems like everything, and I mean everything, from nearly all levels of our government are the things that are driving wedges between Christians and non-Christians alike. Whether it’s foreign policy, domestic policy, state policy, or local policy, we are in this existential crisis worrying about how to control something that we really can’t control and then we judge the people who disagree with us. I was with a man in my office the other day, and it came out that we disagreed on some political issues. I cut the discussion off pretty quickly because I knew that Satan might use it to drive a wedge between us that just doesn’t need to be there.

We are here to be an encouragement to each other. I was thinking last night while I looked at a group of men who are in a class provided to those getting community service hours through the courts that they have the potential to be that source of support for each other. Over 10 weeks, they have an opportunity to build a community that will strongly support them. That you can use to be your presence to each other. It makes me think now that we need to be really already focusing on the idea of implanting the alumni meetings to them for after the course is over.

Father, help me to be informed for the sake of compassion but not as a way to grasp power or control. Help me to embrace and encourage every person who calls on your name, seeking them out so that you might make me stronger in you and more like you and so that I might help them to be strong in you and more like you. Help me to turn loose of the world and its outcomes, leaving that in your hands. I think about what the prayers of the common person in Germany must have been like in the 30s or in Russia in when Lenin took over. I think about the common Christian in Ukraine or Russia now. I’m just a small butterfly. Show me how to flap my wings today so that your kingdom might come and your will might be done on earth as it is in heaven.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

²⁸ Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ²⁹ For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. ³⁰ Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. ³¹ Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. ³² For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.

³³ Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

³⁴ For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
    Who knows enough to give him advice?
³⁵ And who has given him so much
    that he needs to pay it back?

³⁶ For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.

Romans 11:28-36

Dear God, this is one of those times when I’m not sure about Paul’s conclusions. I do, wholeheartedly, agree with verse 33, which I suppose is why I question verses 28-32. If your ways are so unknowable, how can Paul explain them right before that? I’m probably praying a lot of heresy here, but when I look back over the recorded history in the Bible and then think about the 1,900 to 2,000 years since then, I tend to think of everything in human history leading to Jesus. I see Abraham’s call being part of the butterfly effect that leads to Jesus being born to Mary. I mean, for you to have blessed Jacob…well, there has to be more to your choice than his nobility or righteousness. All of it needed to lead to David which led to Jesus. You put your thumb on the scale and led history right where you needed it to go. So yes, there were times when you really favored Abraham’s descendants, and because you are the true God the descendents of both Isaac and Ishmael have carried your name forward, but it feels like everything was about making sure Jesus entered the world the way he did 2,000 years ago.

How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

I can’t pretend to know or understand any of this. I would certainly never teach it to a Sunday school class or in a Bible study because I’m probably wrong. So I come here this morning to accept the fact that I am small, ignorant, and foolish, and I have a God who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. I worship you. I do the best that I can in any given moment. I offer my life to you.

Father, there is so much pain in the world. I’m thinking about several people in my mind right now who I know are in a lot of pain. Bless and encourage them. Show them your heart for them. Give them freedom through confession, revealing secrets that are binding them up, and redemptiive repentance. My heart hurts for them. Give them the serenity to accept the things they cannot change, the courage to change the things they can, and the wisdom to know the difference. And beyond that, give them the ability to repent before you, receive that grace, and then, in gratitude, extend grace and mercy to others. Throw off the self-pity and other ties that bind them, and help them to peacefully and joyously bask in your presence.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

14 Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. ² For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. ³ Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. ⁴ Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval.

⁵ In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. ⁶ Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. ⁷ For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. ⁸ If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹ Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead.

¹⁰ So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. ¹¹ For the Scriptures say,

“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bend to me,
    and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’”

¹² Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. ¹³ 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.

Romans 14:1-13

Dear God, sometimes it seems like Paul is all over the map. I like this passage, but how does it square with 1 Corinthians 5:12?

¹² It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. 

It’s a lot of fun to judge other people. I was talking with a friend about another person I know recently about gossiping, and I told her that if you want to get in good with this person all you have to do is sit and “dish” with them about other people. Then they will be your fast friend. But that friendship will be thin because that person will be “dishing” about you sometime soon.

What I like about Romans here is that it reminds me that all sin is equal and capable of separating me from you without Jesus’s mercy, so when I get wrapped around the axle about someone else’s sin I’ve probably forgotten just how much I’ve been forgiven for. How much you still forgive me for each day. I add to my sin list every day, but the good news for me is that you cannot see it through Jesus’s blood.

Father, I want to look at verse 13 here and ask that you please help me to live in a way that builds others up and does not cause them to fall. Help me to be exactly who you need me to be for your kingdom and your glory. I’m about to start a couple of days of vacation. I need this break. Please restore me. Lead me beside still waters. Help me to lie down in green pastures. Prepare me to return to the world on Monday in a way that will bring you glory, honor, and help your kingdom and will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Be with my wife and me over the next four days. Help us to be completely united and bless each of us through the other.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

¹³ I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. ¹⁴ For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike. ¹⁵ So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. ¹⁷ This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

¹⁸ But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. ¹⁹ They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. ²⁰ For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Romans 1:13-20

Dear God, I heard someone say this morning that when you take a piece of scripture out of context then you are likely using it as a pretext to justify whatever you believe. I would say, at a minimum, there’s a danger of doing that, although sometimes, with the way our Bibles are organized, it can be easy to make that mistake. For example, the verse of the day today on Bible Gateway was Romans 1:20. But Romans 1:20 starts with the world “For.” So it is expounding on smoething else. Then you back up and see verse 18 starts with “But.” Go back, and verse 16 starts with “For.” You have to go all the way back to verse 13 until you get to a point where Paul is starting his thought. He wants to go to the Romans to tell them about the Good News. He is not ashamed of the Good news about Christ. The Good News tells us how to be right in your sight. God [you] show your anger against sinful, wicked people. We have not excuse for not knowing you because we can clearly see your invisible qualities, eternal power, and divine nature through your creation. If I’d just have done verse 20 then I’d have missed all of that context.

So here I am to walk a life that is right in your sight through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. That means I get to sit here and worship you this morning with a repentant and humble heart, understanding just how much you’ve forgive me for and be grateful for your forgiveness. Then I get to think about and care about my family and friends. Pray for them that their lives will be ordered by you and that they will be healed from their pain. That my friends struggling with their adult children will be comforted and their children will be healed from addictions or other wounds they carry. That they will be safe from domestic violence. That they will feel your face shine upon them. That if they are mourning they will be comforted. If they are poor in spirit, they will be lifted up by you. If they are merciful then they will feel and receive your mercy. If they are humble they will see you. I pray that for all of my friends and family.

Father, as for me on this day, I am speaking to a group of graduating seniors tonight who are in the National Honor Society. Their parents will be there as well. I think you’ve given me a word for them. I pray that you will be in that word, bless that word, and plant seeds tonight, even though the wisdom in the words I share will be limited. But let the words find good soil. Let them grow. Prepare their hearts to hear you today. To hear you through me. Give them something to hold onto. Give them you to hold onto.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen