The Righteousness of God Revealed!

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.' " - Romans 1:16-17

Alrighty! Let's look at the encouraging side of this verse, today. Yesterday we talked a bit about how the fear of man MUST NOT be our focus. We cannot be ashamed of the saving Word which has been spoken over our lives. Christ is our focus now... and we must spread His precious Name unto all the earth. Remember, we have the antidote to the disease which lies in every heart...

So, we've kinda talked about the Gospel in the past... now let's look at it's effect on our lives. The Gospel is the power of God, put on display, for the salvation of those who believe. Here's where things start to get really good! "For in it (the Bible) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.' "

Okay... so here's a point that is worth looking into. The part where it says, "from faith to faith," can be kind of confusing, so here's the best explanations that I could find right away...

"This may be a parallel expression to 'everyone who believes' (1:16), as if Paul were singling out the faith of each individual believer - from one person's faith to another's faith to another's and so on. Or perhaps Paul's point is that the righteousness from God is completely on the basis of faith from beginning to end." - "from faith to faith" Notes from The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).

I figured I throw that out there, just to clear up any possible confusion on this point. So that we understand... Paul is NOT talking about different faiths... i.e. Hinduism, Buddhism, etc... but is speaking about the faith that is found within Christianity and the saving work of Christ alone. Are we clear? Good! (if not... e-mail me!)

So... here's the point that I would like to stress this morning... Personal, intentional time spent in the Word of God...

If you don't already spend time alone in the Scriptures, there are a few things you need to know about such times. This is the time where you will find personal convictions, from God's Word... The Bible is a living and active book, filled with the truths of God and instructions on a righteous life that honors Him. More so even than just this... it gives us insight into the character of the Mighty God whom we love and serve!

This is one of the most important things about the Bible. We can gain an incredible understanding of God, through His Word. We see His holiness, His righteousness, His justice, His anger, His love, His mercy, His plan of salvation... what do we see of the human nature? REBELLION! Time after time after time... we see men revile against their Creator, and we see His patience and kindness as He deals with us... This should bring incredible hope into our lives. If God hasn't destroyed the entire earth yet... and if Christ died on our behalf, already knowing all of the sins that we would commit against Him... then we should not fear drawing near to Him because of our dirtiness... He already knows! He knew what it would cost Him, He knew how broken we would be... and He loved us anyways! How do I know this? Because of what I've read in His Word!

Do you see the incredible legacy that was left for us? The Bible, the inspired Word of God, was left for us as our way to know our God better! Don't underestimate the importance of time spent in this Book!!! There are very few things which are truly important in this life... delving deep into this Book is one of those things!

By reading the Scriptures, you will understand better the character of your Savior. And by understanding Him better, you will serve Him with a more devoted heart. With a more devoted heart... you will not be ashamed of the message that you preach! Do you see how this comes full circle??? It's truly amazing!

So... if "THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH..." and if the faith that we are to live by is found in the Bible, and if the righteousness of God is revealed, the power of God for salvation, in this Book... shouldn't we be reading it EVERY DAY???

This is my challenge to you... read God's Word every day, every hour, every spare minute that you can! Read the Psalms, the book of sorrows, joys and everything in-between, and know that there were others who struggled with the same doubts and fears that you face today! Read the Old Testament history, and understand the treachery with which God's love was treated, and yet He remained faithful to His promises! Read the New Testament accounts of your Savior, and be reminded constantly of the Love with which your soul has been redeemed! Read Paul's letters to the early churches... understand the grace of God, from the view-point of a man who was once a leading persecutor against the very Body which he later loved so deeply that his own life was of no consequence to him! All of this and more is available for the encouragement of the soul that is willing to take the time to read the Word of Truth!

That's my challenge to you! Take it or leave it... but I'd suggest taking it!

Grace and Peace, dear Friends!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

Ashamed of the Gospel?

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.' " - Romans 1:16-17

This is such a well-known passage... I'm not even really sure how to approach it!

Let me tell you what I don't think is seen as often as it should be... "For I am not ashamed..." I think that we tend to check out on that part of the verse, most of the time... We are quite prepared to see where Paul tells us that the gospel is the power of God... but we are less ready to be ridiculed and mocked by people. We are less prepared to be as vocal as Paul was about Christ, to the complete stranger... Why?

Are we ashamed? Are we still held back by fear of rejection from others? I know I've had problems with wondering what a person might think if I were to talk to them about Christ. But we must begin, if we have not already begun, to grasp the frailty of human life and the urgency that comes from knowing that the person you are talking with might not live past tomorrow. Tragedies happen every day... people die way before they ever expected to... and if your co-workers or friends do not hear the gospel from you... who's going to tell them? Who else is going to be that light? We CANNOT be ashamed!

There is no shame in knocking on someone's door and warning them that their house is on fire... why should warning them that their soul is headed for destruction be any different? If we could begin to have a genuine affection for the souls of others... we would feel no shame in preaching the gospel to them. If we could love people's souls like Jesus loved them... we wouldn't hesitate to be ridiculed for the sake of them hearing the message of salvation! There's just no way!

Paul was not ashamed of the gospel! In fact, he was beaten, stoned, left for dead, imprisoned numerous times, shipwrecked, and then kept under house arrest, until the day that he was beheaded... all for the sake of the gospel. Does this sound like a man who cared about what people thought of him? No! This was a man who cared that people took the time to think about Jesus! He sacrificed his personal image so that he might reflect the image of Christ.

So what are we going to do? Can we continue to learn these things about our faith and then sit back and say, "Wow! That was powerful!" but do nothing about it??? Can we continue to be the very hypocrites that we are so tired of seeing around us? We CANNOT, MUST NOT live life for the sake of our own image... this is the way of the world! The world has nothing better to live for than their own image... but we have Christ! He is so much greater than we are! We could never hope (not to mention "should never hope") to be greater than He is! So, instead, we mirror Him to all people. We must unashamedly proclaim His name to our generation.

There is no glory for ourselves in preaching Christ to those who do not want to hear... there is only hatred and retaliation... but this alone is a fulfillment of Scripture! Christ said, in Matthew 5, "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me." He told us it was coming, and now we can be a part of Scripture being fulfilled!

Now... here's the good part of the verse, that everyone likes to hear! When we unashamedly preach the gospel, it is going to wreck out the lives of some people! They're going to see Christ in us and be so amazed at the love and joy that they see, they won't even know what to do about it! at this point that we fulfill the other part of this verse! We can show them the power of God through His plan of salvation for those who believe!

That's the good part about preaching unashamedly... that person who says, "Tell me more about this Jesus person..." and you get to tell them the rest of the story!

Friends, we are commanded to preach the Gospel. It's who we are as Christians! We are ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), and we must be a faithful and true witness of the One who sent us.

We'll probably get back into these two verses tomorrow, but for now...

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

Dear Friends...

I'm afraid that today would be a less-than-fruitful day, for blogging...

I have some issues of the heart that need immediate attention, and a limited amount of time before I have to be at work this morning.

That being said, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend, and I look forward to jumping back into Romans 1 on Monday.

