Author: pastorjonathan

Christian,Husband, Dad, Pastor, Mentor, Volunteer.

Hey I Know Those People! (Romans 16)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional1 Comment

Paul lists several folks in the Roman church and sends his greetings. This small gesture at the end of the book of Romans reminds us that the bible is a historical book. The book of Romans was addressed and received by real people who made up the church in Rome. Paul knew many of the people he was writing too. These are the folks who would have known about his character. Some of them possibly knew him before his conversion and and witnessed the radical change in his life.

This chapter also reminds us that the bible is a personal book. Though Paul shared some fantastic theological information about grace, faith, and how salvations works its way out practically in our lives, he wasn’t writing in a vacuum. He was writing to a real church, made up of real people, who first received this letter. Some of those folks were even his family (16:7, 11) and some were like family (16:13).

Whenever I read chapters like this and I see the list of folks that Paul knew in Rome, I start thinking about how special all of those friendships must have been. I start thinking of my own list of folks. There are many folks who are special to me because God has used them in my life or used me in their life (or both). We share a deep kinship because of the work of the gospel in our lives.

Father, thank you for all the men and women you have used to shape my life. Thank you for using me to shape the lives of others. Thanks you for the kinship of special friends and mentors who have encourged us along the way. Use me to be a friend and encourager to others today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

RESOURCES:

Last Year’s Post

Join us in reading though the New Testament in 90 Days! You can find the plan and previous posts here.

Welcome One Another (Romans 13-15)

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Romans 15:7 ESV Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

In this section the Apostle Paul encourages the church to live at peace with all men. If we believe that God has made peace with us through Jesus Christ, we ought to be at peace with one another. If God is sovereign over governments, we ought to pay our taxes. If we will ultimately stand and give an account for ourselves before God, we ought not judge our brothers and sisters in Christ. If a weaker brother takes issue on the grounds of conscience to something we do, we ought to serve our brother rather than violate their conscience, since Christ has born our weaknesses it is not too big a task for us to bear with one another. The list goes on.

Romans 15:7 really jumped out at me this morning. In a few hours, I’ll be preaching from 1 Thessalonians 1:1-4 and sharing a minor point on how God greets His church with Grace and Peace. If we have been welcomed to the body of Christ not on our merits but based on the grace of God, who are we that we would withhold that same sort of welcome for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Welcoming our brothers and sisters in Christ, the way Christ has welcomed us is a practical application of loving our neighbor as ourselves!

I’ll confess as we’ve explored earlier in Romans, sinful habits die hard. It can be difficult to demonstrate grace to those we think of as “undeserving.” But then again it wouldn’t be grace if people deserved it. We are reminded from our reading earlier in Romans, “while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). If He has done so much for us and welcomes all who come to Him on the same terms, who are we to hold to a different sort of welcome?

[Note: This doesn’t mean that we are to endorse or tolerate sin in the church. It does mean that when we address sin in the church that we go having examined our own lives first (Matthew 7:1-7), approach in such a way as to restore those who have fallen back into sin (Matthew 18), and are to be gentle in our approach (Galatians 6:1)]

[Note: It should be noted that in the foreground of all that Paul is talking about in Romans is the relationships in the church between Jewish and Gentile believers. The issue at stake was that there would be two sects rather than one church. It was important that Jewish and Gentile believers welcome one another and work together to glorify God in unity.]

Father, thank you that you have saved us by grace and welcomed us into the body of Christ not based on a resume of good works, but on the work of Christ alone. Thank you for the tremendous love poured out on us. Help us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ the way you love us. Give us wisdom, direction, and move us by your Spirit in practical ways to live out your gospel. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

RESOURCES:

Last Year’s Post

Join us in reading though the New Testament in 90 Days! You can find the plan and previous posts here.

Living Sacrifice (Romans 10-12)

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Romans 12:1-2 ESV I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans chapters 1-11 are rich in theology. Paul talks a lot about faith, how faith works, why faith is enough, how the gentiles have faith in a similar way than the Jews who have the law, God’s sovereign election, and God’s plan for redeeming Jews and Gentiles. We take a strong turn from theology to application in Romans chapter 12. This is how a good theology works. Theology explains what we believe to be true about God but if we believe those things about God, then our actions will indicate it as well.

