I sure had faith in our pilot while flying in the helicopter over Hawaii. Stunning!
When I first started reading Romans 4:1-25, verse four reminded me of a poster I have in my classroom. The poster says something like, “Grades are not given…you earn them.” The verse says, “When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned.” I was going to go on about how the school year is starting and it’s time to earn your grades. But God wanted me to read the verse in context and go a little deeper. Imagine that, God wanting me to keep it “godly”, not “goodly” (newly created word by me).
Excuse my mind for going in the same direction, but different thoughts. So I bullet-pointed my thoughts to keep them “randomly focused”:
- There are many religions out there that do “good” things. There are a lot of “good” people in this world doing great things. But no matter how “good” someone is, “just being good” isn’t going to get them to heaven. You must have faith.
- “But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.” Romans 4:5
- When others ask me what religion I am, I say that I am a Christian. It’s not about “religion”. It is about a “relationship” with Christ. I like how verse 13 doesn’t differentiate us based on what group of people we were born into in order to receive His promise. Again…you must have faith.
- “Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith.” Romans 4:13
- Who doesn’t like a gift? I love gifts! But the one thing you must have in order to receive this gift is faith in Him.
- So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.” Romans 4:16
- Faith seems to be an underlying theme throughout this set of scripture. Think about Abraham for a minute. Here was a man who was 100 years old. God told him that he was going to be a father. Neither Abraham nor his wife was able to conceive a child, but Abraham didn’t lose his faith in God. If God said it was going to happen, then by golly Abraham believed it. He had faith. Abraham’s loyalty to God was so evident that it grew stronger, and this brought glory to God.
- 20 Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. 22 And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. 23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.” Romans 4:20-25
What about you? Is it all about a religion, following traditions and laws? Or is it about a relationship and having faith in Christ?
Being a Christian is as simple as remembering this five letter word on your fingers:
F…is for Forgiveness. (Romans 2:23 and Ephesians 1:7)
A…is for Available, but not automatic. (John 3:16 and Matthew 7:21)
I…is for Impossible. (Ephesians 2:18)
T…is for Turn. (Luke 13:3, John 14:6, and Romans 10:9)
H…is for Heaven. (John 14:3 and John 10:10)
And H is for How: How can a person have God’s forgiveness, eternal life and heaven? By trusting Jesus as personal Savior and Lord
Salvation Prayer
Dear God, I know that You love me. I confess my sin and need of salvation. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and arose from the grave. I turn away from my sin and place my faith in Jesus as my Savior and Lord. I want to follow you with my life.
Amen.
If you prayed this prayer, welcome to the family! I am so excited to have you as a brother or sister in Christ. I want to encourage you to find a local bible believing church and go, attend, and get involved. Please send me a note and let me know if you are now a new Christian. I’m praying for you. Yeah! Go and enjoy a life filled with Christ!
Blessings to you all!
| August 10 |