Romans 9-12
Romans 11:20b (or c)-21 had special meaning to me today. "So do not become proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you." God is awesome.
One amazing thing that fascinates me is how Paul can quote the Old Testament. It is probably not possible that he had a copy of it in front of him to refer back to. Copies back in those days were few and far between. Do you realize how fortunate we are to have copies (Bibles) we can refer to? Or may that is not fortunate, because we rely on the convenience and not our memory.
The "election of Israel" is emphasized over and over.
Chapter 12:9-12 are very meaningful - "Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer."
How are you doing with outdoing "one another in showing honor"?
Are you enjoying Romans? What was your favorite part today?
Friends, It will take me a while to catch up, starting today, but I'm endeavoring. Wish I'd seen this on the church home page earlier in the month! You know, Paul is tough... tough on his audience, and tough with words. As I was reading chapters 9-10, it made me think of the Parable of the Vineyard (Mt 20:1-16), as it seems that Paul is answering the same sort of questions: who gets what (from God, in the way of heavenly reward); under what circumstances; when is the reward; how are we called to work/receive blessings... the same as Christ was illustrating with the parable, except THAT i understood much better than Pauls many "buts"...
ReplyDeletePaul gives some pretty straight-forward instruction for Christian living... I especially like his advice on avoiding retail debt: "owe nothing to anyone except to love one another" (Rom 13:8) Oops, that's the next chapter!
Glad to have you join in Alice!
ReplyDeleteNot only do we have books now, but we have the internet. It is so much easier to cross reference online. I think this is am improvement in spreading the truth, which has just been realized in the last 10 years. I also believe the next big step is the social networking phenomenon. It hasn't reached its full potential in learning about the truth, but it is getting there. The absence of a dislike button in facebook is the tip of the iceberg as far as what is possible. People sharing life experiences with each other in a safe in environment is the best way to learn the truth. Blogs and social networking with safe people is a good start.
ReplyDeleteFB seems so shallow to me. I see some posts with depth, but not many. And when I post something to get people to think, I don't get little or no response. Blogging is better!
ReplyDeleteYes, I have to agree with you, facebook is quite shallow, however it depends on your friends.
ReplyDeleteThe commentary says that 6-8 deal with sanctification. 6 explains that believers are free from sin's control, 7 the continuing struggle we believers have with sin, and 8 describes how we can have victory over sin.
I liked most of chapter 6 the best, because it explained logically how Christ died for our sins. This is something I was never quite clear about, but Paul speaks logically and it makes sense to me.