Grace and Peace!

They Are ALL In Need of a Savior!

"I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome." Romans 1:13-15

It's amazing what you can find when you take a slow and purposeful approach to a passage of Scripture. When you really get down to it... each verse has so much to say!

Today we're going to be looking at a passage that I've had trouble obeying, in the past, and even still now...

"I am under obligation both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish."

Paul nullifies any discrimination of who his audience is intended to be. He says, "I'm under obligation to everyone, for the sake of the Gospel." He doesn't make a judgement call on a person's background or ethnicity, but rather on the fact that they have a soul! When you see a person and you have the understanding of, "that person has an eternal soul, just like I do," it should cause you to have compassion for that person. And not only compassion, but we are called to take ACTION!

And that's where I have the trouble... I too often make excuses as to why NOT to talk to someone about Christ. Isn't that crazy??? Their eternal soul is on the line and I'm thinking, "I don't want them to think I'm weird..." Weird? You know what's weird? That a wretched being such as me could be saved by a God who already knows my faults, and yet He saves me anyways! That's something worth sharing no matter how "weird" you might look to people. Because if you don't share the good news of Christ with that person, today... who's to say that you'll ever have another chance? James says, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." (James 4:13-14)

If we are a vapor... then there is no time to waste when it comes to the souls of our coworkers and friends. But we cannot stop there... we need to have the love of Christ so embedded in us that we say, as Paul did, "to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish." We should not make distinctions between one soul and another, when it comes to the salvation of that person. Just because someone is dirty on the outside and has foul language, doesn't mean that their soul is worth any less than of the businessman , who wears a tie and watches his words closely. They are both headed for eternal damnation if they do not know Christ as their Savior!

For some reason... this is a struggle for us, as human beings, to grasp. That one soul cannot have more importance, in the eyes of God, than another. Let me try to unpack this idea for us, really quickly... God does not see as we see, and thankfully so! For we look at the outward appearance, but God sees directly to the heart of a person. (1 Samuel 16:7) Our thoughts are finite and futile, but the thoughts of God transcend space and time! (Isaiah 55:8-11) He is the Creator of each and every soul, and is unwilling that a single one should perish (John 3:16-17). He gave the Way, the Truth, and the Life, that we might spend eternity, in heaven, with Him! (John 14:6)

Does this sound like something that we should be keeping to ourselves? As Paul would say, "By no means!" which is his way of saying, "That's the exact opposite of what we should be doing!" There is no greater calling on a Christian's life than to be an example of Christ and to preach Him, always, to everyone we meet. There shouldn't be any discrimination, any inconvenient time... think about it...

So, talking with someone about Christ might make you late to dinner, is your stomach going to go to hell if it doesn't get some food right away? Is the temperament of your meeting worth more than the eternal soul of another person? Is your reputation as a punctual person worth more to you than the fact that the downcast soul, standing in the same elevator as you, is in need of a Savior???

Far be it from me to throw the first stone of judgment here, but I think we all know the answer to each of these questions... NO! There is no greater importance or agenda that we could possibly have than warning people of the impending wrath and judgment upon their sin and the way out that has been provided, through Christ.

I know I've said this before, but I'm going to say it again... I'm not telling you this because I have it all figured out already! This is something that God has convicted me of, personally, and I am being made aware of the problem of passiveness that has infiltrated the church today! We have become pacifists! We don't want to disturb the peace... There is no peace without Christ! Can you "hear" what I'm shouting??? We don't have another, more pressing, issue at hand than that of the very souls that God has purposefully placed around us. The ones that He designed, from the beginning of time, to fall under our areas of influence! Don't overlook the "least of these"... because that's the one that Christ loves... He or she is the one whom Christ would have ministered to... He came for the sick, the oppressed...

Well... that's enough of a rant for today, I think. I leave you with these thoughts. And my prayer is that you would consider the importance of every soul that passes you by, today and every day, for the rest of your life.

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

The Importance of Church! Romans 1:11-12

"For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine." - Romans 1:11-12

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near." - Hebrews 10:23-25

These verses are so incredibly encouraging to me! Paul emphasizes the importance of believers gathering together for mutual edification (building up). That's one of the greatest things about Christianity! It doesn't say, "You're on your own! Go try to be a good person!" But rather, "We're all broken and in need of a Savior. Let's meet together so that we may be encouraged by one another and support one another during times of trial!"

Somewhere along the way, though, someone seems to have gotten the idea that Christianity was meant for the individual, and that support and accountability, through the church, was not a necessity anymore. Let me just say... INSANITY! The church is not the building, but rather the people, within a gathering, who profess Christ as their Lord and Savior. Does the married man maintain a good relationship with his wife, if he keeps himself separated from her but is constantly in the company of other women? Christ called the church His bride! Can we keep the bride of Christ at arms length, while we spend the rest of our week in the company of the world? The "other women" that I speak of... money, pride, fame, houses, cars, etc... they bombard us as an adulterous woman, begging us to relinquish our convictions, and instead to enjoy the fleeting pleasures they offer.

In the same way that intimacy and communication is important to keep a relationship between a husband and wife strong, a relationship with other believers is important to keep a Christian vibrant and strong in the faith. Paul says, "that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine."

This isn't a matter of "attendance" because we need to have bigger numbers each Sunday! I would rather have fewer people, and for those who come to be actively pursuing Christ and actively ministering to other believers as well as non-believers.

You might ask, why can't we do that at home, by ourselves? Because, again, faith is not something that was meant to be solo... Your salvation is between you and God, true, but we are then called to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. The only way to avoid drying-up, as a Christian, is to be constantly filled with the truths of Scripture. You cannot, in and of yourself, hope to accomplish what God does through the gathering of individuals to whom He has been speaking throughout the week! Let me try to unpack this idea...

When you go to church... There are probably anywhere from 30 to 3,000 people, correct? If God has been speaking, all throughout the week, to those 30 to 3,000 people... don't you think there's a good possibility that He may have given some different insight, into different passages (or even the same passages), to some of those other people? Don't you think that maybe the experiences of life, that some of those people are going through, might be able to encourage you and teach you more about God's character? His loving kindness/Holiness/judgment, etc... ?

Really quickly, let me tell you what I'm NOT saying... I'm not saying that home churches are bad. If in fact there is the accountability of believers, meeting together for the purpose of edification, then the Scriptures say that, "Where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." (Matthew 18:20) The key here is the clause "in My name..." Gathering together, without Christ truly being the center... it just becomes another hang-out session without the accountability and conviction of sins that true Scriptural teaching brings, and we might as well stay home and watch a couple of make-me-feel-good televangelists!

Well, that's it for today's rant! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

A Kingdom-Minded Prayer Life

"For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you." - Romans 1:9-10

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." - James 5:16

I wanted to take a somewhat different look at this verse, this morning. It's very easy to look at this verse and say, "No relevance to today!" and move on. But I think there's something here that we should take interest in.... the dedication of Paul's prayers to the Body of Christ. I think this is an area in which we are quite often forgetful. I know I am!

