May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NIV The reasons why we become Christians today seem to be shifting away from having personal contact with our Father. Nowadays we... Continue Reading →
Rejoice With Gentiles
Again, it says, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." Romans 15:10 NIV Just when we begin to feel good about our Christian heritage and privilege, we are reminded that Christ is not only for us. It is true choices must be made. A stand for Jesus must be made. But we typically think that... Continue Reading →
Glorify God
so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:6 NIV We have made Christianity into a maze of doctrines and denominations. Each church proudly declares their belief is correct. At the same time, they insinuate that the others are all somehow wrong. We... Continue Reading →
Have Hope
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 15:4 NIV We have the most amazing resource. We have the Bible. No other written work gives such instruction and such hope. With no constraint, regardless of... Continue Reading →
To Build Up
Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. Romans 15:2 NIV It is far too easy to focus on ourselves. As Christians, we are made aware of ourselves. That awareness is important, but the reason it has value is so that when we see our need for our Creator and... Continue Reading →
Strong Or Weak
We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Romans 15:1 NIV As usual, our human outlook is subject to our weaknesses. What should be and what we settle for are switched around. We think strength is something we can possess. Meanwhile in the biblical terms... Continue Reading →
Not From Faith?
But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. Romans 14:23 NIV It may come as a surprise to us to learn that not everything we do is from our faith in God. We make our... Continue Reading →
A Matter Of
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, Romans 14:17 NIV There is one grave mistake that we continue to make that we should have effectively dealt with long ago. It is the evil habit of changing holy issues into... Continue Reading →
Obstacles
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. Romans 14:13 NIV Without thinking, we all set ourselves above the unfortunate soul who is worse off than we are. Paul warns us. Jesus also taught us not to... Continue Reading →
We Belong
If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 14:8 NIV “Till death do us part,” we say as our oath of allegiance to our earthly partner. It is how we unite two people in... Continue Reading →
