Day 4 - Week 34 - Romans 8:28 "We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God; those who are called according to His purpose."

Everything that happens to you is for your own good.  If the waves roll against you, it only speeds your ship toward the port.  If lightning and thunder come, the rain clears the atmosphere and promotes your soul's health.  You gain by loss, you grow healthy in sickness, you live by dying, and you are made rich in losses.

Could you ask for a better promise?  It is better that all things should work for my good than all things should be as I would wish to have them.  All things might work for my pleasure and yet might all work my ruin.  If all things do not always please me, they will always benefit me.

This is the best promise of life. ---- Charles H. Spurgeon, on Romans 8:28

As immature Christians, we often think that God has promised to give whatever we ask of Him.  If that were the case, He would not be sovereign God---we would be gods dictating to Him what it is He is going to do for us. 

But that is not the case.  God, in His absolute sovereignty, determines the best for His children...the ultimate and absolute best.  It is not always the quickest answer to our problem, but it is always the best.  It certainly isn't always the answer that we have requested...but you can be assured, if it is not that answer, it is never less...it will always better.

"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the LORD."  Isaiah 55:8

As we mature in our faith, we come to realize that God's wisdom really is beyond our comprehension...we cannot always understand His answers.  But we can understand that every response from Him is driven by His love and His knowledge of not only our immediate needs, but our eternal needs. 

Now you try to figure out answers that can meet that qualification!  Isn't it wiser to put our trust into the One who has absolute, beginning to end, knowledge?  We have a great promise...we have a great God!

Day 3 - Week 34 - Romans 8:28 "We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God; those who are called according to His purpose."

I usually read through the commentary that Robert J. Morgan includes in his book, "100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart", and think there's some pretty good stuff there, but I usually have some thoughts of my own that I want to add to his, or expound upon his thoughts in a little different vein.

For this verse, though, I find that everything that he has included is so powerful, so beautifully written, that I'm not sure there will be anything that I can add that would be of any more importance.  (Now I do reserve the right to change my mind on that over the next several nights...I am certainly not saying that I'll be able to keep my mouth...or I guess I should say fingers...silent.  It has never been my nature!)

Tonight I want to share a paragraph from his notes and then a quote by John A. Broadus that Morgan also includes.  First, the paragraph written by Morgan:

Romans 8:28 is the favorite verse of millions around the world.  It's arguably the greatest promise in the Bible, for it summarizes all the others.  It's the biblical basis for optimism and the promise that morphs us into resilient sanguines, whatever our temperament.  It's God's darkroom in which negatives become positive.  It's His situation-reversal machine in which heartaches are changed into hallelujahs.  It is the foundation of hope and a fountainhead of confidence.  Even our failures can become enriching, and our sins can be redeemed.  Even death itself becomes a blessing for the child of God.

Wow! I need to read that paragraph every day along with the Scripture...how can you not have a good attitude about life when this promise is yours.  How can we not look at life differently than those without faith, those without hope, those without a Savior who promises that He is working everything to good on our behalf.  I love my God who cares so much for me that He is not letting one little thing (notice, it does say "ALL" things) slip by to cause me discomfort without it also bringing an eventual bigger blessing.  How can we not surrender our lives to God when this is our promise?

Now, here this beautiful quote from John A. Broadus.  (I feel I always need to give some background on the person I'm quoting to make it a bit more meaningful.  John Broadus was a Southern Baptist minister in the mid to late 1800's.  In fact, for a time he served as the chaplain to the Confederate Army in Virginia.  From 1870 to 1893 he wrote seven books of Bible commentary and sermon delivery.)  I can look at his picture and almost hear him saying these words with a rich Virginian drawl....

We cannot fully understand now, but when we stand upon the heights of glory, we shall look back with joy on the things we have suffered, for we shall know then that our severest trials were a part of the "all things" which worked together for eternal good.

There it is...the hope of glory...the faith that assures us that there will be a time when we will see our lives in the eternal perspective that God has always seen them.  Until then, we hold on to His promise.

Day 1 - Week 34 - We are now a third of the way into our journey!

Yes - we now have 33 weeks out of our hundred accomplished!  That's like if we were traveling from Amarillo, Texas, to New York City, we'd be in St. Louis, Missouri!  A pretty good leg of the journey, but still miles to go!

Let's review the third of the way we've been...and just for tonight let's go back to the very beginnng!

Four Corners of the Bible (4)
Genesis 1:1  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
John 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14  And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us; we have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father full of grace and truth.
John 3:16  For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Romans Road to Salvation (5)

Romans 3:23  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Romans 5:8    But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 10:9  If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord', and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 12:1  Therefore, dear brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.  This is your spiritual worship.

The Gift of Scripture (6)

2 Timothy 3:16  All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

Joshua 1:8   This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth, you are to recite it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it.  For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.

Psalm 119:11  I have treasured Your words in my heart so that I may not sin against You.

Deuteronomy 6:4-6  Listen, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength.  These words I am giving you today are to be in your heart.

Deuteronomy 6:7  Repeat them to your children, talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 

Hebrews 14:12  The Word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide joints, marrow, soul and spirit.  It is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the mind.

The Gift of Prayer (3)

Hebrews 4:16 Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.

