He Who Has an Ear
In Revelation 2, Jesus says "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." He says this 4 times in 4 separate letters to churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira. He would say this after letting each church know that he acknowledges the good they did and also points out what they need to address. But, since he said this after the other parts, it leaves the churches (leaders and congregation) with hope that if they are doing what Jesus says, then he has a reward for them. The reward is not how many on earth would deem worthy, but a reward worthy of those who understand the importance of following the instructions of Jesus. If it was important for the churches back then to follow what Jesus said, then the same should hold true for us as well.
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Make a Defense
1 Peter 3:14-15 tells us that when someone attacks you for your righteousness (in being with the Lord's will) then be ready to have a defense for your faith when asked why you have hope. This does not say "make sure to argue with people" when they disagree with you. This is defend your faith with your story. Understand who Jesus is to you and who he was historically. Tell people about the work God has done in your life and tell your story. Be a witness. Show and tell them why you have hope in God and in Jesus. Share when asked.
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Faith, Substance and Evidence
Hebrews 11:1 is one of those verses that really describe what faith is for Christians. Faith is the "substance of things hoped for". That substance is what I hope for. This is not like hope for a new job or a better car, but we are talking about a hope in God and in our redemption to Him. "The evidence of things not seen" is the other part of faith. We have not yet seen the results. We have not seen the inner workings of what is happening as we hold on to our faith. We hope for things to happen as they relate to God's will for our lives and we have faith that they will.
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Be a Living Sacrifice & Marks of a True Christian
There is so much in this chapter that we can pull out and apply to our lives in order to serve the Lord and serve others. Romans 12:1-2 tells us to be living sacrifices for God by being holy and acceptable. That is how we can worship God by not conforming the world's ways and doing what they think is okay, but by doing what is pleasing to God. We need to be transformed by renewing our mind. Then we can test that and see what the will of God is and what is perfect to Him.
Romans 12:3-8 reminds us that we are not think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. We are to have sober judgement (not drunk with misconceptions or misunderstandings). We need to see ourselves as who we really are and that will keep us from being prideful or boastful in our work for the Lord. Even our being saved is a gift from God so there is no sense in being prideful in that. And we must understand that we are all (those who submit to Christ) in the body of Christ (the Christ follower community/the church) and we all have different roles and need to respect the roles others have.
Romans 12:9-13 tells us to hate evil and love genuinely (don't fake your love for God or others). There is a focus on true humility when we are to out do one another in showing honor and contribute to the needs of the saints. We are to rejoice in our hope and be patient and prayerful in our tribulation (trials/problems/situations).
The final section of the chapter tells us, in Romans 12:14-21, that we are to bless those who persecute us. We are to show empathy by weeping with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. we need to live in harmony with others and not seek revenge on people. We have to remember that God will have his vengenace to those who do us wrong. We are to take care of our enemies because all that we do is to be done in love for God and for his creations.
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Peace, Endurance and Adam
Romans 5:1 shows us that in Jesus there is peace. It does not bring strife and problems, but peace. Think of the problems that you have had in life. How many have been because being Christ centered was not the focus, either from you or other person/people? I know I have had plenty of situations occur and more to come that need the focus of what is Christ like. I cannot control others and their words and actions, but I do have self control through the Holy Spirit. That Holy Spirit is part of that peace that exists in Christ and when we are Christ centered. The peace with God comes through our acceptance of Jesus.
In Romans 5:3-5, things get kind of tricky from an outsider perspective. To read or hear the words "rejoice in our sufferings" sounds like be glad when things go horribly wrong. But there is more to it. The secular way to look at it is the "every cloud has a silver lining" saying, but from the God perspective we know that what we experience is an opportunity for us to grow in Him if we seek His will for our lives. I wish I could tell you the plethora of times that things went horribly wrong in my finances, work life, relationships, etc and how when I changed the focused to "what does God want from me in this", it gave me clarity which through actions because of my faith in Christ led me to a better situation. Through that suffering I developed endurance for problems. That endurance keeps me from falling apart when things start to go bad. In other words I am not giving up when problems arise. That endurance has produced character which is how I present myself when I am with others. One might say, "he isn't a quitter" and that is due to the problems I have had to endure and did not give up on when I encountered them. And through that character I have developed by dealing with issues from a God's will perspective hope is produced. That way I know when issues happen I am hopeful that doing God's will and not my own will produce fruit.
Adam is the father of all mankind. But, from Adam, Eve was created and Adam followed Eve's lead to bite from the apple that the serpent tempted her to eat. Therefore, in Romans 5:12-13 Paul shows us that through Adam sin was brought into the world, but through Christ, for those who follow him, that sin is not counted against you. Before Jesus then you would basically have to be perfect and never break commands or laws or anything so that God copuld be pleased, but even that isn't done out of love but obedience and obedience does not equate to love but love brings forth obedience.When we stop "religifying" our faith we see the freedom in Christ, not the perceived shackles from the secular perspective.
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