This part of Romans Paul lays out practical ways that our belief in what he has demonstrated about God in Romans 1-11 show up in our lives. If we believe that God is sovereign over nations, we’ll submit to those in an authority over us (when they don’t contradict the Word of God). If we believe that God is the one that has lit the spark of belief in our hearts, we’ll press in to him knowing that he has a plan and a purpose for us. If we believe that we are set free from sin, we will flee sin when it pursues us and walk in the power of the Spirit of God.

Ultimately if we believe that God is good, that He has a purpose in sending Christ to free us from sin, and has given us faith to respond to Him, then we will respond by letting Him move and work freely in our lives. This is why Paul talks about presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice. We are offering ourselves back to God in an act of worship as a right response for all He has done. We are trusting Him to continue His work in us. We pressing into Him and allowing Him to change our thoughts and desires to be more like His. We are treating one another in a way that He would desire us to treat one another.

Father, thank you that you not only teach us truth about you in your word, but you also demonstrate how to live out that truth in our lives. Give us grace today to respond to you in a way that glorifies and honors you. Give us guidance and wisdom according to our differing circumstances how we can honor you as living sacrifices. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

RESOURCES:

Last Year’s Post

Join us in reading though the New Testament in 90 Days! You can find the plan and previous posts here.

Wrestling With Our Sin Nature (Romans 7-9)

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I’ve got a problem. I am used to driving down a certain road to another town in our area because I used to drive that road almost every day. These days I don’t do nearly as much driving but it almost never fails that when I get in the truck, I’ll start down that old road. It’s just second nature. I’ll just mindlessly head down the road until my wife stops me, or I get halfway down the road and realize that I was headed towards somewhere else. Going down that road was a part of my life for so long. It had become a part of my muscle memory.

Even though we’ve been set free from sin and are free to worship and glorify God, there are old habits and thoughts we struggle with that are still sinful. There are sinful habits we used to cope with life that call out to us whenever we are stressed out. There are moments where we head down an old familiar path to gossip, outbursts of anger, unforgiveness, hatred, lust, greed, and all sorts of sinful behavior.

The Apostle Paul asks the question, “If I’m free from sin and free to worship God, why do I struggle with sin and sometimes still choose to sin?” He answers by acknowledging the two natures that now exist inside of us. The old man flesh, who keeps reminding us of how we used to be and how we used to handle our issues. And the Holy Spirit of God now living inside of us who prompts and guides us. The two are contrary to one another and can create an inner turmoil. Paul groans and looks forward to the day that Jesus will transform his body and he won’t wrestle with the flesh anymore.

It’s important what Paul shares in Romans 8, that if God is for us, who can be against us. For the Believer, the LORD is working out his character in you. He has put His Spirit in you. You have God Himself moving and working on your behalf to bring you to completion. Press into Him!

Father, Thank you for your amazing grace. Thank you for the way you are transforming me. Thank you for the Holy Spirit who speaks to me when I head down an old roads. Thank you for your amazing grace that doesn’t give up on me. I pray that you would open doors for me to share of your amazing grace with others today.

RESOURCES:

Last Year’s Post

Join us in reading though the New Testament in 90 Days! You can find the plan and previous posts here.

Sin Will Have No More Dominion Over You (Romans 4-6)

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Romans 6:13-14 ESV Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

It’s great to listen in to the Dave Ramsey Radio show from time to time and hear folks call in to scream, “We are debt free!” If you listen to the show you know that Dave offers a simple plan to help folks live with in their means, pay off their debt, and live debt free. As Dave puts it, “Live like no one else today, so you can live like no one else tomorrow.” Many times folks call into the show and discuss just how big their debt is. It seems like they can’t enjoy much of life because as soon as their paycheck comes in it goes out to pay for a mortgage, car notes, student loan debts, medical bills, and their consumer credit card. People are drowning in debt. Dave often quotes the prover, “The borrower is slave to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7b).

I can imagine the joy experienced as a family calls in, or drives across the country to show up live in the studio and scream out their testimony, “We are Debt Free!” They are experiencing life where the pay check comes in and it doesn’t have to go right back out! They are free from the burdens, anxieties, and even depression all because their massive debts have been paid off.

Those in Christ have something even greater to rejoice about, we have been set free from the burden of sin! We were once slaves to sin, we had a daily obligation to sinful thoughts, actions, and lifestyles. Our sin separated us from God and kept us from being free to worship Him. Yet through the response of faith to the work of Christ on the cross we are set free from our sin! We are set free not just from the punishment our past sins have earned us, but we are free to worship and glorify God!

