I have been blessed with Godly landlords. Bob reads his Bible every day. Several times a day. This morning when I came down for breakfast, one of their Bibles was on the table open to Romans 5. I started reading while chewing on my cereal. Talk about a God ordained moment.
Romans 5:1-8 NIV
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
How was I justified? Through faith. How do I have peace with God? Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Also take note that I STAND in grace. That is my position. My boasting is not in me or about me, but it is in my hope of the glory of God. This hope is not a wishful hope like getting a Christmas present or winning a prize. This is a done deal. We put our hope in one that we trust will not fail us.
3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
I have to admit I still do not glory in suffering. I do understand it though. My wife filing for divorce was the worst pain I have ever experience. It feels like the death of a loved one. However God has used that pain to reveal in my heart the wickedness that I just did not see before. I am a VERY impatient man, yet I have been forced to wait on the Lord and persevere. The personal growth I have experienced is beyond explanation.
When I'm told "don't get your hopes up" I ignore those people. My hope is in God and there is no shame there. No matter what happens on this earth, God is in control.
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Do you understand this? I was a SINNER when Christ chose to die for me. Their was nothing about me that was good. Therefore, I do NOT need to make myself "better" before I come to God. Going back to vs 2 it is through my faith in Christ's death for me that I STAND in grace. God's Riches At Christ's Expense.
I am a movie nut. In the most recent incarnation of Batman he says to Rachel, "It's not who I am underneath, it's what I do that defines me." WRONG! BACKWARD! If we have faith in Christ and have accepted his payment for our sin, then we stand in grace and that defines who we are. Every step we take from that point forward flows out of that hope.
We will flounder. We will make mistakes. We will sin. But all we need do is confess and the relationship will be restored.
I hope this passage has been as much a blessing to you as it was to me.
God Bless.
No comments:
Post a Comment