Romans 1:16 – Not Ashamed of Christ

Romans 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

-Everyone has that favorite song that they’ll listen to alone but are too embarrassed to play in front of others or maybe an article of clothing that you like but is too far out of fashion to chance wearing it in public.  The true worship of God has never been in fashion.  Going on record as a God-honoring, blood-redeemed follower of Christ can open you up to all sorts of ridicule.  But we don’t proclaim the gospel of Christ because it’s in style, we proclaim it because it is the only way for the human race to escape damnation and find fellowship with God.  God Himself personally came to Earth to present the gospel and instead of worship, He received crucifixion.  It should come as no surprise that the world would hate us for siding with the Lord because it hated the Lord first. (John 15:18)  What we should never lose sight of is that there is coming a day when God will reassert His position as the ruler of this world and the worship of God will very much be in fashion for the rest of eternity.  Until that day comes, it is needful for those of us who wait for the Lord’s coming to warn as many as possible so that they might be made ready for the Lord’s coming as well.

Romans 1:21-25 – Changing the Truth of God Into a Lie

Romans 1:21-25
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

-“God” has come in many forms over the years.  You could serve a golden calf or a tree stump.  Maybe you would rather follow a sacred animal or a wise sage.  There are those who believe that the only real power in the universe is money or the power of your own mind.  What do all of these” gods” have in common?  They are all parts of creation.  They are things that can be moved, things that can be destroyed.  How can we ever expect to be lifted up by something that is down in the dirt with us?  What’s more, by focusing on these things, we miss the all-powerful God of the Bible is who is able to do all of the things we expect of our idols and so much more.  It may be easy to worship an idol because an idol can’t hold us to any standards; but the problem with worshipping an empty idol is that, ultimately, it will leave you empty as well.

Philippians 3:18-19 – Enemies of the Cross

Philippians 3:18-19
18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

-It should come as no surprise to us that there are wolves in the sheepfold.  After all, Jesus told us it would be so. (Matthew 13)  So why is Paul in tears while he shares the same truth here?  There is a difference between knowing that the wolves walk among us and realizing how close to us those wolves can get.  Some of the people that Paul loved and trusted the most turned out to be false and it did more than surprise Paul, it hurt him.  But everything in the Bible is put there for our learning (Romans 15:4) and this is given to us as a warning so that we can be ready when we are betrayed.  It may be your best friend from Sunday school, it may be your Pastor, or it may be someone you haven’t met yet; pray that the Lord will give you the grace to endure no matter who it is or where it happens.  Also, remember that our spiritual walk is based on a relationship between us and the Lord.  Even if everyone else you ever loved and trusted turned their backs on you, the Lord still promised to go with you all the way to the end of the world.  (Matthew 28:20)

1 Kings 19:12-18 – Not Alone

1 Kings 19:12-18
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?
14 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
15 And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:
16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
17 And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.
18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

-Elijah had a problem, he felt all alone and outnumbered in his service to the Lord.  If you’ve ever felt alone then you can probably empathize with Elijah here.  The Lord could have told Elijah to suck it up and keep going.  He could have told Elijah that the Lord Himself is all the company that he needs and He would have been right in answering that way.  But that was not the Lord’s answer.  Instead, the Lord showed Elijah that there were still 7000 more in Israel who had stayed true to God.  He assured Elijah that he was not alone.  Although Christianity is by far the largest “religion” on the planet, true Christians are still hard to find and become more of a rarity every day.  If you feel alone in your race, know that you are not alone.  Others are still out there living by the same standards as you, reading the same Bible as you, and serving the same God as you.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 – Reserved for the Master’s Use

2 Timothy 2:20-21
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

-The idea of sanctification is one that often trips up a Christian.  The confusion comes not from what sanctification is, but rather what we make it out to be.  The word “sanctify” literally means “to separate” or “to set apart” and has the idea of being put aside for special use.  The more we are set apart from the world, the less we identify with them and the more easily we can be led by the spirit.  If we get so focused on the idea of simply living perfect, we will inevitably get frustrated when we fall short of that high mark.  A sanctified Christian is not one who is faultless, it is simply one who continuously offers themselves up for the Master’s use.

Psalm 37:23-24 – Because the Lord is Near

Psalm 37:23-24
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

-A disciple is one who follows after a particular philosophy or mentor.  In the case of a Christian Disciple, we follow Jesus Christ.  Where He goes, we go; when he stops, we stop; where He leads, we follow.  This is important because we will inevitably stumble and fall.  Proverbs 24:16 says “a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again.”  How is he able to rise?  Because he follows the Lord and so the Lord is always near to lift him back up.  Proverbs 24:16 also says that “the wicked shall fall into mischief.”  Why is that?  Because the Lord is not near to catch the wicked when they fall so they fall deeper and deeper into wickedness.  “Woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.” (Ecclesiastes 4:10)

John 10:11-15 – The Good Shepherd

John 10:11-15
11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

-You can find out the level of someone’s commitment to a cause by how they react when trouble comes.  As Jesus teaches us here in John 10, when the wolves are at the door, the hirelings will run away.  But Jesus is not scared of the wolves.  He doesn’t run from His sheep when the path is difficult.  Punishing wickedness and sin would have been easy for God, but dying on a cross to atone for wickedness and sin is hard, yet that is exactly what He did to save us.  The Bible teaches that a brother is born for adversity. (Proverbs 17:17)  It also teaches that Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).

Ephesians 5:25-32 – The Sanctity of Marriage

Ephesians 5:25-32
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

-Paul gives us a very important piece of information here in Ephesians 5; namely that the marital relationship between husband and wife is symbolic of the joining between the Lord and His people.  Just as the Lord designed marriage to be a sacred commitment between a man and woman, He also designed our relationship with Him to be taken just as seriously.  The problem is we live in a culture that takes all of the wrong things lightly.  We live in a time where marriages are undertaken without the least bit of serious consideration for what marriage actually means and, as a result, divorces are taken even more lightly.  This is reflected in our relationships with God.  We live in a time where people hop in and out of their “Christian status” without any real consideration for what it truly means to follow the Lord.  A generation that chooses to follow their own way ends up raising a generation that doesn’t know the right way and that’s what we are in danger of doing.  It falls to us to strengthen the things that remain before it’s too late.

1 Corinthians 1:28 – The Things Which God Has Chosen

1 Corinthians 1:28
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

-Crucifixion was a particularly cruel method of execution invented by the Roman Empire.  It was so barbarous in fact, that is was not permitted for Roman citizens to endure such a penalty.  As a result of this, the cross became a horrific symbol of bloody, inhuman torture.  How do we see the cross now?  If you have any feelings toward it at all, they are no doubt fond ones.  This is the power of God.  He took an instrument of death and made it a symbol of true life, He took a tool of painful bondage and made it a means of eternal freedom, He took a creation of one of the most powerful world systems in history and made it integral to His own plan of Salvation.  God’s power is the only thing that can bring real change.  It can change people, it can change hearts, and it can even change eternal destinations.

Leviticus 11:44 – Salvation and Sanctification

Leviticus 11:44
44 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

-The Lord had already called out the Hebrew and made them His people. (Exodus 6:7)  In Leviticus 11, He emphasizes the importance of the people sanctifying themselves and walking holy. This is important because it sets up the proper sequence of events in regard to salvation and sanctification.  Many people think that we can just clean up our acts and make ourselves presentable in the eyes of God.  But contrary to popular opinion, sanctification does not result in salvation.  True sanctification is a result of salvation.  God must work the first before He can give us the tools to begin working the second.  Without God, there can be no sanctification.  “And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.” (Leviticus 20:8)