What if the people of the church constantly prayed for one another and for the body as a whole? Don't you think that, perhaps, there might be less divisions? Perhaps we would come to church with the mindset that we are there to serve, rather than to simply come and be "filled" or "fed." Too many people leave churches and go "church hopping" because they "weren't being fed" at the last church they went to. My theory behind this story is that they weren't involved enough, nor were they serving enough, to really be a part of the bigger picture. It's easy to grow tired of a show... and if that's how you see church... there is a very good chance of you becoming weary of the same thing, week after week.

Don't hear me wrong on this... I'm not saying that it's not important to be filled up with the encouragement that comes meeting together with other believers. Nor am I saying that church is a place meant only for those who serve every Sunday. What I am saying is this... That if you are becoming weary of your Sunday morning "routine" then perhaps your heart needs a little changing... And that's where prayer comes in!

Praying for someone else can change your entire perspective of that person. Jesus told us to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:44) Why do you suppose He would tell us to do this? Perhaps that might gain a new perspective of that person's life?

Now, let's not even go as far as enemies... let's just consider praying for our acquaintances, friends, and families. Do you not think that constant prayer on behalf of those whom you know would cause you to feel a greater compassion for them? Don't you think it might cause you to feel more strongly about preaching the message of salvation to the ones who aren't saved? If you are constantly mentioning them in your prayers... and I mean sincerely mentioning them, not just, "Oh yeah, God, and I pray for Fred." How about, "Lord, would You do the work, that I cannot, in Fred's life. Father, would You call him to Yourself, and would You please use me to minister to him." Do you see the difference? Do you see how the second example might cause you to grow in compassion towards Fred's soul? Do you see how the love of Christ might just seep into your heart towards Fred, and cause you to love Him as Christ loves him?

I heard an example once preached like this.... The preacher said, "God says this to you, 'I'm gonna go throw a party in that person's soul. You wanna come along?' And then we have the responsibility of either responding to that call of ministry or we can sit back and God will use someone else to do His work... In which case He says, 'That's fine, but I'm still gonna throw the party, I'll just get someone else to bring the confetti!' "

The entire point I'm trying to make is this... if you are praying earnestly for someone, and an opportunity to minister to that person comes along, you aren't going to sit back and let the opportunity pass you by... not if you're as sincere as we're talking about here. This requires, though, that we truly grasp this concept of making "mention of you, always in my prayers making requests..."

So, back to the "what ifs" I mentioned at the top... What if we prayed for our pastors? What if we asked God to bless them and that they might bring a fresh word, from Him, that we might be built up in our understanding of Him? And the saying, "fresh word," may sound kind of weird, but it's so true! The Word of God is living and active as it's as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago. If we prayed that God would move in His people, through the preaching of His Word... What crazy things might begin to happen, and all of this for the glory of God?

What if we prayed for those who are down-trodden in our congregations? What if we visited them and comforted them? What if the people of the church actually ministered to one another as God intended? What if lives were being changed because of the prayers of the saints, on behalf of one another? I would imagine that the body of Christ would be that much stronger and that much more of a powerful witness to those who come to "check out this 'Christianity thing.' "

Friends... prayer on behalf of the body of Christ is essential! There's no way around it... we MUST remember to think outside of ourselves when we come before the Throne of God Almighty! The throne of God is the perfect place to go when things are tough for us, but it's also the perfect place to make petitions on behalf of another...

We could probably spend a week, or even a month, on the subject of prayer alone! But I will leave you with these few thoughts for now. I plead with you... don't forsake the responsibility of praying for others. We have been given, through the Holy Spirit, the gift of direct communication with the Creator of the universe! Don't waste your "minutes" on idle chit-chat about the earthly things that you desire to have... Be "Kingdom-minded" in your requests to the Father.

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

Is Our Faithful Witness Being Proclaimed?

"First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world." - Romans 1:8

Wow! What a testimony! Paul confirms the faith that is being displayed by the churches in Rome with these reassuring words... "because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world."

This would probably have to be the equivalent of a modern-day preacher writing a letter to the home-churches in China today... There is such oppression in the churches of China, and yet they are considered the most rapidly growing churches of the world... Why is that? It is nothing short of God's glory being revealed in the lives of His people. Those who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8)... Those who are hungering and thirsting after righteousness (Matt. 5:6).

Is there anyone who doubts the sincerity of the believers in China? They are being tortured, beaten, murdered... The price of Christ upon their lips is often their lives! Does this sound like a fad to you? If so... we need to talk. As when John sent his disciples to Christ for reassurance that He was in fact the One, we would hear the same report as John did from his disciples... "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM." (Luke 7:22b)

China has no shortage of the poor and oppressed... and neither do we! The difference between the two is that we have become too comfortable with our own agendas and our own lifestyles to be concerned with anyone else. This is not the work of Christ in our lives, but of the enemy! Do you think that God saved your wretched soul so that you could then sit back and receive as many blessings as He might pour out? By no means! We are called to support the orphan and the widow (James 1:27), to give to the poor, to help the brother who is struggling in his soul... God did not bless us just so that we might be blessed, but so that we might bless others in return. There is no glory to be found in hoarding up treasures here on earth. These treasures are merely tools to be used for the work of Christ in our lives.

That's why the "Health-and-wealth gospel" is no gospel at all, but is rather a detriment to the ears that hear such falsities preached, Sunday after Sunday. We are being taught by "churches" that God's number-one goal is to bless us! What kind of gospel is that??? The Gospel that I'm familiar with, the one that is ACTUALLY in the Scriptures, is the one that says that we will be despised and rejected by men when we follow the example of our Lord.

So, reeling it all in here... what report might Paul write about your church? Is news of your faith being proclaimed throughout the whole earth? If not... why? What are we doing wrongly, today, that might cause us to be less effective than the early churches of Rome?

Let's suppose, even, that Paul were to write a letter to just you... What words of encouragement might Paul have about your efforts for the sake of the Gospel?

Friends, I'll be the first to admit that Paul's letter to me would probably look something more like, "You need to be more bold! Do not forsake the preaching of the Gospel because you feel inadequate! There is a much higher purpose and plan for your life than any agenda you could possibly have. Your reputation isn't worth it, at the expense of their very souls, is it? Chris, speak boldly the Words which Christ has breathed into your very being!"

His encouragement to me would probably be more in the form of correction, perhaps not so pleasantly put, if in fact the Gospel is as urgent as Paul stresses in his other letters. The urgency of Christ being preached should cause us to forsake our own pursuits and instead take up the cross of Christ.

If Paul's letter would not be an encouragement to carry on in our efforts, but rather to stop whatever it is that we're pursuing and to begin the work of Christ in our lives... maybe it's time to stop and consider our purpose as believers.

I feel like I may be re-hashing this point over and over again, but I cannot help myself. You see, God is convicting me of my stagnant behavior... As He does, I am compelled to begin a chain-reaction of conviction and, hopefully, actions taken in an effort to correct this disease which spreads rapidly throughout the modern churches of America. I say this to you so that I might be held accountable as well.

