Day 3 - Week 5 - Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Is it hard for you to admit that you're a sinner?  Or is it so easy that it becomes of little consequence?  Either extreme is dangerous.  Arrogance (which all of us are prone to) can prevent us from humbling ourselves to admit that we fall so very short of God's holiness...that we are not acceptable in His sight in our sinful states.  On the other hand, it is very easy for us to say (and easier all the time it seems), "hey - I'm just a regular guy, I'm only human...God can't expect me to be perfect, so, yeah, I'm a sinner...God knows that's how I am, and He really doesn't expect me to be any better."  Sorry - yes, He does.  

Another popular concept is that the things that we're doing that are clearly against God's will, really aren't sins.  They are just weaknesses, or tendencies, or "just the way we are"...so a propensity towards immorality (promiscuity, adultery), or towards lying (cheating on tests, taxes, job applications), or idolatory (materialism, covetousness, envy) aren't really sins --- they are just aspects of our personalities, a matter of our genetics, and don't qualify as "sin."

In 1 John 1:8 we are told, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."

I think John was pointing out to us that no matter what excuses we make, if we come before God with an attitude of self-produced righteousness, or with no guilt for our shortcomings, then we've been duped---and we've been duped by the biggest con artist of all time, the father of lies.  (John 8:44 Jesus states, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.")

It is only when we recognize that everything within us that opposes God's will is sin, that we can come before Him and truly confess, repent, and be restored.  For God has promised that when we do that, He is committed to forgiving us because of what Christ has done for us.  In the very next verse follwing the one first quoted above, John gives us the cure for our dilemma..."If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Why are we so stubborn?  Why can we not see that the rebellion in us is what causes our problems and our lack of peace and contentment?  God is ready to cure us of all of that...He wants us to have lives of harmony with Him, of peace, contentment, and confidence.  But those things can never be ours when we insist on holding on to the sin in our lives. 

Satan tells us, "this is what makes you happy"...but when we realize that we've been listening to the father of lies, rather than listening to our Father of Truth, and we give up our hearts of stone for a heart that is ready to house the Spirit of the Living God, then we can receive His forgiveness and begin to live the life that Christ promised,  "I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." (John 10:10, The Message)

Don't be afraid to let go of the sin in your life...Jesus is holding something so much more...something "more and better" than you've ever dreamed of.  He is good, He is loving, and He is ready to offer you something so much more. 

Day 2 - Week 5 - Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

We're at the first stop on the Romans Road..."for all have sinned"...nothing like starting off on a positive note, huh?  Have you looked in the mirror and confronted your image of sinfulness?  It's there.

"Sinned" (hemartano in the Greek) means to miss the mark, to err, be mistaken, to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honor, to do or go wrong, to wander from the law of God, violate God's law --- any of those definitions fit times of your life? 

When I've wandered from God's laws, it's most often been because I have decided that I was going to do what I wanted to do.  Forget what God says, I knew what I wanted and my plan would work out just fine, and I'd have what I wanted and all would be right in my world. 

Are you picking up on the common denominator in this scenario?  It is all about ME!  Sin most often comes about because we become so totally self-centered that we can't get our eyes off of ourself, our wants, our desires, our goals for ourself.  It's the oldest tool in the book (the book being the Bible) that Satan has used in his ploys to turn us away from God.  Turn us to self.  It worked on Eve, and Satan learned quickly that all of mankind was very susceptible to his suggestion of self-sufficiency and pridefulness.

Even David, the one the Bible calls a man after God's heart, succumbed to temptation when he became more wrapped up in his desires than in his role as the King of God's chosen nation, Israel, his anointed role.  David had been so intimate in his relationship with God, and yet when Satan got David's eyes off of God and totally focused onto himself...when he got David to believing that he deserved anything that his little royal heart desired...then David plunged into a pit of sin that took him much further down than he ever thought he would fall. 

David was a godly man, he fell, he repented and he was restored.  God was so good to include David's complete story in the Bible (read 2 Samuel and you'll get the full story...it is amazing!). 

Don't fool yourself...we are all susceptible to Satan's ploys.  We are told in 1 Peter 5:8, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."  Even when Satan tempted Jesus, unsuccessfully, we are told he "retreated temporarily, lying in wait for another opportunity." (The Message, Luke 4:13). 

Satan knows that when we sin, we separate ourselves from our intimacy with God.  And that pleases him. 

So do we have any hope?  Can we beat Satan at his game?  Absolutely, we can!  Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:12-13, "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."  And Paul exhorts us in Ephesians 6:10-11, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."

We live in a world of sin - it confronts us on a daily---make that hourly---make that minute by minute---basis.  We can be strong in the Lord and live lives of victory over our temptations, but it takes continual reliance on God's strength residing within us through the Holy Spirit, being armed through His Word and asking for His protection and His deliverance. 

Day 1 - Week 5 - The start of a new set of verses

We just finished our first four verses which we've named the Four Corners of God's Word...real quick...can you recite them one more time to further embed them into your heart?

