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Names

Daily Reading

Romans 14-16

Daily Thought

The last chapter of Romans is like the credits at the end of a movie. I don’t sit through the credits. I usually make it to about verse 4, then I start skimming, but Paul names over thirty people by the end of this chapter. 

My son-in-law, Staphon, works at Pixar. There is a theater at Pixar and he got me in to see a movie before it was released. As the movie wound to what I thought was the end, I started to get up, but Staphon grabbed my arm and sat me down. The important part was just beginning–the credits. The theater was packed with Pixar people and the names of their friends and co-workers were beginning to roll. We sat to the very end.

Lest we think Paul is merely writing Romans as a treatise on theology, building this great religion called Christianity, this last chapter grounds us in reality and reminds us what is vitally important. This is about real people who live in real community with each other and follow a very real Savior, Jesus Christ. 

I go to church and I know the names of all sixty-six books of the Bible. God would be happier if I knew the name of the person sitting next to me. 

Paul knows who these people are and what they have done. He knows their role in the church and their service to God. Paul does not see the church as an organized religion, but as a community of people saved by Jesus Christ and in love with one another. Paul knows their names, and so does God. Every last one of them.

Daily Prayer

Father, I love You and worship You. And You love me. You love people. God, help me love better what You love most. 

Change my heart, God, and teach me to love well, to serve all, to follow the example of Your Son and live a life of compassion, to sacrifice my life for the sake of others.

Amen

Daily Question

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Is one more important than the other? Why or why not?

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I’ve Got Wings!

Daily Reading

Romans 11-13

Daily Thought

“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.” ~Romans 12:1-2

That last word, “transformed,” comes from the Greek word “metamorphoe,” from which we get our English word “metamorphosis.” 

“God causes an amazing thing to happen,” the science professor’s eyes flashed delight as he shared with his students the wonder of metamorphosis. “Inside a cocoon, the digestive juices go to work. The caterpillar eats itself from the inside out, transforming its body into something new.”

“Where do the wings come from?” asked Mary.

He smiled, “This part is really cool. When the caterpillar digests itself, it produces waste. That waste is the building material that becomes the wings of the butterfly.”

“So, can God take the waste in my life,” Matt’s head wrinkled as he put this together, “and make something beautiful out of it?”

“…that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” ~Romans 12:2

He sure can. Imagine the caterpillar, when he wakes up and discovers wings!

Daily Prayer

Lord God, You created me once, and I messed it up. Then You created me again, transformed me into something new. The old has gone, the new has come, and life is different now. To wake up and discover I have wings to fly! Thank You for Your patience and Your love. Thank You for second chances.

May I do now what I should have done the first time, be the person you created me to be and live the life You created me to live. I am Yours, God. Every bit of me. 

Amen

Daily Question

Where have you seen God make the biggest changes in your life?

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Abba Father

Daily Reading

Romans 8-10

Daily Thought

I love when one of my children calls me “Daddy.” My boys started calling me “Dave.” They thought it was cute. All my kids call me “Dave” when I do something ridiculous, “Way to go, Dave.” I guess I deserve that. But “Daddy,” when I hear that word, I turn and smile and the one who said it has my undivided attention. 

“You have received the Spirit of adoption as children, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15). “Abba” is like calling God “Daddy.” My grandkids call me “Bapa.” Same thing. It is a special relationship, intimate, close.

The night before Jesus would go to the cross, he is in a garden in Jerusalem called Gethsemane, praying to his heavenly Father. We get to listen. “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36). You can hear the intimacy. This isn’t “our Father who art in heaven,” this is “Daddy” and a deep sigh, and Jesus is ready to do whatever his Father says.

We can pray to God like that, too. We share the same intimacy as Jesus–“we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16-17)–like children with their daddy, that special, personal, unique relationship. That kind of relationship where you can run up to God and lift your arms up and get wrapped up in his. You are never interrupting, because nothing else is as important to your daddy. 

I never start prayer with, “Hey God, you got a minute.” Children don’t ask that. My children never considered my time because they know I always have time for them. 

That’s God. We talk to our Father with confidence because we know when we pray, he swipes all the paperwork to the side, turns his chair toward us, lifts us up on his lap, and he listens. And I am ready to do whatever he says.

Daily Prayer

Abba Father, You left Your throne and looked for me and found me and saved me and brought me into your family. I am Your child. I wasn’t even looking for You. You came to seek and to save the lost and that was me. Your love is amazing. 

I love this intimacy, that I can climb on Your lap and You are mine and I am Yours. You love me and I love You back and trust You and I am ready to do whatever You say.

Amen

Daily Question

What do you call your father and what does that indicate about your relationship with him?

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Bad News, Good News

Daily Reading

Romans 4-7

Daily Thought

You could attempt to not sin. Benjamin Franklin tried, and recorded the effort in his autobiography, “I conceiv’d the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection. As I knew, or thought I knew, what was right and wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one and avoid the other.” He made a chart of virtues: Temperence, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity, Humility. He recorded his success (and failure): Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and “was supris’d to find myself so much fuller of faults than I had imagined.”