The apostle Paul urges us here to remember that we have been set free from sin and to present our selves to the Lord. Let the Holy Spirit work in you! I can’t imagine someone still paying the credit card company long after the debt has been paid. This powerful reminder in God’s word helps us grasp that we no longer have to do the same sort of things we did before Jesus set us free. We have the capacity, through the work of God in our lives, to forgive as we have been forgiven, to love one another as Christ loved us, to encourage and support one another, and all the various commands we find in scripture. Those commands aren’t written to people who are still slaves, but people who are free by the power of the gospel to fulfill whatever commands our Savior gives us. As a friend of mind likes to say all the time, “Where God guides, He provides.” This is especially true when it comes to living the new life in Jesus Christ.

Father, Thank you that you have set me free from slavery to sin. I confess that old habits die hard. Too often I return to broken cisterns thinking they will provide what I need. I rejoice that your word reminds me today that I don’t have to keep going back to dead, dry wells but that I have all I need in you. I’ve been set free from the sins of my past, am no longer bound in the present, and have a bright future ahead where sin will be no more. I pray that I will live fully empowered by the gospel. I rejoice at your work in my life. Conform me more and more into the image of Christ. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

RESOURCES:

Last Year’s Post

Join us in reading though the New Testament in 90 Days! You can find the plan and previous posts here.

Our Conscience (Romans 1-3)

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Romans 2:14-16 ESV For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. (15) They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them (16) on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

When I was about 10 or 11 years old, I was playing with a friend at a property that his family had just bought. We were exploring the barns and outer buildings when we came up on a box. Naturally being curious we opened the box and found out that is was full of dirty magazines. No one had ever told me not to look at dirty magazines and I was curious about what was inside of them. At that moment however there was a gut feeling that looking at those magazines would be wrong. Fortunately my friend had the same but stronger intuition and closed the box and took it to his parents.

What was at work in my heart was my conscience. I intuitively knew that looking at those magazines would have been wrong. Part of me was curious and willing to violate my conscience. This is the drama that Paul says works out even in those people who have never heard the Law. God’s law is written on their heart in such a way that they intuitively know that some things are wrong and they violate their own conscience.

Someone may not believe the scriptures and subscribe to God’s law. Yet, if they have ever violated their own conscience they can’t claim to stand before God guiltless. We are so great of sinners that not only do we fail to keep God’s law perfectly, we can’t even keep our own conscious clear.

The only real solution is Jesus. Paul reminds us that we will all stand before God and give an account for our lives. Some of us will stand under the judgement and wrath of God as we answer for what we have done. Some of us will stand under the grace and mercy of God because our sins have been forgiven through Jesus Christ and we have new life. On that day we will rejoice as God rewards us for the work he has done in our lives to change us from sinners into saints.

I don’t want anyone on that day to have to stand and face the full consequences for their sin. Not when Jesus has already paid for their sin and all they need to do is repent and trust in Him. I’m praying for opportunities to tell others about Jesus and his glorious gospel that has transformed my life.

Father, Thank you for your mercy and grace. We rejoice to know that you love us, Jesus has paid the penalty for our sins, and we can come to you in faith and receive the forgiveness of our sins. We ask for opportunities to tell others today about Jesus and how they can be forgiven of sin and have new life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

RESOURCES:

Last Year’s Post

Join us in reading though the New Testament in 90 Days! You can find the plan and previous posts here.

Confident in the Promises of God (Acts 26-28)

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A few things really jumped out at me today. First it appears that Paul befriended the Roman centurion, Julius who was overseeing the prisoner transfer. We don’t know the details of their conversations but we are given enough clues to deduce some sort of friendship or at least appreciation developed along the way. I’m sure Julius heard the gospel from Paul in that time, but it must have traveled along the lines of genuine care and concern. I wonder how intentional we are to develop genuine friendships with those the Lord has placed in our path and how we might be honest about our faith with our friends?

The next thing that really jumped out today was how in the midst of trying times, Paul held close the promises of God. When everything looked bleak, Paul pressed in to the Lord, he didn’t run from Him or drift. I know when I was in the hospital, keeping the television turned off, reading my bible, and being faithful to pray are the disciplines that drew me closer to the LORD and caused me to witness to those around me almost out of second nature.