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 - 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 shall not perish but have everlasting life.

OK - that's our last review of these four verses.  They are our foundation.  Aren't you glad to have these four firmly etched in your brain and housed in your heart?  Keep them there!

Now - onward!

 

Our next set of five verses are commonly called "The Romans Road" because they are all found in the book of Romans and they offer to us a fairly easy method of relaying to someone God's plan of salvation.  As Robert J. Morgan puts it, "this old series of verses...summarize everything we need to tell others about how to receive Christ as their Savior."  I'd say that these are five pretty important verses if they empower us to be able to do that, wouldn't you?  What can be more important in the life of someone who has come to know Christ than to be able to share that experience with someone else?  The answer to that?  Nothing!  If we are to fulfill the great commission that Jesus left us with, we need good tools to do that...tools that don't come from anywhere else than Scripture.

So here we go - the first one is easy - but it IS the first step in the process of salvation...acknowledgement of our need of saving!.

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

Twelve easy words that when grouped together point out concisely and clearly where we stand...short.  We fall short.  Every one of us.  The "all" in this verse means ALL.  No matter how much you admire someone, no matter how much you look up to them, no matter how "good" a person is...they fall short.  Because God does not compare us to each other, He compares us to Him.  And He is holy.  That is His glory - His holiness and His perfection.  We can never attain that.  As much as I would love to live even a day without one iota of sinfulness in my life, it doesn't happen.  There are moments of envy, of covetousness; there are moments of unkindness, impatience; there are moments of undiscipline and idolatory.  And every day, I have to say again, "I'm still a person in need of a Savior.  I have sinned.  I fall short." 

I think that's where God wants us.  To continually recognize our need, and to continually recognize what He has done for us.  But we'll get to that part next week.  This week, let's let this one soak in deep. 

So the first stop on the Romans Road...Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Sinfulness.  On the travel itinerary of our journey, it's an ugly stop!

Day 7 - Week 4 - John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

Robert J. Morgan says this about where we are at this point in our memorization of Scriptures, "When you've memorized Genesis 1:1; John 1:1, John 1:14 and John 3:16 you have the entire Bible in the palm of your hand.  These verses are the four corners of God's Word."

Can you believe we've finished four whole weeks!?!  That's amazing to me --- it seems like we just got started! OK - here we go - can you say them with me?  Try not to look!

Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven 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 "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."

So do you feel that you have the four corners of God's Word in the palm of your hand?  In the center of your heart?  What do you have right now as your armor?

You have the fact that God created everything...that all we see, hear, and breathe is from God.  That "every good and perfect gift comes from above."  You know that Christ, the Word of God, the living testimony to God eternal, was present at creation; He is and was and forever will be.  You know that Christ was sent by God to earth in human form, that His glory was revealed to those who lived to testify to His holiness, and that He came with the fullness of God's grace and God's truth.  You know that He came because of God's love for this fallen world.  That God SO loved the world that He sent Christ to us, and all we have to do is to believe in Christ as God's Son, to grab hold of the love that was the driving force behind Christ's journey to earth, and through that belief and the transformed life that follows, we can be confident that we will not perish, but that we will have everlasting life.

Is the idea of everlasting life with God as thrilling to you as it is to me?  When I read Paul's words in 1 Corinthians, I get goosebumps thinking about just how wonderful it will be.  "However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."  As much as I enjoy this life, as beautiful as a sunset or sunrise sometimes appear, as wonderful as it is to have a granddaughter wrap her arms around me and say, "I love you" (and that is truly wonderful) --- heaven will be better.  There is nothing on this earth that will compare to what God has ready for us.  (I do believe the embrace of a grandchild will be the closest thing!)  God longs to have us with Him for eternity, and when Jesus said, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" you can trust that His preparations will result in something beautiful.  Just as a groom prepares a place for His bride in order to take her breath away when He carries her across that threshold, Jesus is getting things ready for His bride, the church, and continuing to put the final touches on each nook and cranny...I think He is going to say, "Just look at what I've been doing....preparing your place...just for you." 

And I do believe we will be breathless..not so much from the magnificence of what has been prepared for us, but by the fact that we are in the presence of God Almighty.

That's where I want to live...and I know that's where God wants me, and that's where He wants you.  Won't it be amazing when we see each other there, maybe some of us for the first time!  I'm so looking forward to meeting you there!

Thank You Lord Jesus for making life eternal a possibility for a sinner like me!  Thank You God the Father for Your plan of salvation!  Thank You Holy Spirit for assuring me of the truth of everything that the Word promises!

Life is good...eternal life is better!

Day 6 - Week 4 - John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him...."

Do you believe in the Son that God sent---Jesus Christ?  In my generation, in the area that I grew up, almost everyone when asked that question would have said without hesitating, "Oh yes, I believe in Jesus."  These days, you won't find that question answered so broadly with the unequivocal "Yes" of 40-50 years ago.   You are likely to get many different responses as to a person's "spirituality" or their "belief system."