The calling that I have felt upon my life, for some time now, is that of a youth minister. I cannot convey to you the sense of urgency that wells up in me when I think of our highschools and the people within them, our CHURCH YOUTH GROUPS and the lack of passion and conviction! But that is a conversation for another day...

For today... please, ask yourself this important question. "Is your faith being proclaimed throughout the whole world?" Are your actions a reflection of the love, grace and mercy of Christ within your life? Or are we still living for ourselves? Mirroring the world's desires and pursuits with our own?

I am asking myself this very question... I do not pretend to have it all together. I will admit to you, right now, that I am being broken even as I write this! There are still things in my life, which are not honoring to God. There are things which require His loving discipline and correction. But He is ever faithful! He is continuing to pour out His love and patience, goodness and mercy upon my life! There is still hope for those of us who have failed the calling that is placed on our lives, but we must act now! Don't wait any longer! Become that faithful son or daughter of the King, of whom it will be said, "Well done!" when you enter into the presence of the Father.

Friends, when it's all said and done, what greater words could be spoken of our lives except these, "They were the example of Christ to those whom they knew!"?

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

My Peace Story/Confession - The Greeting: Part 8

"To all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." -Romans 1:7

So, we briefly looked at grace, yesterday, and now we move on to peace! Well, I'm not sure how much "new" stuff I have to say about peace... If you want a more in-depth look, however, check out some of the earlier entries I did on peace. They're gonna be pretty far back there, but you should still be able to find them.

Let me just take a few minutes to tell you the most recent run-in I had with the peace that God supplies...
I was depressed. I felt like nobody cared. I looked at those that I loved, and felt like there was nobody who loved me in return. I was listening, quite intently, to the lies of the devil. "You're not good enough. You aren't lovable... How can you call yourself a Christian? Look at how you reacted to that person."
So far... not a whole lot of peace going on... is there? I was struggling with a sense of value and worth! I was often wondering, "What's the point of life? Is this all I can expect for the rest of my life... to feel like an outcast?" Friends, there was a level of self-pity there that I hope none of you ever stoops to!
Now... Tuesday night prayer meeting, March 3rd, 2009. (Aha! So, you thought this was an OLD story huh? Nope, I'm still broken... still in need of constant correction from God.)
I don't remember much of the actual prayer meeting, itself. We sang some songs, prayed in groups... and I felt such a burden the whole time! At the end of each prayer meeting, however, we have a time of communion. And I purposed to really focus in on Christ and His saving work, on the cross. I got into the line of people that were headed up to receive communion, and was all-the-while meditating, or at least trying to, on the things of Christ. Now the line I was in began at the back of the room and curved around towards the side of the room. The problem was that we were going to the same station for communion as another line of people, which meant that we were merging with this other line in what looked to me like Friday evening traffic (Just picture your local highway at 5pm on Friday). The pastor noticed this problem and, along with an elder, began giving communion for the line that I was in. When I reached the front, I was still struggling with feeling the nearness of God (another subject for another time), but as I came up to the elder who was handing out the bread, he looked at me and smiled. He said, in hushed tones, "Hey! How's it going man? This is the body of Christ. This is the body which was broken for you!"
At this time I was thinking, "Wow! Okay, this is good!"
Now... here's where I got really messed up in my self-pity party...
Next was the pastor, who held out the cup and said, "Tonight you are a son of the King, because of this blood, which was shed for you!" Yeah... that was it...
Friends, the realization of HIS love for me... it washes away all of the "need" I had felt for the approval of man! The restless nights of desiring for someone to care, those were burned up in the passion of HIS love for me!
There is a peace that only God can supply... The kind that doesn't leave you when things are tough. You might forget, every once in a while, Who it is that really loves you, unconditionally. I did! But He never quits on us! He is there, the Solid Rock on which we stand, and He alone is our peace! Paul says, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father..." Paul knew where the grace and peace came from! You can't find these two things, in their true form, except through our Heavenly Father.
The funny thing about those times of wondering and wandering is that, when God does make Himself plainly known in those moments of brokenness, we see how great His love for us really is! We find that peace that we had strayed off the path to try and get from other sources... it was there all along, in Him!
I don't have time, today, to go into all of the aspects of peace. However, I would encourage you, if you haven't read the week that we went through peace, to go back and read those for a fuller understanding of what peace is and what it isn't. The truth is, though, that even though I wrote all about peace, experiencing it was completely different. Because I still longed after human affection. I struggled with peace, even after I wrote all of those blogs about it! It takes faith in action, and sometimes (like what happened to me) it takes experience, to really understand and fully grasp what it means to forsake all others for the peace which God supplies. It is the sweetest thing, though, once you learn to rest in the arms of the Father!

With that... I do truly bid you the Grace and Peace of God in your lives!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

Grace... The Greeting: Part 7

"To all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." -Romans 1:7

Okay, so here's where we get to the end of the official "greeting" portion of Paul's letter. He finishes his greeting with this final blessing... "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
It's interesting because, every letter that Paul writes begins with this prayer over the church to whom He is writing. Let's look at the two parts of this profound greeting...

Grace... "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!" We are all familiar with this song. Even among the unchurched peoples of the world, this song has its place in history. However, only the believer can truly understand and appreciate this grace. Look at what Paul says in Ephesians 2. DON'T SKIP OVER THESE VERSES! You will not understand the rest of what I write, if you don't fully grasp the weight of these verses... read them closely.

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." -Ephesians 2:1-10

This verse speaks volumes about the love which God has for us! Those words... "But God"...
"But God" did what we could not... "But God" loved a people undeserving... "But God" sent His beloved Son on our behalf... "By grace you have been saved..."

You see... grace is a free gift that we do not deserve. You and I do not, cannot, deserve the grace of God. It is unmerited favor, simply because He chose to love us! Think about a parent and their child. Every parent thinks that their baby is the cutest, most adorable baby that has ever lived... Am I right? I mean, no parent says, "Wow! We sure messed up with that one!" Maybe later in life, when the child has had a chance to be a monster and make their own decisions but... well, that's way off tangent! The point is, after the birth of that child, the parent's adoration and affections are turned to their child. They love their child so much that they would give their own life for them. Why? What has that child ever done for them? Cried, made messes in their diapers, kept them awake at all hours of the night... There is no specific thing which would cause a parent to love their child... except, the simple fact that they love them. A parent loves their child because they love their child! It's as simple as that...

In the same way, God loves His children simply because He loves them! We have not, COULD NOT, ever earn His love! The point where the example, of earthly parents loving their child, falls short of mirroring God's love for us is this... Parents can become disappointed in their children and thus forsake or disown them, but those whom God has loved... He will never unlove! Does that make any sense? To the average human mind, it probably doesn't. Our love it too conditional. We change far too often in our opinions of people. But God... He loved us "even when we were dead in our transgressions..." That's the kind of love that the human heart desires most... the kind of love that keeps on loving even when we've messed up so badly that we cannot deserve whatever love we might receive!
This is the epitome of the grace which God has bestowed on our lives! His love is evidenced by the grace that we've received! It's a free gift, and it's the best thing that could ever happen to a person!

