Posts Tagged with "romans"

I’m fortunate enough to live within easy access of several popular service stations. Circle K, WaWa, and Race Trac. When I pull in, if there’s a line of cars waiting, I’m instantly aggravated and begin to re-think my decision. If the gas price seems too high, I’m tempted to jet over to one of the others and check their rates. If the pump is going slow, I’m annoye...

“Do not be conformed to this world.” That command—one of the firsts in Paul’s letter to the church in Rome—comes after 11 chapters of deep, rich, beautiful gospel doctrine. Paul has taken his readers on a voyage from the depths of human guilt and depravity that resulted in God’s wrath, to the heights of Jesus death and resurrection that has resulted in our f...

“This is not at all how I thought God would work in my life.” Ever heard that one? Ever thought it yourself? God’s ways are strange. Inscrutable. That’s the word translators used in Romans 11:33. It’s a hunter’s term that means untraceable. You can’t track God. His ways are elusive and beyond us. They’re past finding out....

Romans chapter 8 is one of the greatest if not the greatest chapter in the entire Bible because of what it tells us about the eternal plan of God, the finished work of Jesus Christ, and the endless power of the Holy Spirit....

Earlier this year we passed a historic date in our nation’s history: the Invasion of Nazi- Occupied Normandy in France. June 6, 1944 is now known as “D-Day.” That operation brought together land, air and sea forces of the allied armies. It was the largest invasion force in human history....

I recently read the story of the Worst Roommate ever. Bad roommates are late on rent. They don’t flush the toilet. They make noise and fight over the thermostat setting. But this roommate takes conflict to a whole new level. Here’s the story:...

In Romans chapter 7, Paul brings clarity to a question Christians have struggled to answer for a long time: how do we as followers of Jesus relate to God’s moral law?...

I met a lady years ago and began inviting her church. She was not opposed to Christianity, she just had been out of church for years. One random Sunday she showed up and loved the service. She even filled out a connect card and asked for follow up. A close member of her family needed counseling. Our church reached out and met her need. She began to attend more regularly. S...

On May 10, 1940, an old man and his two daughters gathered around a radio late at night in Holland. They tensely waiting to hear their prime minister address the country. Germany was at war with England and France. Will Holland join the war or remain neutral? One of the daughters, recalling that night years later, writes:...

’m not afraid of heights. At least, I didn’t think I was. Once I trekked 630 feet to the top of the tallest monument in the United Sates, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Okay, full disclosure, I took a Tram Car. At the observation area on top, a row of widows displayed a panoramic layout of the city—thirty miles in either direction. The view was stunning and I couldn�...

Thousands of years ago, a man named Job asked the question that has haunted and eluded human beings since the fall of mankind: “How can a man be right with God?”...

When I graduated high school I repeated a pattern most of the kids in my town followed. I enrolled in a local college about 20 minutes from my house. I didn’t have to move out. I didn’t have to quit my job or leave town. I didn’t have to pay for tuition. I didn’t have to start over. It made sense...

In the villages of Costa Rica, a man acquired a motorcycle, but had no clue how to operate it. Being a proud villager, he refused to ask for help and was content merely to push that powerful machine from one village to another, never realizing its full potential. He had no idea how it started. He did not understand it, so he did not experience it. And he certainly did not ...

My daughter is reading the novel series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. We watched one of the movies and I was struck by a scene featuring ‘The Lotus Hotel and Casino,’ an oasis in the desert. Anyone who enters never wants to leave. Luxury suites, addictive food, enticing drinks, thrilling games, and unimaginable pleasures detain you. You won’t spend any money at L...

Long ago, I was given false directions by a stranger...

I grew up watching a show called Tales from the Darkside. A creepy-sounding musical note opened each show, along with a correspondingly creepy narrator who introduced the theme: darkness. But what I remember most is how each episode ended. “The Darkside is always there waiting for us to enter; waiting to enter us.”...

In Bee Movie, Barry B. Benson is a honeybee who, upon discovering endless shelves stocked with honey in a grocery store, decides to take humanity to court. He sues them for exploiting honeybees everywhere. They steal, consume, and sell honey...

Righteousness. What comes into your mind when you hear that word? If you’re like most people, something religious probably surfaces, which is understandable. But righteousness is not simply a religious term. Everyone is on a quest for righteousness, whether they’re religious or not...

Saving Private Ryan is one of my favorite war movies. The title actually summarizes the plot. James Ryan is the last living sibling in his family and serving as a paratrooper in Normandy. His three brothers have been killed in combat so the United States Army launches a mission to find and rescue him from the war. ...

Paul couldn’t wait to get to Rome and make that announcement. He was eager, unashamed, chomping at the bit. Why? Surely a message about a crucified and resurrected Jewish carpenter would fall flat in the power center of the world. So on what basis was Paul willing to expose himself to shame, slander, and even death?...

Larry Walters needed some bigger perspective. So he went to the Army-Navy surplus store, bought forty-five used weather balloons, filled them with helium, and attached them to his self-made aircraft, a Sears lawn chair named Inspiration. ...

A friend of mine recently commented, “Perspective is the only thing that can change the whole world, without altering any of the facts.” I couldn’t agree more. ...

A. W. Tozer pointedly wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us…Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God” (The Knowledge of the Holy)....