Romans 1:8-15 A Common Destiny

First, I am grateful to God that through Jesus Christ everyone in the world is talking about your faith. God has made the gospel of His Son an obsession with me from the depths of my heart as well. He knows how I can’t stop thinking and praying and asking that now, at last, He might let me come to you. I want to do this because I think I might be able to impart some of His special foundational tools, but I also know you would be an encouragement to me, so there would be
much mutual benefit. I don’t want you folks to think that I haven’t planned a visit. I want glean some of this fruit God is producing in you in His great harvest of the nations. I owe this to Greeks, Barbarians, wise and foolish and I, myself am eager to fulfill this obligation to you in Rome.

First Romans Post

1:1
Greetings from me, Paul, My whole life is duty-bound to Jesus, God’s chosen one. He has ordained me to get up and go, to live my life for His shocking message, which shouldn’t be so shocking as He always promised through the prophets and Holy writings His Son would be born in the line of King David. Now, though, He has added power to this truth by raising Him from the dead. This powerful act of His Holy Spirit leaves no doubt: God has chosen Jesus to redeem and rule mankind. Jesus has abundantly equipped us with everything we need to deploy and bring this gift of faith resulting in allegiance to His lordship throughout all the nations bringing them under His authority and protection. Jesus has called you to this realignment as well.

I am writing this to all of God’s beloved elite people in Rome. God has declared peace on you and showered you with all the spoils of the victory of our Lord, Jesus His Anointed One.

What Are Blogs For?

It's been a long time since I've posted. I guess I blame Christmas and taxes and preparing for a new year. Anyway, one of my reasons for doing this was always to post things I think I am learning.

One way to study the Bible is with pen in hand. I often do this in order to make myself regurgitate what I am learning. Otherwise it goes in my eyes and drifts off into an empty void between my ears. I was reading one of the epistles and suddenly realized, "Hey, this is supposed to be a letter. Why not re-write it as one and see it as what it was originally and not what it is to us, a book in the Bible." Anyway that is my project with Romans. Now, I am not claiming this as a translation or even a paraphrase but more as a personal application of the information. I am aware of the danger of speculation. I don't want to do that but I have gained some helpful insights on some hard passages. If you are willing you can read these and discuss, correct and warn me when I'm getting off-base. Maybe you can tell me how to word it better.

"God helps him who helped himself"

Yesterday I went to the hardware store. When I came out my Smartphone wasn't there. I checked to make sure I hadn't taken it out of it's dock-sure enough it was gone but the fella that "helped himself" to my phone left me a little present: a new tube of caulk. I carried it back into the store and asked, "Anybody just sell this to someone?" "I did, Why?"says Jeff. Now Jeff is arguably the toughest guy in there. I told him why and he said, "give it here and if he comes back I'll get it outta him." I kind of felt bad because he said it was a fourteen year old kid but, hey, I need my phone and it had all you guy's information in it. I left, but I guess it wasn't long before someone needed another tube of caulk.

Jeff "Buddy you'd better cough up a phone or you're goin' to jail."
The kid: "What Phone?"
Jeff: "The one you stole out of a car."
Kid: "Must have been my twin brother."
Jeff: "Well, your twin brother better get back here or you're in trouble."

A few minutes later it was in Jeff's hands. I probably didn't suffer enough consequences to learn much from the experience but I'll bet the kid did. I hope God uses the experience in the kid's life.

Why I Run

Yesterday I had to go way out west to do a job. It took all day so I planned for an 8 mile run on the way home. Forty miles of "sand prairie" separate Stafford Ks. from civilization. I finally selected a lonely road called Jordan Springs. It was about 4:00 p.m. so the sunlight was autumn gold and the shadows were long. We've had a mild, wet year and the leaves on everything are just beautiful. The road was blow-sand but it was packed fairly well. At some points it was plowed through two or three feet dunes. I passed a lonely cemetery and then the Ninnesca River. Then I came to wilderness areas. Suddenly I encountered a fragrant aroma. It brought back so many memories. If you've ever visited the mountains you know the wonderfully sweet smell of an Aspen grove. This was a Cottonwood grove and I don't know if I've ever noticed that smell before in Kansas but Aspen Cottonwood and Poplar are closely related. About a mile from my car I was pretty thirsty and started wondering why they called it Jordan Springs. A couple minutes later I saw a rusty mossy pipe sticking out of the ground. There was cool "clean" water coming out of it so I took a chance and took a sip-not bad-tastes a little like baking soda. Anyway it was a wonderful time. Until Heaven, Thanks God for Kansas.

...NEED I SAY MORE...

The Lord's Prayer and the Flesh IV

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil-How can we ask God this? Isn't He good? Doesn't The Bible teach that God does not tempt? Well, I've struggled with that and I've come to the conclusion that in the grand scheme of things, since God is in complete control, somehow there must be at least an indirect allowance of evil. Therefore He could keep it away from me if He wanted. God wants me to acknowledge that I cannot even handle temptation without his help.

Romans 8 teaches that we are sheep to be slaughtered but God is constantly working everything out for my good. By daily confessing that I am weak and cannot handle temptation or evil on my own I deny my flesh which tells me that I can handle it. I am then free to depend on God's Spirit to work in me.

35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED."
37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.