Well, I think that's enough for us to chew on for today... we'll continue this verse tomorrow!

Friends... GRACE and Peace to you! This is my prayer...

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

Our Responsibility in Spreading the Gospel (The Greeting: Part 6)

"Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ..." - Romans 1:1-6

Okay, so here's a thought that I didn't completely expound on yesterday...

The individual's responsibility to spread the Gospel. It is not the responsibility of pastors, alone, to bring the message of salvation to this world. It is the Great Commission, which is to every believer, to take the Gospel to every tribe and nation... in other words, to every street corner, neighborhood, business (employer or employee), and every home into which we are welcomed.

Again, if you claim Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior... there is no other route. There shouldn't be any other options in our lives. Yet, sometimes... most of the time... I fail to bring Christ into the conversation. What fear is it that keeps me from sharing the message of Christ, the only way to be saved from eternal punishment in hell? Are we so consumed with self that we cannot stop to stumbling blind man that he is headed for destruction? So it is with every unsaved soul that passes us by...

Friends, there is an urgency to spread the Gospel, which seems to be lost in the American churches today. We are taught solid doctrines... sometimes... and we sing great songs of worship... but is the urgency of Christ's message taught? "Repent or perish!" It may sound harsh, but the truth often does...

Let's suppose that you are walking along the busy streets of Las Vegas one evening (we won't try to imagine why we are there...), and you recognize the former President of the United States, George W. Bush just a little further down the sidewalk. He is talking with some other gentlemen that look like important men of business... As you are watching, a car careens from the road and is heading in their direction... Now, supposing that you are close enough, do you leave them alone because they seem intently engaged in each other's company? Or would you shout and warn them of the imminent danger that approaches? Let's take it one step further... would you risk inconveniencing these men by shoving them to the ground to keep them from harm? I would think that the answer should be quite clear! Just in case it isn't, the answer is "Yes, you should risk the inconveniencing of their agenda for the fact that, should they be killed by this car, their agenda no longer has any meaning anyways!" Too often we allow the excuses of meaningless, earthly agendas keep us from sharing the only thing that really matters!

So, you carry the antidote to the number one killing virus, with which the whole world is infected... are we so selfish that we will keep it to ourselves. This virus, sin, is certain death to every soul that it infects. Let's look again at what Paul tells us...

"through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake..."

"To bring about..." gives us the understanding of action and "the obedience of faith" reminds us what action is to be taken... that which Christ has commanded us. Again, the Great Commission...

Friends, I'm as guilty as anyone alive of not fulfilling this calling... I tell you, however, that in the most recent of weeks I've had my eyes opened to the urgency of the Gospel. My hope and prayer is that I will not delay any longer, but that I would speak boldly of Christ and of salvation.

Perhaps this is something that you are uncomfortable with... perhaps you don't know how to talk to people. Let me ask you this... What if someone hadn't had the courage to come to you with the message of salvation? Where would you be going when you die? Without the knowledge of your sins and your need of a savior, and without the good news of Christ's death on your behalf... you would be headed for eternal damnation and separation from God.

Friends, there is no greater disservice that we can do for someone, than to withhold salvation from their souls. Whether or not they accept our message or not, is between them and God, but you will have a clean conscience, that you pointed them in the way of truth. You did not withhold the very message of grace which covers your multitude of sins.

This is the calling on our lives... this is what Paul lived for and it's what we should be living for. If Paul had cared more about his own well-being than about Christ, then many many people would never have heard of salvation, and we wouldn't be reading this letter that he wrote...

Who do you know, that will be spending an eternity in hell unless they are showed their sins and their need for Christ? Do you wish to account for their blood? I do not write this to scare anyone into evangelizing... I write it to show you the urgency of our message! You don't know whether or not the person you work with is going to make it home tonight... they might get into a fatal accident on their way home. Is their approval worth more than their soul? Is man's approval worth more, to you, than your own soul?

If sharing your faith is something you struggle with, I ask that you would pray earnestly for God to give you boldness. You can do nothing greater, for the Kingdom, than to be a bold witness of Christ's power in your life. Fulfill the calling that is upon your life... and in everything you do, preach Christ: The Way, The Truth, and The Life!

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

The Greeting: Part... 5???

"Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ..." -Romans 1:1-6

Okay, so we've looked at quite a bit of information so far... We've seen Paul profess his willing slavery to Christ Jesus, and his apostleship. We've looked at the prophets, whom Paul mentions, and their prophecies concerning the coming of the Christ. And we've looked at Jesus' fulfillment of ALL of the prophecies and His fulfillment of God's demands for a blood sacrifice, for the atonement of sins. With that being said...

Today we're going to look at verses 5 and 6. Paul begins these words with a turn-around that references back to verse 1. So, he points back again to the source of grace in his life and the source of his apostleship, Jesus Christ. Here's the reason that Paul gives... "to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake..."

Paul's calling was to the Gentile nations (anyone who was not a Jew), a calling which he took very seriously and passionately pursued for the rest of his life. Notice, though, that Paul says "through whom we have received"... There were others who were also called to the Gentile nations. Paul then says something that hits us right where we are at, look at this... "among whom YOU also are the called of Jesus Christ."

WE are called to the purpose of spreading Christ's name and glory throughout the earth! Are you looking for the meaning of life? There it is, right there! There is no higher calling on your life, if you are a professing believer in the work and person of Jesus Christ, than to glorify His name and lift up His name and to preach His name to the ends of the earth! Hear me loud and clear on this one... There is no greater calling... We are to lift up our God in highest praise. Everything else that we do is worthless, unless the light of Christ shines through us and causes our efforts to become opportunities in which to share the Gospel with others.

So, when Paul says that we're called, understand what he means... He means that our lives are marked with the purpose of reflecting Christ as our greatest love and our greatest pursuit. He means, and I mean really means, that without Christ EVERYTHING ELSE is worthless.
Also, it is important to understand that we being called by Christ means that we did not come to Him, but rather that He called us to Himself. We were dead in our transgressions... are we God, that we might raise ourselves from death? No! Only by the grace and mercy of a loving God and beautiful Savior are we made alive! From the beginning of time we have been set apart for the glory of God. You were called...

Do I mean that you had nothing to do with your salvation? Yes... Do I mean that it had everything to do with God choosing you and predestining you to Himself? Yes... Do I mean that God is unjust and unfair in choosing you and not choosing others? Absolutely NOT! The question is not "Why didn't You choose them, God?" ...but rather... "Why on earth did You choose me?" God IS perfect justice... He is holy, which means that He is complete and whole, not lacking anything. We are broken... we are cracked and misaligned. Perfect judgement would cast every human who has ever existed into condemnation! BUT GOD... such powerful words from Ephesians (and elsewhere)!

The Bible tells us that God is rich in mercy. Mercy is when you do not receive the punishment that is justly due you... If you were to look at the 10 Commandments... would you pass all 10? None of us can say that we have kept all of the Commandments. In doing so, you will have lied and thus broken one of the commands right there! Congratulations! You're a part of the fractured and broken system! There is good news, though... That mercy that we've mentioned... God sent His Son to pay the penalty for your sins and mine. The perfect blood of Jesus Christ has covered over our sins, if we will only repent (to turn away from) our sins and follow Him. God loves you... not because you've done something to deserve it... just because He loves you! That is why He has called you to Himself...