A good way to become aware of our sins is to try not to. 

The Apostle Paul became aware and cried out in despair, “I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Romans 7:18-19). Our sin is not merely personal, but ultimate, against God our Creator, who made us in his image to be holy, and thus, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), eternal separation from God. In trying to be good, Paul discovered he cannot be good enough for heaven, but he is certainly bad enough for hell. “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). When we become aware of our sin, we become aware of our need, not for a system, but a Savior. Then we begin asking the right question, not can I be good enough, but who is good enough?

“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” ~Romans 7:25

It is an oft-asked question, do you want the good news first or the bad? We need the bad news first, “for the wages of sin is death,” for the good to sink in, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). The bad news of sin prepared Paul for the good news of a Savior.

Daily Prayer

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. We worship You, adore You, praise You. But how, then, do we approach You? For we are not holy. Far from it.

By the blood of Jesus Christ, who bore our sins, we are made righteous with his righteousness. I may approach You, O God, with confidence, through a holiness not of my own, but through my Savior, my Lord, my God, my friend, Jesus Christ.

Amen

Daily Question

Are you good enough for heaven? Are you bad enough for hell? Why or why not?

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Sunsets

Daily Reading

Romans 1-3

Daily Thought

Paul has longed to share the Gospel with the Romans, “for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). By Greek, Paul means Gentiles, the non-Jews. Speaking to the Romans of a Jewish Savior, Paul begins with something they have in common, with the world they can see, in order to explain the unseen, “for what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:19-20).

I looked up the science of a sunset: the Raleigh equation along with Mie theory employing discrete dipole approximation will mathematically account for the enhancement of the colors of the sky. 

Okay.

Then I looked at the sunset. The firmament unfolding in front of me, colors stroking the heavens. I called my wife and holding her hand, we gazed. Whatever she was doing would wait because the world had stopped and we surveyed the skies, taking time to taste the wonder of the Almighty. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2).

Science can explain how a beautiful sunset comes to be, but not why we stop and stand and stare in wonder. This is worship.

Daily Prayer

Wonderful God, what an incredible creation. The splendor, the spectacular array of colors, shapes, aromas. They speak of Your majesty, Your artistry, Your creativity, Your wisdom, Your power. All of creation glorifies You.

You have called me Your “poema,” Your workmanship, Your poem. God, when I look at each person You created, I see a work of art. Your work. My Creator, I pray I will always treat Your workmanship with love and respect, appreciating the wonder of Your handiwork in each and every one of us. I stand and gaze and marvel at Your creation. I worship You. Oh my God, my Creator, my Savior, Heavenly Father, Lord. What a life! You are wonderful.

Amen

Daily Question

What in creation speaks most to you of God? What does it say to you about God?

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A Captive Audience

Daily Reading

Acts 27-28

Daily Thought

At long last, Paul arrived in Rome and lived there “two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him” (Acts 28:30). Paul, under house arrest, was chained to a Roman guard, but the way Paul looked at it, the guards were chained to him. You could look at prison as an obstruction to evangelism, but for Paul, obstacles are better seen as opportunities–“Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen” (Luke 28:28). They had to! Think of all they heard, a captive audience to Paul’s stories of Jesus.

The Book of Acts does not end, it stops. The disciples continue taking the Gospel to the world, but Luke is done writing. He puts his pen down as Paul is “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (Luke 28:31). Paul is in chains, the Gospel is not, and Luke has written of its progress from the streets of Jerusalem to the seat of Caesar in Rome, but it’s not over. It is just getting started. The book of Acts closes as the door to the world opens wide to the advance of the Gospel. Two thousand years later, it continues and we have become part of and participants in this grand and ongoing story of God’s Kingdom come.

Daily Prayer

Father God, may we set our eyes on Christ, Your Son. Jesus, the Name above all names, the One who saves us. May I let go of my ways, submitting to You. It is by Your grace that I am saved, Your gospel, Your goodness, Your glory.

May I speak of You at all times, seeing opportunities when no one would think they exist. The chains of Rome did not stop the gospel, nor should anything stand in my way. May I be bold, continuing the acts of the disciples into the 21st century.

Amen

Daily Question

How much time does someone have to spend around you until they hear about Jesus?

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All or Nothing

Daily Reading

Acts 24-26

Daily Thought

Paul summarized his life’s purpose to the elders of the church in Ephesus, “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). Paul was willing to die for the cause of Christ, and to this cause, Paul saved many and angered more, especially the Jews in authority. They tried to silence the gospel by arresting Paul, but their efforts lifted him to his biggest stage, placing Paul in court before the governor of Judah, then the king, and ultimately the Caesar of Rome.

The charges against Paul were brought by the chief priest and leaders of the Jews, who “had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive” (Acts 25:19). The cross has always been the crux of the matter. If the cross was the end of Christ, it was the end of Christianity, but if Jesus lives, Jesus reigns, over governors and kings and Caesars, over the Apostle Paul, and over me. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords and reigns over all. In well written words from C.S. Lewis, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” All or nothing and nothing in the middle.