Finally, Paul was a man on a mission. He knew the next step that was ahead of him and he was confident the Lord would bring him there. When the boat was driven by a storm for two weeks, Paul knew he’d survive. When a snake came out of the fire and bit him, he shook it off. He knew he would not be detoured from his mission. He was immortal until his purpose on earth was through. How many of us walk with that sort of faith and confidence in the LORD?

Father, Thank you for your Word that speaks life into us. We rejoice at how you used Paul both to plant and start churches as well as to take your gospel across the Roman Empire. We pray that you would use us in the places you have placed and called us to take the gospel around the world. We pray that we would press into you even closer in the days ahead and that we would remind one another of your promises and goodness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Congratulations if you’ve been following along from the beginning! In the first 40 days of 2021 we have read all four gospels and the book of Acts!

RESOURCES:

Last Year’s Post

Join us in reading though the New Testament in 90 Days! You can find the plan and previous posts here.

When Adversity Becomes Opportunity (Acts 23-25)

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When reading today we see a lot of shady politicians doing a little political maneuvering that ends up keeping Paul to be in prison for over two years. We might tend to think of this as a huge inconvenience for Paul. Certainly this broken system chewed through a huge part of Paul’s life. Imagine what he could have been doing had he not been detained in prison? How many churches could he have encouraged with his presence? How many more churches could he have planted?

Yet, Paul gets a personal word from the LORD that he will stand before Cesar in Rome. Paul knows where he is ultimately headed. Along the way the adversity he faces ends up being opportunities to preach and share the gospel. Some of the very men who were at the heart of Jesus’ crucifixion, heard Paul share the story of the resurrection. The regional Roman governors hear the gospel message along with their Roman guards and others who would have been present.

It seems fitting that the gospel should and would be pressed forward even more in the midst of adversity. It’s not as though Jesus never met with adversity or the early church hadn’t seen adversity before. It seems as though through the book of Act the LORD uses adversity to grow his church.

We’ve all been living through a pandemic and it has changed the way we do a lot of thing. We’ve faced a type of adversity through this virus that isn’t necessarily the fault of an individual or a corrupt system. Regardless of how the virus got here, it’s here, its real (I’ve had it), and it can and does kill some people. We wear masks, wash hands, keep our distance and do all the things they say help stop the spread. It can be easy to lose focus on the gospel and concentrate on keeping one another safe from the virus. Yet, as I shared with a few men the other day, “Keeping people safe from the virus is important and it shouldn’t be dismissed but our mission has never been safety. Our mission is to share the gospel in our community and around the world. Certainly the virus has created a challenging climate, but it hasn’t changed our calling. It may have also unlocked some doors to ministry.”

We see that with Paul in these chapters. The adversity of dealing with a corrupt political system actually put Paul in a place to share the gospel with Roman guards, governors, an ultimately Cesar himself. When I had the virus and was in the hospital it gave me opportunity to talk to several nurses about the gospel that I would have never met otherwise. It’s also given us opportunity to minister to our neighbors and through technology to share hope with those who tune in to our services online both locally and from around the state and nation.

Father, thank you that even when we face adversity we know that you are with us. Thank you that you are a God who often turns the adversity we face into opportunity to minister to others and share our faith. We ask that you give us wisdom for the days that we live in to reach our neighbors and friends with the power of the gospel. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

RESOURCES:

Last Year’s Post

Join us in reading though the New Testament in 90 Days! You can find the plan and previous posts here.

The Power of a Personal Testimony (Acts 20-22)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional1 Comment

When folks look back through history it is difficult to dismiss the ministry of Paul. He did so much to spread the gospel and plant churches that he is often remembered for that alone. It’s easy to forget his testimony. Yet, Paul’s testimony wasn’t easy to dismiss for the his own Jewish class. They knew and respected him as a Jew among Jews. He persecuted the early church with zeal. Yet his conversion sent shock waves through the community of elite Jews. It’s also one of the compelling evidences for skeptics today. What would make a man who ardently persecuted the church do a complete 180 and willing take on suffering, hardship, persecution, and even work to pray his own way to promote the gospel?

I’ve been blessed to be a pastor for several years and it’s natural when I talk with fellow Christians for me to ask about how they came to faith in the Lord. It’s amazing to note how alive most people become when they start telling the story of how they came to faith in the Lord. It’s great that I get to see that passion and I count it a privilege that people trust me enough to share about their conversion experience. I wonder though how many neighbors and friends have heard our own personal story of how Jesus changed our lives?