This is a lot to try and digest... Unfortunately, I'm out of time for today, but we'll continue with these same verses, tomorrow.

In the meantime... Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

An Aside of Considerable Irony!

"The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD." - Proverbs 16:1

That verse is so true for me, this morning... my plan was to wake up early and get going on this blog... but God's plan was for my alarm to not go off, and instead, I got a few extra hours of sleep, so that I won't crash and die on my way to Waco this morning!

With that being said... I woke up with about a half-hour before my planned departure. So, we will be continuing (Lord willing) with Romans 1, tomorrow!

Grace and Peace, dear Friends!

Verification of Christ's Claims, through His Resurrection (The Greeting: Part 4)

"Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord..." - Romans 1:1-4

So, I know we've already covered these first few verses and that I keep putting them up there... but I want to keep everything in context. This would be much easier if Paul had used punctuation in his letters. Unfortunately, the original text was written, not only without chapters and verses, but also without a lot of punctuation. The letters of the New Testament were written as a continual thought... As you can see, we are four verses into Romans and have not yet found a period... lots of commas, but no periods.

With that being said... let's dive in!

So, yesterday we covered the prophetical backing of the Old Testament in defense of Jesus' claims as the Son of God. And if I had looked a little closer, I might have included verse 3 with yesterday's text, since it references the Old Testament prophecies as well! God had said that the Savior would come through the line of David. This is seen several times, in the Old Testament.

Today let's look at New Testament fulfillment of those prophesies, as laid down by Paul's letter to the Romans. "Who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord..." (1:4)

Easter is coming... most of us could probably recount the story of Christ's death and resurrection. But what we must understand is that it is His resurrection which gives power to His words as the Son of God. There are plenty of idealists in the world. There are even some who are claiming to heal the sick and the deaf and the lame. But only Christ has ever proclaimed Himself the Son of God, been killed by those who reviled Him, and then come back to life! It's just not something that happens all of the time.

The important part to remember is that, way before Christ is ever arrested or tried by the courts and the Sanhedrin, He constantly told His disciples what was to come. He proclaimed, well in advance, His death and resurrection. This was also OT prophecy being fulfilled (Isaiah 53).

Now, where this gets important for you and for me... His death and resurrection didn't just verify His claims as the Son of God, but was the ONLY way for us to be saved, once and for all, from the penalty of our sins. "DEATH" was written on each of our hearts, before we were even born, and Christ spilled His own blood on the cross... with which He wrote "LIFE" over the death within our hearts! The death and resurrection of Christ made it possible for Him to be THE perfect mediator, for our souls, before the throne of God. Every accusation of the devil is counterable by the blood and testimony of Christ Jesus.

DO NOT, however, take this lightly. This is not a license... it is a free gift that comes from an unconditional love! We do not, because of this blood, have the freedom to live in the pleasures of this world, but must see the importance of obedience to Christ's words, which He spoke while He was alive! We will cover this more specifically in the chapters to come.

So, I say all of this, but the question must then come... "Is Jesus Christ your Lord?" It is an undeniable FACT that He IS the Lord of All, but are you rebelling against His Lordship? Or are you living in the humility of His grace and mercy, and devoting yourself to Him? At the end of the day... this is the question that matters most. "Who are you living for?"

As an aside, anyone who has lived long enough can tell you... living for yourself is a worthless endeavor! In the end, every "treasure" that you might acquire will become worthless to you. Until you see Christ as the highest goal and ultimate fulfillment of purpose in your life... you will not truly live.

If you have further questions about today's blog... Please, e-mail me! I'd be happy to talk about what we've discussed today. For now, though, I leave you with these thoughts...

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

The Promises of Old Testament Prophecy (The Greeting: Part 3)

"Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures..." - Romans 1:1-2



Okay, so today we're going to look at the accounts of the Old Testament prophets, which point towards all that Paul is about to teach us. Most of us are probably familiar with the stories we've heard from the Old Testament, about David and Goliath, Abraham, Joseph... but I don't think as many of us are familiar with the prophets. You know... the one's who are always so hard to read... mostly because they keep mentioning people and places that we have no idea about!



However, these prophets were used of God to point the children of Israel towards the hope of Salvation. It was the prophets, whom the Pharisees and Sadducees would study, that gave the God-inspired insight into the coming of the Savior. Unfortunately, the Pharisees and Sadducees and all of the religious leaders, were looking for a conquering hero. They were reading only half of the message, apparently... because Isaiah says it like this:



"Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. Just as many were astonished at you, My people, so His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men. Thus He will sprinkle many nations, kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; For what had not been told them they will see, and what they had not heard they will understand.

"Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." -Isaiah 52:13-53:6



When you read this as a continuous thought, you begin with the victory of Christ. However, it doesn't take long before this prophesied King, becomes much less kingly in appearance... "despised and forsaken of men"? The Jews were looking for a military leader! This man, Jesus, preached the Kingdom of Heaven, not one of this earth... He taught about compassion and forgiveness of sin, not the keeping of religious practices. "To obey is better than sacrifice," (1 Sam. 15:22) was a concept they had heard before, but not one that they practiced. You see, they obeyed, outwardly, and yet their hearts were of unchanged stone. Jesus came to soften hearts and heal the broken, the Jews were looking for someone to break the chains of Rome!



The Jews believed God's word, that the Christ would come, but didn't understand what God's plan for salvation looked like. So, when Paul and the other apostles, most of them unlearned men with the exception of Paul, were able to look back on the prophetical texts of the Old Testament and make the connection with Christ, we can see that this is not an accomplishment of men but of the Holy Spirit revealing the truth to them.



So, after that little rabbit-trail of information... The prophets were the God-inspired messengers of what was to come. There are well over a hundred prophecies that pointed to the coming of the Savior... and only Jesus Christ could fulfill all of them. The probability of any one person fulfilling even a few of them is such a high number... Here's a link with a little bit of information on the odds of messianic prophecies being fulfilled. http://www.raptureready.com/featured/funk/statistics-probability.html (about the middle of the article).

So, we see that Paul's pointing out of the promises of God being fulfilled in the gospel message is actually an incredible note of authority for every other claim that is to be made about Christ, in Romans, rather than a small aside. It is the fulcrum on which every other truth swings, and to which every other truth is attached. For without the fulfillment of the OT prophecies, the Gospel would swing wildly and have no basis of stability and truth, or would contradict the rest of the Word of God. However, Paul also quotes the OT in reference to Christ's authority and authenticity, quite regularly, throughout not only Romans but his others letters as well.

Not only this, but the entire consummation of Scripture, Old Testament and New Testament, points to Christ. Without the gospel, the Scripture is incomplete. The Old Testament cannot stand alone as complete, nor does the New Testament nullify the Old, but rather they fulfill each and every promise of each other.

