First of all, after listening to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermon on Romans 1:1, I realized that Romans is a GREAT book to hang out in to get a grasp of what exactly the Gospel is, what Christ's life and death and resurrection means and how to personally walk that out. Also, I highly recommend the book The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee.
OK, so do you know why we need a Messiah in the first place? A Savior? It isn't because we commit sins, no we commit sins because we are sinners. Adam and Eve chose the fruit and deception in the garden and all of humanity since then has been totally corrupted by sin. We can't make up for our sinfulness through good works, we cannot earn our way into Heaven. You and I need a Savior. We need someone to come and live a perfect life, to be a spotless sacrifice, we desperately need the blood shed upon our lives to cleanse us from our sin. 1 John 1:7 tells us that the Blood of Jesus does just that. This is the Good News of God - He gave of Himself, His very Son. Jesus was a real person, He was really born and He truly lived. He died on a cross carrying all of the sins of humanity.
But the story doesn't end here. And the Good News keeps coming.
Jesus rose from the dead, victorious.
He calls you and I to follow Him. We are to pick up our crosses, die to ourselves, and walk in newness of life in Him. Now this isn't a physical death He calls us to - He died in our place. This is a death to our fleshly desires. A death to going our own way. But even in this, God does not ask us to do it in our own strength.
He gives us His Holy Spirit.
We are saved from our sins (justified) by faith - believing, resting, and trusting in what Jesus did, we are given a new life (sanctification) and equipped by faith in His Spirit to walk out our salvation with fear and trembling. Justification is being set free from the punishment our sin deserves, sanctification is being set free from the tyranny sin held/holds over us.
Now, the message of Christ, of the Bible is not popular today. And it gets twisted and warped a lot of times. People who are Christians do and say things that make you wonder, 'how can you call yourself a Christian?!?' But, the best news about the Good News is that you don't have to take my word for this, or a random pastor or radio/tv personality or your best friends. Not even on the words of your beloved aunt or cousin so and so. You don't have to wonder if what the media is saying is correct, or if this is just a bunch of outdated bedtime stories your grandparents used to tell you.
Read the very Words of God for yourself.
Pick up a Bible.
Read it - straight through - or chronologically. God will meet you there. Ask for His help in understanding the portions you don't - but don't just assume it says what I or anyone else says that it says.
Find out for yourself.
There is no substitute for the Word of God.
Being a Christian doesn't mean you are exempt from the sufferings or blessings of life.
But being a Christian provides hope.
This life will end. Whether you are living your best life now or you feel like every single day resembles trying to breathe in a tub of molasses...everyone faces the same ending. Death. And when that moment arrives, you and I will face God. Eternity will stretch out in front of you - where will you spend it? If you read the Bible and then choose to walk away, at least you consciously chose to walk away. At least you did it with full knowledge of what God says, what He promises, and what He is offering.
Two sites online that I know offer full Bibles in multiple translations with enough study help (from Word studies to commentaries) to get you going on your journey - Biblehub.com and BlueLetterBible.org .
If you want someone to read the Bible with, hit reply and I will gladly come along. It is an amazing journey. I am praying for you.
** if you need a place to begin - I highly recommend searching for David Suchet's dramatic reading of the book of Mark. It is on You Tube and is AWESOME. **
For this week:
I completed the Bible study lesson with my mom, I went back and re-read Romans One, specifically the first verses - in light of Dr. Lloyd-Jones sermon (he preached an entire sermon on just the first verse) I realized that I have just glazed over the introduction.
This week we also listened to Amir Tsarfati (it was Rosh Hashanah this past week) and I read and reread portions of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles. Marveling over the choices and mistakes of Jeroboam and Rehoboam and the absolute faithfulness of God. He never failed to complete what He promised He would even in the face of disobedience and outright rebellion. I am astounded that the Israelites walked farther to disobey God than they would to obey Him.
For this next week:
Bible study lesson with my mom, continue in my Romans study, and memorizing / singing "He Is" by Aaron Jeoffrey.
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