Romans 4

Romans 4

A few things stood out to me here.

I was always taught that salvation is by faith and not by works in that God's grace is something that we cannot earn nor is it something that we deserve. In reading Romans 4, the scriptural proof that salvation is by faith alone took another dimension. Paul used Abraham as his first example citing Abraham's faith for his righteousness as opposed to his works even though Abraham was an obedient servant of the Lord and did many things in God's name. Paul's analogy was to that of a worker. When a man works, his pay isn't a gift but is something given to him out of obligation. This implies that if salvation was based upon our works, God technically owes us salvation for what we have done. Paul also cited King David - quoting Psalms on man's depravity and God's redemption.

This next part stood out to me even though I still don't fully understand what Paul wrote here. He talked about God's promise to Abraham - that Abraham's offspring would be the heirs to the world. The promise could not be fulfilled by the law - men fail and deserve God's wrath - but rather it was a thing of faith. God fulfilled His promise and Abraham had faith that God would do so. Paul then discussed the magnitude of Abraham's faith. Despite God's promise, Abraham grew old as did his wife Sarah. Instead of worrying (As Pastor Robin put it - worrying is practically atheism in that it denies the love, power, and wisdom of God), Abraham's faith INCREASED. How crazy is that?! When faced with hardships, Abraham's faith did not decrease like mine does when I face trials (God where are you now? God will you really deliver me from this? God, how can any good come out of this..?) but INCREASES. He did not waver but grew. I am both encouraged and humbled by reading this.

Here's what I'm taking away from this passage
1) God cares more about my faith in Him than what I am doing. My works, even in the context of the church, do not justify me before God. This is a trap that I often fall into having served constantly at church over the past six years. I am justified by faith and faith alone. I think it may be time to take a step back and stop substituting time spent with the King for time spent serving the King. (I need to treasure God's word more and spend more time in prayer.)

2) My faith is weak. I look at a man like Abraham and am at awe in his faith in God. God, help me increase me faith.

Somewhere along the road, my desire to glorify God by being a good steward of my academic opportunities turned sour. The desire shifted from God's glory to obsessing about grades. The scary part is that it all looked the same from the outside - studying my butt off to do well. On the inside, my motives and attitude were all wrong.

Part of me wonders if the quest for that all-elusive 4.0 GPA is even worth it. In the past when I've obtained it, it's come at the expense of my relationships with friends and was achievable by a single mindedness of doing well. If I do well but don't glorify God, have I really done well or have I done well in the things that don't matter and failed in the things that do?

It's time to take a step back and look at holistic picture of it all. This world tells you how to measure yourself. You're successful if you get good grades, get a good job, and make enough money to life a comfortable and affluent life. There is only one thing that matters in this life. Society tells you that its okay to burn your bridges to get ahead. The introvert inside my desires to be liked by all even if that means taking a backseat to what I really believe or think. There is only one opinion that matters. This world tells you that you're weak if you can't control your own fate and that anything is possible if you work hard enough. There is only one entity that controls all things. What God desires and what the world desires are contrary.

A line has been drawn and there is no middle ground.

I drove home through a lightning storm last night. Quite a gorgeous sight, I must say. It really made me think about this passage...

Elijah 19:11-12
"... Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper."

As I drove in awe of the power of God, I couldn't help but remember that no matter how powerful God is, He is gentle, loving, and compassionate. As a God that controls all things and is in all things, God caused all those crazy things to happen as Elijah watched on the mountains and yet God was in none of them. He was in the gentle whisper.

According to a study done in 2008, Japan is the 5th least religious country worldwide with reports stating that nearly 65% of the country is nonreligious. With the recent natural disasters, I can't help but think God just opened a door that was previously shut. I feel like God is about to do something in Japan. This is a huge opportunity for missionaries to go to Japan and spread the gospel through building relationships by rebuilding the nation.

If you're reading this, please take the time to pray for those in Japan, the missionaries in Japan, and those that God is going to send to Japan.

Hillsong United - Take Heart.mp4

Acts 21:10-14

Acts 21:10-14

¹⁰ After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”

¹² When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

"I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." -Paul

Again we see Paul's faith. Had he followed common sense and earthly logic, chances are Paul would not have gone to Jerusalem. Instead, Paul went with what he felt called to do by the Lord despite knowing what was ahead of him.

As humans, we are beings of worry. We worry about the unknown, about things we cannot control. Worry and the unknown conflict with our faith and ability to trust in God, especially in those tough and trying moments. As Christians, we can look to Paul as an example of one living in faith. Sometimes the unknown is scary but in the case of Paul, the known might be even more frightening. Later in chapter 21, Paul got beaten and arrested. He knew this was coming and He still obeyed the God.

The more I read the Bible, the more I realize how little my faith really is..

Our God - Chris Tomlin - Passion 2010