I once lead a mission trip where I trained all of our students how to share their testimony in 100 words or less. I challenged our kids to share their abbreviated story whenever they had a chance during the trip. I gave them the example that if someone asked why they were there they should just launch into their story and then end with the phrase, “and I want other people to experience what I have in Jesus.” Late in the week one of the individuals working the front desk at the hotel came to me and asked us to pray for them. I asked what was up? They said that they had asked several of our teenagers and adults why they were here and they had heard testimony after testimony and they came under conviction about things in their life that needed to change (they were already a believer). I wonder sometimes too about how we might encourage one another by simply sharing our faith stories.

Paul shared his story in an adverse climate, but through his personal story of conversion and faith the gospel was going out in a compelling way. I challenge you to write out your testimony. Read through it and simplify it. Then share it with someone this week. You never know how God might use your story to encourage a fellow believer or even help spread the gospel to those you have yet to believe.

In the Resources I’ve shared several links to my personal testimony.

Father, thank you for how you have moved in my life to bring me to faith in you. I pray that you would use me to share the gospel and encourage other believers. Thank you that you give us all opportunities to share the reason for the hope we have in Christ. I pray that we will take the challenge to write our testimony and even share it with others this week. Give us clarity and opportunity. Grant us boldness that we might press your gospel forward. In Jesus Name, Amen.

RESOURCES:

Last Year’s Post was really good and deserves a look. There was some good application in on a few things that really stood out to me again this go round but I opted not to comment because I’d already shared those insights last year!

Join us in reading though the New Testament in 90 Days! You can find the plan and previous posts here.

(Acts 16-19)

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The diversity of the church in Philippi really jumped out at me this morning. The first church members there were a wealthy woman, her friends/ employees, a slave girl, and a Roman prison guard and his whole family. They didn’t have much in common socially or economically, but the bond of brother-sisterhood through the blood of Jesus was enough to establish a solid church. Paul wrote the encouraging and powerful book of Philippians to these folks.

The second thing that really jumped out at me today was how Paul appealed to and leveraged to his Roman citizenship in Philippi. “But Paul said to them, ‘They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out” (Acts 16:37). This was Roman colony that would have had all the respect for Roman law and citizenship as Rome itself so his appeal wasn’t ungrounded.

We live in a moment in American history where many Christians are wondering how they need to posture themselves. Some note that we are citizens of Heaven and to them it indicates that they don’t need to worry so much about the affairs/ politics of this world. Others indicate that God has given us an American citizenship and we are to press that to it’s fullest advantage including voting, campaigning for candidates/ issues, signing petitions, boycotting, etc. Some wondered does citizenship in Heaven mean I forfeit the rights of citizenship of my country?

These concepts were never intended to be held in tension. Paul writes the Philippians, (People who understood all the rights and privileges’ of Roman citizenship and who were present when he first made an appeal to his own Roman citizenship ) and uses the concept of citizenship as a metaphor to teach about the rights and privileges of those who are in Christ. “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Philippians 3:20-21).

It was precisely because Paul was a Roman citizen who appealed to his rights as a Roman citizen that the concept of being citizens of heaven could be clearly understood. This is one of those both and concepts. Christians should rejoice that they are citizens in the kingdom of heaven, but we should also use whatever rights and privilege’s that are afforded to us as citizens of our country to promote and further the gospel. In America this means using our rights such as free speech to present the gospel, advocate for the powerless, address corruption, and let our voices be heard. However, there is a way to do all of those things with tact and compassion for those who see things differently than us. I’ve put a few links in the resources today that include organizations/ individuals that write from a biblical/ Christian perspective on political/ theological issues of interest to Christians. I’ll also link to a few good books on Politics/Christianity that I have read and found helpful.

Father, We thank you for the diversity of individuals you have called together in the church. we rejoice that more than anything we have the saving work of Christ in common. We pray that you would use us to be salt and light into our communities to reach others with the gospel. We thank you for our Nation and the freedoms we have. Give us wisdom on how to use our rights and privileges to spread the gospel. These things we ask in Jesus Name, Amen.

RESOURCES:

Politics According to the Bible* – Wayne Grudem Book

Why Politics Needs Religion* – Brandon Sweetman Book

Join us in reading though the New Testament in 90 Days! You can find the plan and previous posts here.

*- Affiliate Link