1 John 5:14   Now this is the confidence we have before Him, whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

1 John 5:15   And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for.

The Gift of Assurance (10)

1 John 5:11 And this is the testimony:  God has given us eternal life and that life is in His Son.

1 John 5:12-13  The one who has the Son has life.  The one who doesn't have the Son of God, does not have life.  I say these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know you have eternal life.

John 14:1  Your heart must not be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me.

John 14:2  In my Father's house are many mansion, if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.

John 14:3  And if I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you unto Myself, so that where I am, you may be also.

John 14:6  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you.  I do not give as the world gives.  Your heart must not be troubled or afraid.

Isaiah 26:3-4  You will keep in perfect peace the mind that is dependent on You, for it is trusting in You.  Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed . (KJV)

Isaiah 53:6  We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquities of us all.

Praise and Thanksgiving (4)

1 Peter 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  According to His great mercy He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Psalm 100:4  Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.  Give thanks to Him and praise His name. 

Psalm 100:5  For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Revelation 4:11  You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.


God's Promises (10)
Matthew 6:33  But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (ESV)

And tonight we add another promise of God to His children...verses we can stand on.  And this one is one of my very favorites, a verse I fall back on so many times when I may not understand what's going on, but I repeat this promise that I know that my God is working on my behalf...

Romans 8:28
We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.

Hallelujah, what a God we serve!  He makes all things good...even those we don't understand.  If you are going through a time of despair, it is hard to realize that anything good could come out of your time of trouble, but if you are a child of God, living true to His purpose in your life, you can know that God will bring you through and He will turn your tears into tears of joy.  Hold on --- you cannot see what God has in store, but you can be assured that He is at work, and it is a good work He is doing!

Day 7 - Week 33 - Matthew 6:33 "But seek first God's Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

I've loved this week's verse.  It's been one of those weeks when I feel like I have looked at God's Word differently than I previously have and I've gained insight and understanding.  I love it when you really know you've been enlightened by the Holy Spirit and you can feel His growing glow within your being. 

I like the way Robert J. Morgan summarizes the intent of this verse,

If we take care of things that are important to God, He'll take care of things that are important to us.

That's a pretty simple explanation, isn't it?

He also includes a beautiful story of Rosalind Goforth, author of How I Know God Answers Prayer, and a missonary to China.  Here is her story as Morgan relays it:

Easter Sunday came one year during a warm springtime, and everyone had put away their winter clothes.  Rosalind had no Easter dress, and she decded she'd rather stay home than wear her winter garb.  Going to her room, she opened her Biible, and her eyes rested on Matthew 6:33.  "It was as if God spoke the words directly to me," she said.  Why worry about your clothes?  Seek first His kingdom.  She put on her old dress and fought off a feeling of humiliaton as she went to church.  The Easter message touchd her deeply; and the next day a box arrived form a distant aunt, containing not only new dresses but many other things as well.

Does this mean that when we are obedient we'll get everythng we ask for or want?  You know it doesn't...but it does mean that when we are obedient and seeking God's will and authority in our life, we will be blessed...some times in just the way we have asked and some times in ways we never would imagine, but that far surpass our desires.

God loves us --- if we will just get that through our thick heads and hearts and rely on His goodness, we will have no problem trusting in His provision for us.  After all, His eyes are on the sparrow...and I know He watches me!

Day 6 - Week 33 - Matthew 6:33, "But seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Friday we talked about what it was that we were actually being instructed to seek...and my conclusion was that what we truly should be seeking is submissiveness to God's authority as our king and a growing understanding and acceptance of God's righteousness in our lives in light of the fact that apart from Him we have no righteousness.

Now we move to the "then" part of this "if/then" statement...if we seek...then..."all these things will be added to you."  We've been told this is a promise for us to hold  on to, but don't you want to know what "all these things" are?  If I am being promised a blessing, I would like to know what the blessing being promised is.

This is a time where we must look at the preceding verses to know what Jesus had been discussing so that we can know what "all these things" that we will be given actually are.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

It appears that Jesus is saying that all of life's needs (food, drink, clothing) will be supplied to us when we are seeking God's authority over our lives and following His directives.  Don't forget that we are often reminded to be content with what we have, so we are not promised excessiveness...we are promised our needs. 

I think the closing sentence on the passage above is very interesting..."for the pagans run after all these things."  We, as Christians, are called to be different, we are called to rely on our Father God.  Yet I find myself many times acting like the rest of the world, running after "all these things."  I believe one of the great sins of 21st century America is the sin of materialism.  And I am so very guilty.  I run after things that have no significance just because everyone else is running toward whatever is the "goal of the week."  We have been duped into thinking that things can fill a yearning within us, while God clearly tells us to seek Him and He will supply all our needs. 

When did we buy into the lie that God is not sufficient to satisfy us.  HE is telling us He will never leave us uncared for---when we dedicate our lives to Him, He most certainly will be faithful to His promise to ensure the fulfillment of our needs.

Please Lord, get my eyes off the stuff of this world that is so very temporary...keep my eyes on You, looking forward to each day of glorious living in Your will.  Keep my heart at Your feet, surrendered to Your will, each and every day of my life.  In my Savior Jesus' Holy name...Amen.