There is just one way to bring up a child in the way he should go and that is to travel that way yourself. ABRAHAM LINCOLN
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.
Romans 1:16-17 NASB
As I read in my Ryrie Study Bible, it says verses 16-17 is the essence of Pauls theology: Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. When Paul wrote this epistle he had not yet visited Rome, but he was writing to encourage those who had come to believe in Jesus. Many were converted on the Day of Pentecost, and possibly the church in Rome got its start from these believers. Paul said that he was not ashamed of the gospel. I understand this statement. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but there was a time after having been set free from the afflictions of this world, that I turned my back and was ashamed. I can remember when I was doing time in February 1983, and getting a hold of the Word of God, and the miracle of being set free of the burden that I had been living. That burden was a self-imposed prison of guilt and remorse brought about by self-centered choices. In the wake of my romp through life, living only for myself, many were hurt emotionally, physically and spiritually. When I became aware of Gods plan to set us free of ourselves, I looked back on my life with pain. But, by my faith in the plan of redemption, God forgave me. Oh, I still had to make amends to people in my life, but God and I were starting out new. Then came the time when I got out of jail in April of 1983 and as I went back to the environment where I came from. I got the feeling from those that I used to party with that it just wasnt cool to be a Christian. This led to my cooling down spiritually and many more years of self-centered behavior, which in turn brought me back to the point of guilt and remorse. This time I knew that my strength was in the joy of the Lord, and I turned and ran back to where I belonged and where I felt comfortable, in the presence of the Lord. Today I am not ashamed of what God has done for me, I cant be. I dont want to go back to the way I used to be. God has done for me what I could not do for myself JRE
When you have read the Bible, you will know it is the Word of God, because you will have found in it the key to your own heart, your own happiness and your own duty.
WOODROW WILSON
********************
A MEETING OF MOMENTS
[They] put him to death by nailing him to a cross. But this was Gods plan which he had made long ago. ACTS 2:23
The cross was no accident.
Jesus death was not the result of a panicking cosmological engineer. The cross wasnt a tragic surprise. Calvary was not a knee-jerk response to a world plummeting toward destruction. It wasnt a patch-up job or a stop-gap measure. The death of the Son of God was anything but an unexpected peril.
No it was part of an incredible plan. A calculated choice.
The moment the forbidden fruit touched the lips of Eve, the shadow of a cross appeared on the horizon. And between that moment and the moment the man with the mallet placed the spike against the wrist of God, a master plan was fulfilled.
MAX LUCADO God Came Near
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.
Romans 1:16-17 NASB
As I read in my Ryrie Study Bible, it says verses 16-17 is the essence of Pauls theology: Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. When Paul wrote this epistle he had not yet visited Rome, but he was writing to encourage those who had come to believe in Jesus. Many were converted on the Day of Pentecost, and possibly the church in Rome got its start from these believers. Paul said that he was not ashamed of the gospel. I understand this statement. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but there was a time after having been set free from the afflictions of this world, that I turned my back and was ashamed. I can remember when I was doing time in February 1983, and getting a hold of the Word of God, and the miracle of being set free of the burden that I had been living. That burden was a self-imposed prison of guilt and remorse brought about by self-centered choices. In the wake of my romp through life, living only for myself, many were hurt emotionally, physically and spiritually. When I became aware of Gods plan to set us free of ourselves, I looked back on my life with pain. But, by my faith in the plan of redemption, God forgave me. Oh, I still had to make amends to people in my life, but God and I were starting out new. Then came the time when I got out of jail in April of 1983 and as I went back to the environment where I came from. I got the feeling from those that I used to party with that it just wasnt cool to be a Christian. This led to my cooling down spiritually and many more years of self-centered behavior, which in turn brought me back to the point of guilt and remorse. This time I knew that my strength was in the joy of the Lord, and I turned and ran back to where I belonged and where I felt comfortable, in the presence of the Lord. Today I am not ashamed of what God has done for me, I cant be. I dont want to go back to the way I used to be. God has done for me what I could not do for myself JRE
When you have read the Bible, you will know it is the Word of God, because you will have found in it the key to your own heart, your own happiness and your own duty.
WOODROW WILSON
********************
A MEETING OF MOMENTS
[They] put him to death by nailing him to a cross. But this was Gods plan which he had made long ago. ACTS 2:23
The cross was no accident.
Jesus death was not the result of a panicking cosmological engineer. The cross wasnt a tragic surprise. Calvary was not a knee-jerk response to a world plummeting toward destruction. It wasnt a patch-up job or a stop-gap measure. The death of the Son of God was anything but an unexpected peril.
No it was part of an incredible plan. A calculated choice.
The moment the forbidden fruit touched the lips of Eve, the shadow of a cross appeared on the horizon. And between that moment and the moment the man with the mallet placed the spike against the wrist of God, a master plan was fulfilled.
MAX LUCADO God Came Near