Christine's Blog – August 2011 Archive (16)

Not so quick!  It would be easy to glance at the last chapter of Romans and think, ‘oh, Paul is just greeting a number of folks…we can pass on that.’  There are some great things to note; take a look:

“Before I commend to you our…

It seems that Paul has always been a man with a plan.  And as we draw to the close of his letter to the Romans, he makes his plans known.  His calling has been to preach the Gospel where it had not been taught and leave the rest to someone else.  He has a plan for the current space in time, and what comes next.  Paul also values the support of fellow believers, enlisting…

“Oh, I just the love Old Testament!”  I heard one woman exclaim to another—‘especially Deut-, Deut-…how do you say it?’  “Doo-ter-on-o-me,” her friend replied.  “Well, yes, I especially love Deuteronomy—you know the part in the Bible where the people wandered around the desert, and whined, and…

This is a good one—I hope you’ll read it and meditate on it.



Paul closes out Romans 14 by making an appeal to the Roman church to do what it takes to get along with one another. “Make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food… Whatever you believe about these things [food or wine] keep between yourself and God …” (There is no need for you to peddle your convictions about opinions/gray areas to other…

Come and let me tell you bout a man named Michael.



Michael. I stepped up to the Post Office window and said, ‘do you by any chance have any lavender stamps to match these invitations? See, they are for Bible study, and women really like when things match…’you know what I mean?’



‘Bible study, huh?’ the postal worker said. To which he said, ‘You know, Heaven is a place of wonder, color, and beautiful music …’



‘Uh-huh…I think I need about 120 stamps,’ I said,…

Do you often judge other people?                                                                   Are you quick to see what’s wrong in someone else’s…

We all do it. We size up people, based on what we see, then we make judgments on such, even if not mean-spirited or critical. But things are not always as they appear.



For instance, I know people who have a really hard time with obese individuals—the assumption being that the person has no self control. They find it hard to respect them as a manager or leader . . .but, could it be that there are things totally out of the ‘big’ person’s control that have led to the individual’s own…

This life is not all there is . . . one thing is sure—all of us will die.  Folks say there are no guarantees, that one hundred percent of us is going to die, and not on our own terms.  Paul wrote, “It is now time for you to wake up from your sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”…

Owe no man anything but to love one anot

her. Romans 13.8



‘But of course I love you . . .’ the mother said to her teen-aged daughter.



‘I’m sure you do, Mom, I just don’t feel it,’ she flipped her hair over her shoulder, and walked out of the room.



‘Wow…how could she not feel my love for her?’ the mother asked herself, troubled. Why, I have loved her since I knew I was carrying her in my womb! And the day I gave birth to her…well, it was the happiest day of…

What is our responsibility to the government? Paul closed out Romans 12 with a list of the concrete ways we ought to love one another, and promote harmony within the family of God. Now he turns his attention to instruct Christians living under the rule of a secular government.



Paul writes: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities…

Today I had the opportunity to again read aloud Paul’s mandate for loving well. . . I looked at three different versions of the same passage, and here is yet another.  Before we turn the page, and look at Romans chapter 13, I must ask you—how are you doing with loving well? …

Is it possible to live simply in the 21^st century?  And would you, if you could?  The whole notion of living simply I find quite appealing, which is why I am sure Robert Fulghum’s poem warms my heart.  ‘All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten…  Share everything.  Play fair.  Don’t hit people.  Put things back where you found them.  Clean up your own mess.  Don’t take things that aren’t yours.  Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.  Wash your hands before you…

‘Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves,



measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us,’ Paul writes. So, honestly….what have you done with the amount of faith God has given you?



Have you put your trust in God? Because you can never fully ‘know’ someone, all relationships require faith. But with God, we can look at who he is and what he has done . . . and both make him worthy of our trust . . . a person in whom we…