So, God's promises, given by the prophets, were fulfilled in Christ Jesus. Now... we should be prepared to dive into the rest of this letter with the understanding that Paul is not coming up with this stuff on his own. God promised the Savior, through His prophets, and brought about the fulfillment of that salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.

I think we've explored this passage well enough... I apologize if some of you are more confused, now, than you were before we began. I feel a bit scattered-of-thought this morning....
If necessary, I will reiterate today's blog in a more clear and concise (not to mention condensed) way, at a later date.

For now... Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

The Greeting: Part 2

"Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God..." - Romans 1:1



So... we've covered what it means to be a bond-servant, or rather a willing and wholly devoted slave, to Christ. Now, let's explore what it means to be "called as an apostle."



From the Greek, apostle means "one who is sent." I love the picture that this brings to the table... we are sent by God, as missionaries of His Word. This is not something that we do of our own, rather we are called, by God, to a purpose higher than serving ourselves. Ephesians 4:11 says, "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ..." Now... let's not get too carried away with this, but notice how all of these positions are ones of ministering to others... none of these positions are stagnant, none of them are positions of only receiving the instruction, but rather all of them are positions of ministering to others.



Nobody is listed as having been given as a "listener." Paul did not list a certain group of people as having the "spiritual gift" of simply receiving God's Word, but rather we are all called as apostles, to be sent out, and then there are those whose area of ministry is more specifically zoned in to certain action... Pastors and teachers, for example are called to minister specifically to the body of Christ, but are not exempt from sharing the Gospel with non-believers as well.



That being said, let's look at the next part of verse 1... "set apart for the gospel of God..." This is crazy good stuff! Do you realize just how incredible it is to be set apart for, and in, the good news of Christ's defeat over sin in your life??? You are a child of God Most High! You were set apart, called to salvation... This is indescribably good news for us! When our righteousness is counted as filthy rags in the sight of God... while we were yet sinners, Christ died for US! You and me... how crazy is that?



I don't know about you (well, actually I do), but I DO NOT deserve anything but the wrath of God. My heart is filled with every wicked thing, and it is only by the grace, mercy, and patience of God that these things are skillfully removed, as a cancerous infection by a skilled surgeon, from this wretched being! That's the greatest part of the Gospel message... WE DON'T DESERVE ANY OF IT! But God... such powerful and incredible words! "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-7)



You've been set apart. Now... what are you going to do about it? This is not something to keep to yourself! You are no more deserving than the serial killer and rapist who is buried deep within the prison walls. You are a lying, thieving, murderous, adulterer at heart, who has been freed from the punishment of sin by the grace of God and the blood of Jesus alone! Do not become boastful in anything other than the grace that is upon your soul! Secondly, do not think that you are any more deserving of this grace than the drug addict or alcoholic who lives next door or down the street or downtown... Pray and ask God to help you to see them as He sees them... as He saw you. This should bring tears to your eyes.... to realize the love that a holy and just God must have, to be willing to sacrifice His beloved Son for a people undeserving...



Dearest Friends... you've been set apart as messengers of the Gospel of God! Don't lose sight of your mission. Do not resist being "sent out." Go! Show others the light that now lives inside of you. "But now in Christ Jesus you who were formerly far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." (Ephesians 2:13)



I'll leave you with that thought...



Grace and Peace!



Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

The Greeting - Part One

"Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." -Romans 1:1-7

Okay... So, right out of the gates, we have some very interesting things to cover. We're probably not going to cover everything in these seven verses, today. I'm not sure if we'll make it past the first verse, even!

The word that Paul used for bond-servant , in the original Greek, is doulos. A great definition of which is this:

"a slave"

"devoted to another, to the disregard of one's own interests" (From "The New Testament Greek Lexicon" )

"To the disregard of one's own interests..." This is an incredible concept that Paul just throws out there in the opening sentence of his letter to Rome. The first half-sentence of Romans 1:1 establishes Paul's view of his mission. "I am a slave to the will of Christ!" Is this a slavery of unwillingness? No, Paul used the word in its Hebrew sense to describe a servant who willingly commits himself to serve a master he loves and respects.

So, how does that translate to us? What are we doing that shows that we are willing slaves of the King? That we are serving Him with our best and with a humility that is typically associated with a slave? In opposition... what are we doing that rebels against this idea of being bond-servants? In what areas of our lives do we need to surrender control?

You see, a slave doesn't have control over his or her tasks. The Master directs and wills, the slave submits and obeys. This is a hard concept to teach to people who live in modern-day America... we are too proud, we have too high an opinion of ourselves, we are fed self-deserving thoughts through every media outlet and from on every side.

It is not a popular religion that says, "Deny yourself, and take up the work of another. Live for others, and forsake your own comfort!" However, Christianity is not a religion. Religion is a following of rules and regulations, in hopes of achieving a right standing with a higher power... Christianity is a reckless abandon of self, because of the realization that we were dead in our transgressions and sins, and that Christ died a brutal death on our behalf so that we might spend eternity in heaven with Him. There is a difference between these two ideas....

Religion says, "Follow these steps. Do these things, and don't do those things, and perhaps your righteousness will merit you a favorable position with god."

Christianity says, "There's nothing you can do to gain God's favor... any doing that there was to be done HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE! Christ died for your sins... believe in Him, serve Him, love Him... this is your responsibility in life. I can't wait to get to Romans 12, which talks about offering our bodies (lives, skills, abilities, spiritual giftings) as living sacrifices... we are a walking, talking testimony of the grace and mercy of a loving God upon an undeserving people.

So, back to Paul's opening statement. To paraphrase: "I, Paul, in light of Christ's mercy and grace upon my life, am a willing and humble slave to the will of God the Father and to the continuation of the work of Christ, here on earth." And this paraphrase of Paul's words is mirrored by the life we see lived out in Acts and in the letters that he wrote to the churches. I'm not making this up! Paul is an incredible example of what happens when a sinful heart collides with the realization and reality which is Christ!

My question for you today is this... How do our lives reflect that collision of sinful heart and sinless Savior? Do we express the same humble servitude as Paul and the other apostles? Do we give our lives over, completely to Him? Or do we portion out our Sunday MORNINGS, and then keep even the rest of that day for ourselves??? Friends, we are slaves unto righteousness, to the work of the cross, to the great commission of Christ... which is to go and preach the gospel to every tribe and nation! We cannot call ourselves Christians and then live a life of self-service and unchanged hearts.... it just can't be that way. If you truly call yourself a Christian and believe the Word of God, then you must lay down all pride... you must come to a place of humility and realize that your primary concern must be loving your Savior and King. You must understand that God has placed you WHERE YOU ARE, to be a light to a dark world, in your workplace, in your neighborhood, perhaps even in your own family... Your role, as a Christian, is the service and advancement of the Gospel. The word "Gospel" means, literally, "good news!" What better news is there in this world, than that of a Savior who has taken YOUR punishment for YOUR sins? Spread it! Obey! Become an obedient and willing slave to the King of Kings.

