Category Archives: Scripture

A timely Word for me…

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vangoghbibleThis weekend, while seeking the Lord’s help for my heart prior to a meeting some fellow believers, my devotions brought these verses from Romans 12…..

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. …
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer… [ESV, emphasis added]

Isn’t God’s Word simple and clear, for those who have ears to hear? My soul needed this Word that day (and will need it again and again). Thank You Lord, for Your Word — and for Your grace.

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“The Bible’s Mt. Everest”

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David Mathis (writing at the DG blog) says….

Mountain View, Wengen, Berner Oberland, Switzerland

The last 12 verses of Romans 8 (verses 28—39) are the biblical Himalayas, and Romans 8:32 is Mount Everest.

[God] did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Stand in awe of this verse. Step back and view the whole range, and then focus your gaze on the highest peak. And then reorient your thinking about life’s hardest times and deepest pains.

The reason why Romans 8:32 is so breathtakingly amazing is that it combines all the most massive promises of God for his people with the (seemingly) simple reality of the gospel. In Romans 8:32, the apostle Paul takes God’s most far-reaching, hope-giving, life-changing promises and supports them the central Christian message of the gospel.

At the center of God’s magnificent Himalayan promises is his pledge to work all things—especially life’s most difficult things—for the good of his people (verses 28—30; 35—39). These promises are so huge that they are hard to believe.

Is God really working all my worst circumstances for my good? Yes! That’s what Romans 8:32 is saying. And it’s doing so by reasoning from the gospel to God’s goodness in all things.

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[I know, the photo is not Mt Everest, but you get the picture]