Posts from February 2021

Romans, Day 7 Romans Chapters 9 – 10 At one point in my life, I became the unexpected owner of a snowblower. I had never owned one before, and purchasing one wasn’t on the radar because I still considered myself “young enough” to use a shovel, so when I was gifted one I was ecstatic and clueless about how to use it. Snow was in the forecast, and I did what I heard experienced snowblower owners say to do, which…

Romans, Day 6 Romans 7 – 8 | Wanted: Dead and Alive Remember those Old West posters that had a picture of a bad hombre on them and the title: “Wanted: Dead or Alive”? The Law was after someone who was destined for the boneyard. In Romans Chapter 7, the apostle Paul writes about the law, no doubt referencing the law of Moses, the Jewish constitution. As do many today, people thought that obeying the law was the way to…

Romans, Day 5 The Process – Sanctification Scripture passage: Romans 5 and 6 Key verses: Romans 5:3 – 5, 6:11 – 14 As we work our way through Romans, today’s reading deals with Chapters 5 and 6, and the topic of sanctification. As you read through those 2 chapters, you will not see the word “sanctification” (at least in my version), but it is there. So, what is sanctification? One way to look at it is the action or process…

Romans, Day 4 God Always Keeps His Promises (Romans 4:21)   No unbelief made Abraham waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised (Romans 4:20-21). Did you wake up today “fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised” in your life? What a question to think about as we start our day! This statement…

Romans, Day 3 Prevalence of Sin – Part 2 (Romans 2:17 – 3:20) It amazes me how often people’s actions and words do not match. A phrase I heard quite often while growing up was, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Sometimes, people would say it as a joke when they were purposely doing something wrong in front of someone else. I have known people who seemed to be experts in telling people not to do the things…

Romans, Day 2 GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS COMES BY FAITH IN JESUS “The Prevalence of Sin #1” Romans 1:18 – 2:16 God’s Wrath Against Mankind Romans 1:18 – 32 Paul explains to the church at Rome that the sin of mankind infuriated God to point of wrath. Mankind has suppressed the truth by their wickedness. He goes on to say that mankind should have known the existence of and knowledge about God, spiritual matters and truth through what we call today, “general revelation.”…

Romans, Day 1 Romans 1:1 – 17 Introduction The Driving Force Behind Paul Many of the books of the New Testament are letters from Paul, including the book of Romans. The book of Romans is different from the rest for a few reasons. First, most of Paul’s letters were addressed to churches he helped start. Paul did not start the church in Rome. Second, Romans was not to address particular problems in the church; instead, it focused on God. David…

2 Thessalonians, Day 3 2 Thessalonians 3 The Word, the Walk, and the Writing  When reading the letters of Paul, has it ever occurred to you that these are — letters from Paul? In this age of emails and tweets, the art of letter writing has faded into oblivion with the 8-track tape and yellow rubber raincoats. We look at these letters and consider them books because of their length and depth, but letters they were, and we get to…

2 Thessalonians, Day 2 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2 Good News: Jesus Will Return Chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians starts like a conversation where the messenger asks, “Do you want to hear the good news or the bad news first?” But reading through the chapter (2 Thessalonians 2:1 – 17), we see that the news was all good for the faithful church. The church members at Thessalonica were anxious. Not only were they being persecuted for their faith, it appears that…

2 Thessalonians, Day 1 2 Thessalonians, Chapter 1 Can’t help but thank God for you! . . . (2 Thessalonians 1)  “Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering” (2 Thessalonians 1:3 – 4, NLT) In these verses, Paul tells us about an…