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| I am so quick to jump on all the promises and encouragements of God's merciful character in the books of the prophets...and yet I don't realize that I am just as destitute and in need of mercy as the Israelites... | | |
| "You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish."
-John 11:49-50
But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to many.
And the gift is not like that which came throudh the one who sinned; for on one hand the judgement arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.
For if by the transgresion of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who recieve the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
So then as through one transgression there resulted in condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
For as through one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
- Romans 5:15-19
But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see is offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bor the sin of many,
And interceeded for the transgressors.
-Isaiah 53:10-12
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Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.
-Philippians 2:5
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We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and the we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
-1 John 3:16 | | |
| I think as I am falling in love with God more and more, I am falling in love with people more and more...
Sometimes I think this whole school thing, and career thing, and life thing, is just stealing time...
I want to just spread my arms open and fall backwards into the breeze, landing on a shelter of the greenest grass, as the piercing blue sky rotates above me, and the sun shimmers in laughter over my face...
The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
(Psalm 23)
P.S. How many of you can recite that?
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Psalms 69:5-13
(5) O God, it is You who knows my folly, And my wrongs are not hidden from You.
(6) May those who wait for You not be ashamed through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,
(7) Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Dishonor has covered my face.
(8) I have become estranged from my brothers And an alien to my mother's sons.
(9) For zeal for Your house has consumed me, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
(10) When I wept in my soul with fasting, It became my reproach.
(11) When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.
(12) Those who sit in the gate talk about me, And I am the song of the drunkards.
(13) But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, at an acceptable time; O God, in the greatness of Your lovingkindness, Answer me with Your saving truth. | | |
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"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."
(Ephesians 2:8-9)
"through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;"
I think many of us realize how grace is a gift of God.
I think many of us realize how salvation is a gift of God.
I think this verse is saying even more though...I think it is saying that faith is a gift of God.
Not only is grace and salvation so completely beyond what we merit or what we can obtain, even the faith to believe in such things is not something we could gain through our own works. We didn't just wake up one day with the ability to have faith in the things unseen and unknown. It was Him who revealed all things. It was Him who gave us the power to accept and believe.
"For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith."
(Romans 12:3)
I don't think this is saying that we each only have a pre-determined, unalterable amount of faith...but rather that He was the one who gave us the faith in the beginning. He gave it in measure, yes...but He gave it being the almighty, all-knowing, all-loving God...
"The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you."
(Luke 17:5-6)
But let us also not lose sight of the practical aspect...
"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."
(Romans 10:17)
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