Daily Prayer

Savior God, there is no other Name than Jesus Christ by which we are saved. Jesus, Son of God, You left heaven, came to earth, sacrificed Your life, saved many. But not all. Some say no. You gave your life for them anyway. That’s how much You love us.

Thank You for displaying Your love to me in such a way that my will wilted and I could do nothing else but embrace You. Your grace compelled me to make You Lord and Savior. God, in my life and the lives of all who call You Lord, may Your grace be displayed and cause all who see it to bend our knees and call You Savior and Lord.

Amen

Daily Question

In what ways does the resurrection of Jesus Christ affect your life?

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The Call

Daily Reading

Acts 21-23

Daily Thought

Paul was a good Jew, a devout scholar, a Pharisee “educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers” (Acts 22:3). He believed Jesus to be a fraud and rightly crucified, and all who followed Jesus deserved the same. “I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women” (Acts 22:4).

Then, suddenly, on the road to pursue Christians in the city of Damascus, a bright light streamed from heaven and flooded Paul’s path of persecution. The beam from heaven blinded him to the visible world and opened his eyes to things unseen. Paul, now on his knees, was introduced to his Savior. Jesus, put to death as a would-be Messiah, is alive and seated on the throne of heaven. 

This changes everything and it changed Paul. Paul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” and once that question had been asked and answered, a second must follow, “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10), because the truth of Jesus is more than a matter of belief, it is a call to action.

Daily Prayer

God, open my eyes to the Truth. Do not let be enamored and deceived by what glitters in this world, but may I always delight in the glory of heaven. I know who You are because You made Yourself known. I’m now responsible for what I know, but it is no burden, it is the greatest privilege and pleasure of my life. I now look to You to show me what to do, and whatever You say, I will say, “Yes”; wherever You lead, I will go.

Amen

Daily Question

Can Jesus be your Savior without being your Lord?

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Bad for Business

Daily Reading

Acts 18-20

Daily Thought

In 1904, a revival broke out in Wales, and over one hundred thousand sinners suddenly put their trust in Jesus Christ. It was reported that crime slowed to a standstill. Taverns and brothels were deserted because churches were packed. Sir T. Marchant Williams, a circuit judge, observed that his work was much lighter, especially regarding drunkenness and related offenses. The police force had time to form a choir and sing at revival meetings. Coal miners stopped cursing and their donkeys and mules stopped obeying instructions when they could not understand the gentler words of their masters. 

The revival lasted less than a year.

“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” ~John 3:19

The city of Ephesus is a city of idols and its Temple of Artemis counted as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Paul entered this city proclaiming Jesus as the true Lord and Savior and “gods made with hands are not gods” (Acts 19:26), which is exactly how they made their gods, and more importantly, sold their idols. Idols were bad gods, but good business. “A man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen” (Acts 19:24), but the preaching of Paul was turning many away from idolatry, so he called his fellows together with a warning, “there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing” (Acts 19:27). The former concerned him more than the latter. 

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” ~1John 5:21

That’s the thing about Jesus, he changes everything. The collateral “damage” of Christianity is it may be bad for business if your business depends on the bad.

Daily Prayer

Lord God, you are the King of kings. May Your Kingdom be established on earth. Your grace has changed my heart. May it change my community. May “In God We Trust” become a reality in this country. But first, may it be a reality in Your church. Purify Your people God, so that we might be a light and a blessing to the world.

Start with my heart, God. I cannot show You to the world unless the world can see You in me. Create in me a clean heart, fully devoted to You.

Amen

Daily Question

What have you stopped doing once you put Jesus in charge of your life?

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Miracles

Daily Reading

Acts 16-17

Daily Thought

Jail became common to the disciples, and outcomes were unpredictable; Herod killed James, an angel rescued Peter (see Acts 12:1-7). So, when Paul and Silas were thrown into prison, it was not surprising to find them praying deep into the night. But if you think they were praying for themselves, you’d be wrong.

The jailer had strict orders “to keep them safely” (Acts 16:23), but an earthquake struck, releasing their bonds and opening the gates of their cells. If they were praying for a miracle, this was it! The jailer knew it, too, and “he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped” (Acts 16:27). Instead, Paul and Silas had remained in their cell. They traded their safety for the jailer’s salvation and convinced the other prisoners to remain, as well. When the jailer saw this, he asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 

While sitting in jail, their future in doubt, the prayers of Paul and Silas were not for the safety of themselves, but the salvation of others, and the jailer “was baptized at once, he and all his family” (Acts 16:33). That was the real miracle.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, my time is not as important as someone’s eternity, my safety not as important as their salvation. May my prayers and my priorities reflect the values of heaven and may my life point others to my Lord. 

I trust you with all my life and that changes my attitude about everything and everyone. Teach me to love others more, to live boldly, to share freely, to serve like my Savior.

Amen

Daily Question

What kind of things do you pray for that have to do with today and what kind of things have to do with eternity?