Commitment: an agreement or pledge to do something in the future. This is Webster’s definition of the word. We have no problem in committing ourselves to something because of the last part of that definition – “something in the future”. As long as it is in the future, we can commit away! “Oh yes”, we…
“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstances permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.” ~ quote from an American Novelist. What a great quote about commitment! So many times we treat our walk with God with passing interest rather than…
Do you get a little sad when the Christmas tree comes down? I do. I think it is because Christmas is so shiny and light-filled, that it just seems a little less bright without all the tinsel and baubles decorating our homes. It is like the “glory” of Christmas has been packed away in our…
Sing along with me now…Gloom, despair, and agony on me (whoa)… Deep, dark, depression – excessive misery (whoa)… If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all (whoa)… Gloom, despair, and agony on me! Do you remember this song from “Hee Haw”? It was sung by a quartet of men that were…
Hezekiah is not someone you normally think about when you try to list the great characters of the Bible. Sure we think of David, Moses, Paul, and Peter – but Hezekiah? Oh yes – Hezekiah! This is a name you have probably heard of because he is talked about in several Old Testament books like…
Do you remember the old Barbara Streisand song called “The Way We Were”? Well, Paul uses a similar phrase in Romans 5, but the verb tense is a little different. On three different occasions in this chapter, Paul uses the phrase “While we were…” The song title indicates a past tense state of being, while…
What does “ka-ching” make you think of? Hopefully you think of a cash register that is ringing up a sale! Money is coming in and your account is being credited. Romans 4 has a lot of “ka-ching-ing” happening! But God is not counting what you might think! Many people think God is sitting on His…
My last post kind of left you hanging by a strand of pearls that Paul had strung together. Paul painted a very dismal picture of humanity when we are left to our own devices. The verses (pearls) that Paul strung together in Romans 3:15-18 declares all (Jews and Gentiles) guilty because we cannot keep God’s…
The first two chapters of Romans are pretty tough on Jews and Gentiles alike. Paul blasts the Gentiles in chapter 1 concerning some pretty atrocious sins in which they were participating.Then Paul takes aim at the self righteous Jew who has been kind of smirking about what the apostle just said about the Gentiles. He asks them some very direct…
A guilty conscience – there is nothing worse! You feel a knot in your stomach, sweaty hands, and have the weight of guilt upon your shoulders. From where does your conscience come? Why are some people very sensitive to it and why are some very calloused to it? All of these answers can be found in…