We'll pick up where we left off in the greeting, tomorrow. Friends, please dwell on this concept of total abandon... There is nothing in this world that is so important as the complete devotion of your heart, mind, soul and strength to Christ...

Let us say, together with Paul, that we are bond-servants of the King of Kings, and let us serve Him joyfully!

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

Something New!

Hello Friends!

I have been trying to figure out what I could use as a steady topic for this blog, for quite some time now. I must admit that I am much more comfortable with a series than with daily randomness. Perhaps that is an area in which I should trust God more?

However, I've come up with an idea and I think I know now what I'm going to be going through for the next... however long it takes me to get through it!

That being said, I was thinking of going through Romans. I'm going to start with Romans 1:1 and go all the way through to Romans 16:27 (Unless of course God shows me something different, somewhere along the way, to blog on).

My greatest wish is that this would be an opportunity for feedback from you, the readers, whenever we get to subjects in which you have experience or opinion. I would love for this to be a place where you can come and ask questions when we get to something that doesn't make sense to you. For example, when we are approaching a verse that you either love and that has blessed you, or if it's one that you don't quite understand, that you would e-mail me at the "afflquestions" e-mail that I put at the end of each blog entry. That way I could do some specific research before addressing that particular verse. I'm not going to pretend to have all of the answers to every verse that we will come across in Romans. There is a very good chance that, on a weekly basis, we will come across something that I will not have all of the answers for. However, this doesn't deter me from this task.

Well, with that... I'm going to be done for today, and I will "see" you all tomorrow with Romans 1:1!

Friends, Grace and Peace to you!


Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com.

The Humility of Christ

"Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Philippians 2:1-11

I know most of us are probably pretty familiar with these verses. But my prayer for you this morning is this... that you would read these verses as if it was the first time in your life that you had ever heard them. Read the truth in these verses, and don't let the importance be lost to familiarity. Especially when it talks of Christ's attitude towards His role in the Father's plan.

How often do we feel like we are being "under-used" by God in our current position? That we have more potential, if only we could do "this thing," instead of serving where we are already at?

Jesus Christ, God in flesh, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped or attained, but rather HUMBLED HIMSELF. Does anyone else think that, since Jesus humbled Himself, perhaps we should learn to be humble as well???

How often do we, with or without intention, struggle for equality with God? Think about it... when we try to tell God that we would be better off serving somewhere other than where He has placed us, what are we saying? Essentially we're saying, "God, I know You put me here, but I think (implying that we somehow know better than God) that I would be more effective if I was serving over there."

Christ became obedient to the point of death! We have a hard time being obedient to the point of confrontation! Good grief! Am I saying this to condemn you? No! I am condemning myself just as much as I might be condemning anyone else. But we have Christ as a model. We are not condemned, even in our feeble attempts for power, because we have a patient Father and a faithful Intercessor, through Christ Jesus. Am I saying that we can stay in this state of mind? Again, No! We MUST model Christ! I am preaching to myself as much as to anyone else! I struggle daily with either modeling Christ, or making my own path.

What happens when we make our own paths, though? We lose our joy. We become frustrated. We make idols of our goals, instead of seeing the will of the Father, which is to bring glory to Him. We are, again perhaps un-intentionally, struggling to bring glory to ourselves through self-accomplishment.

Now... when we are working under the humility of the cross... it is impossible to lose sight of WHO receives the glory. It is impossible to be dissatisfied with our service, when we are serving because of the joy we have in our salvation. It is impossible to be proud of our accomplishments when we remember that our righteous acts are as filthy rags... our greatest works cannot save us. We come, humbly, because our Savior drug us from the pit...

My prayer for you, today, is that these words would fall afresh on your heart. That you would read and re-read them... They speak of the Body of believers, working together, and of Christ's example to us. Most importantly, they speak of the victory of Christ and of His glory. They prophesy of our worship of Him, and they tell of the future acknowledgment, by every single soul, that He is in fact LORD of all!

Grace and Peace, dear Friends!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

"Watch Over Your Heart"

"Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life." - Proverbs 4:23

You know... I've failed miserably at following this verses instruction...
Have you ever let something play such a large part in your life and then had it taken away from you? I have! I'm guilty of not watching over my heart "with all diligence!" I've let other things be my ultimate concern... other people...

So, why is this such an important concept, to guard our hearts? First, because they should be devoted to God, above all else. Second, because our joy is crippled when we put our trust in the things of this fallen world.

Friends... I never seem to learn this stuff fast enough... It seems like I always begin to understand the concept once I'm already wallowing in the results of my mistakes. Why is that? Is God such a cruel Father that He would cause us to come crawling to Him before He forgives us and receives us into His arms? NO! On the contrary, WE are such fallen beings, such prideful beings, that we do not listen to the instructions that He has given us. God has already given us all of the warnings, all of the instructions, all of the keys to a life of joy and peace... we just don't listen!

Why don't we listen? I'll tell you why I don't listen... it's usually because I settle for the here-and-now, easy solution to my desires. When I'm lonely, I look to friends and entertainment, rather than the Creator of my very being, for comfort! How insane is that??? Instead of the One who wired me with all of my desires, knowing that He would be enough to fulfill all of my needs (Psalm 23), I turn to that oh-so-fallible thing or person who has just as many faults as me. Where is the logic in that???

Here's the truth... I struggle, sometimes, with acceptance. I long to be accepted by people... I desire to be a part of something bigger than myself. But for whatever reason, I overlook the fact that God is the ultimate fulfillment of "something bigger!" What kind of club or circle of friends could I join in on that could ever be anywhere near as big as being a part of God's redemptive plan for this world??? Come on people! Answer that question for yourselves, today! What is God calling you to do? In what way can you be a part of the biggest "something bigger" that has EVER been?

God has given each of us, me and you, our own spiritual gifts, which we are to use to bring Him glory. Now... this brings us back to Proverbs 4...

You will never have joy if you do not learn to guard your heart and make God your ultimate concern and desire. If you chase the things of this world, they will let you down. Look at the second part of verse 23 "For from [the heart] flow the springs of life." LIFE! It flows from the heart! The heart which was meant, from the very beginning of time, to belong wholly to God!

Friends, let me ask you this question, in closing... Who or what holds the keys to your heart? There is only One who is worthy or capable of this position in your life. Your husband or wife, if you are married, is not the correct answer. You should be devoted to them so deeply that you never forsake them for another... but they should never be THE ultimate love in your life... they are still fallible...
Christ is the only one who has proved Himself a trustworthy caretaker of our hearts. The Father is the only One who understands the deepest longings of our hearts... because He put them there.

With that... "Watch over your heart with all diligence..." Try to understand... it's for your GOOD. God doesn't give us these Proverbs to rob us of our joy, but to be the ultimate fulfillment of it.

If you have a need for prayer or questions about what I've said today, please... e-mail me and let me know what's going on. I don't claim to have all of the answers, but I do have Christ, and I know that when I've failed to guard my heart... others have been used by Him to point me back into His arms. It's only in the arms of Christ that you will find healing and fulfillment.

Dear Friends, this is my prayer for you... my hope.... Watch over your hearts, and have LIFE!

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .