Romans 15:30-33 (NIV)
30 I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.
31 Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,
32 so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.
33 The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Paul is nearing the end of his letter to the believers in Rome. He is need of help. It is as if Paul had a bounty on his head for most of his life after coming to faith in Christ. He is asking for prayers that he would escape the unbelievers in Judea. Sometimes Paul wanted prayer to reach the unbelievers and sometimes he wanted prayer to escape the unbelievers. Paul used God-given discernment for those types of situations. Paul is not cavalier at all about this prayer for him. He urges them to join in his struggle by praying for him. He also wanted to be effective in his service to the saints in Jerusalem. He wanted protection and he wanted effectiveness in ministry. The result of this answer to prayer is that he would be able to come to Rome with joy and be refreshed together. Would you pray for me that I may come each weekend with joy and that we as a church be refreshed together. Please pray for each other the same prayer. Try to do this right now. Thank you. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
If man is man and God is God, to live without prayer is not merely an awful thing; it is an infinitely foolish thing.
Phillips Brooks (1835–1893)
Friday, August 20, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Romans 15:23-29 (NIV)
Romans 15:23-29 (NIV)
23 But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you,
24 I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.
25 Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there.
26 For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.
27 They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews' spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.
28 So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way.
29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.
Paul is letting them know of his upcoming visit. Before he visits with the church in Rome he must first drop off the offering taken by the churches in Macedonia and Achaia to the saints in Jerusalem. This is the same offering that Paul is talking about in II Corinthians 8:1-8. Paul talked about this offering by these churches to the Corinthians and is talking about it to the church in Rome. Notice his unique slant that they owed it to the saints in Jerusalem. The Jews, through whom God brought blessing, are owed some material blessing from the Gentiles that are now being blessed spiritually. First Paul lets the church in Rome know that these churches that took up the offering were pleased to do so, but in any case they owed it to them anyway. This is why we must read the Bible. This principle is in the Scriptures more than once. If you have been blessed spiritually by someone then you owe them some material blessing. I do not know the extent of the material blessing that is to be given, but I do know that something is owed. I would of never thought that of that concept in a million years, yet there it is right in the Word of God. This principle also helps up see the connection between the material world and the unseen world. There will always be a material world and there will always be a connection between the two worlds. Paul ends this chapter by letting the Roman believers know that when he comes he will come in the full measure of the blessings of Christ. Wow! That is how I want to come to each service at Crosspoint. Paul said that he wanted to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:8). Perhaps, today, you could pray and ask your Father in heaven to help you to come in the full measure of Christ's blessings. If you get a chance to share with someone then share the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus.
The greatest blessing we ever get from God is to know that we are destitute spiritually.
Oswald Chambers (1874–1917)
23 But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you,
24 I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.
25 Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there.
26 For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.
27 They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews' spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.
28 So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way.
29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.
Paul is letting them know of his upcoming visit. Before he visits with the church in Rome he must first drop off the offering taken by the churches in Macedonia and Achaia to the saints in Jerusalem. This is the same offering that Paul is talking about in II Corinthians 8:1-8. Paul talked about this offering by these churches to the Corinthians and is talking about it to the church in Rome. Notice his unique slant that they owed it to the saints in Jerusalem. The Jews, through whom God brought blessing, are owed some material blessing from the Gentiles that are now being blessed spiritually. First Paul lets the church in Rome know that these churches that took up the offering were pleased to do so, but in any case they owed it to them anyway. This is why we must read the Bible. This principle is in the Scriptures more than once. If you have been blessed spiritually by someone then you owe them some material blessing. I do not know the extent of the material blessing that is to be given, but I do know that something is owed. I would of never thought that of that concept in a million years, yet there it is right in the Word of God. This principle also helps up see the connection between the material world and the unseen world. There will always be a material world and there will always be a connection between the two worlds. Paul ends this chapter by letting the Roman believers know that when he comes he will come in the full measure of the blessings of Christ. Wow! That is how I want to come to each service at Crosspoint. Paul said that he wanted to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:8). Perhaps, today, you could pray and ask your Father in heaven to help you to come in the full measure of Christ's blessings. If you get a chance to share with someone then share the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus.
The greatest blessing we ever get from God is to know that we are destitute spiritually.
Oswald Chambers (1874–1917)
Monday, August 16, 2010
Romans 15:14-16 (NIV)
Romans 15:14-16 (NIV)
14 I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.
15 I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me
16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Paul is beginning to bring his letter to a close. Paul acknowledges that he has written a strong letter. He even says, "I have written you quite boldly on some points..." which, in my opinion, is an understatement (read chapter one again). Paul is wanting them to know that he believes in them, but like anyone else they need to be reminded of God's truth. Paul believes in them so much he says, "...that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another." I think that it would be a good prayer for us that we be full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. Even with that as our prayer we will still need to be reminded of God's truth. Paul sees his whole ministry as a gift from God. Paul was a teacher of the law to the Jews, but God made him a missionary to the Gentiles. Listen to how Paul describes himself, "...a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles...". I believe first and foremost we must see ourselves as ministers of Christ Jesus. You cannot imagine how important it is to have the right mindset about who you are. You are a minister of Christ Jesus the Lord. When everything else goes wrong you are to always come back to this identity. A high priority for our church is to help people to see themselves as God sees them. We do not represent ourselves, our church, or our country--we represent Jesus Christ! Paul's goal as Christ's minister was to present Gentiles to God as an acceptable offering. In a way we are a product of Paul's ministry. Pray for yourself and for Crosspoint that those who attend would see themselves as ministers of Christ.
Our greatest need today is not more Christianity but more true Christians. The world can argue against Christianity as an institution, but there is no convincing argument against a person who, through the Spirit of God, has been made Christlike.
Billy Graham (1918– )
14 I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.
15 I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me
16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Paul is beginning to bring his letter to a close. Paul acknowledges that he has written a strong letter. He even says, "I have written you quite boldly on some points..." which, in my opinion, is an understatement (read chapter one again). Paul is wanting them to know that he believes in them, but like anyone else they need to be reminded of God's truth. Paul believes in them so much he says, "...that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another." I think that it would be a good prayer for us that we be full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. Even with that as our prayer we will still need to be reminded of God's truth. Paul sees his whole ministry as a gift from God. Paul was a teacher of the law to the Jews, but God made him a missionary to the Gentiles. Listen to how Paul describes himself, "...a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles...". I believe first and foremost we must see ourselves as ministers of Christ Jesus. You cannot imagine how important it is to have the right mindset about who you are. You are a minister of Christ Jesus the Lord. When everything else goes wrong you are to always come back to this identity. A high priority for our church is to help people to see themselves as God sees them. We do not represent ourselves, our church, or our country--we represent Jesus Christ! Paul's goal as Christ's minister was to present Gentiles to God as an acceptable offering. In a way we are a product of Paul's ministry. Pray for yourself and for Crosspoint that those who attend would see themselves as ministers of Christ.
Our greatest need today is not more Christianity but more true Christians. The world can argue against Christianity as an institution, but there is no convincing argument against a person who, through the Spirit of God, has been made Christlike.
Billy Graham (1918– )
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