While I am a strong believer in Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life, this change in response does not bother me as much as you might think.  For while I wish everyone to come to an acceptance of Christ as their Savior and to understand that He holds the answers to every question we may ever have as to life, death and life everlasting, I would rather hear an honest response of someone stating that they are just not on board with Christianity, than an automatic, unthought out response of, "Yes, I'm a Christian" just because it's the expected response. 

For while it's easy to say, "I believe" and then quote John 3:16 as proof that you will be in good shape for eternity, we all need to understand that there's responsibility in the words we are stating.  If we are going to wear the name of "Christian" than we need to remember that we are representing Christ here on earth, we are his agents, carrying out His mission until His return.

What does "believe in Him" mean to you?  Is it a one-time confession and then a life following that confession that bears no resemblance to the example that Jesus left for us?   While "believe" means "to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to place confidence in" the meaning also carries with it the idea of fidelity...to be true to.  So if you "believe" in your marriage, you will be true to it.  If you "believe" in your children, you never lose faith in them...if you "believe" in Jesus Christ, you will be faithful to Him and long to increase your service to Him.  As Rich Jones, a Bible School teacher that I used to have, said..."We don't believe just for the 'fire insurance' --- that's not complete belief."  In other words, we don't believe just to avoid hell...we believe because we have come to the conviction that Jesus is the truth about God, and we long to live with Him forever in eternity.

For those of you who haven't come to this state of belief, I pray you will keep seeking truth.  I pray that you will never rule out Jesus Christ because of any previous bad experience that you may have had, but will keep an open heart toward the true message of Jesus Christ. 

For those of us who do believe, I pray that we will never stop at a simple statement of belief and miss out on all that Jesus is ready to share with us right now, here on earth.  We are in a position to share in His work right here and now...that's exciting!  Don't waste years wrapped up in the distractions that so easily ensnare us and keep us from doing God's work to His glory.  Believe....completely and wholly...living a life of fidelity to our Savior...He is deserving of everything that we can offer.

Day 5 - Week 4 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son..."

What do you say about Jesus?  That's the question that John said determines a false prophet from a true one.  In 1 John 4: 1-3, he states, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God."

It is critical that when we state the verse of John 3:16 that we wholly and completely believe that Jesus Christ is God's one and only Son.  That God sent His Son in the flesh to save this fallen world. I hope you can say with me tonight that Jesus Christ is God's Son incarnate.  There is saving power in that acknowledgement.

John's statement that many false prophets have gone out into the world was true at the time of his writing, and is true today.  There are many, many false prophets who are leading people away from the truth with false ministries that sound appealing, that preach a message of love and acceptance, and that contain many concepts of good, moral living.  But the bottom line is, what do they say about Jesus?  Because a truly Godly ministry will acknowledge that He is God's one and only Son...anything less than that acknowledgement puts them in the category of falsehood.

Is that narrow-minded?  Only if you make it that way.  There is nothing narrow about God's gift of eternal life that He is ready to offer to anyone.  He made the way for us, for all of us...we just have to acknowledge it.

If you have not yet done that, I hope you continue to study His Word until His truth grabs you so strongly that you cannot deny it.  Keep seeking truth, and you will find it. 

"For God SO loved the world..." He wants us to be with Him forever.  2 Peter 3:9 says, "He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentence."

I thank God so much for His perfect plan of salvation.  I thank Him that He was patient with me; I thank Him for anyone reading this right now that is moving one step closer to coming into a saving relationship by acknowledging Jesus as their Savior, bending their knee in repentence, and making God our Father smile by realizing that one less of His children will perish.  He wants us all to be with Him.

Day 3 - Week 4 - John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

"For God so loved the world that He gave....."

Gave - to bestow a gift...how would that read..."For God so loved the world that He bestowed to them a gift."

Think of all the gifts that you've been given in your lifetime.  Your favorite Christmas gift as a child, your most treasured gift from your spouse, your most precious gifts from your children.  They are all memorable, as they should be...but in all honesty, how long will they last?  At best, they will last for this lifetime.

Compare that to the gift that God gave us when "He gave His one and only Son." 

The gift, unlike any other, that provides forgiveness of our sins and imparts to us the Holy Spirit to live within us while we are still here on earth.  Acts 2:38, "Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"

The gift, unlike any other, that changes our lives from mortal to eternal.  Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

In my growing up years, we were always taught to write thank you notes for special gifts.  When your grandmother sent you a present, you sat down and wrote a thank you note.  Wedding gifts absolutely required a thank you note.  Thank you notes were "proper etiquette."  But a formal thank you note, that was written without any love behind it, was just that...a mere formality done to satisfy the rules of etiquette.  God doesn't want our formalities in expressing our gratitude.  He doesn't want empty words...so how do we say "Thank You" for the greatest gift ever given?

I think Paul summarized it well in Colossians 3:12-17  "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

When we live lives like Paul described in those verses, then I think we can also join with Paul in this thank you note for the best gift we have ever received...."Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"