Searching For Hope Message
Romans 4:9-18 Do you think for a minute that this blessing is only pronounced over those of us who keep our religious ways and are circumcised? Or do you think it possible that the blessing could be given to those who never heard of our ways, who were never brought up in the disciples of God? We all agree, don't we, that it was by embracing what God did for him that Abraham was declared fit before God?
Now think; Was that declaration made before or after he was marked by the covenant rite of circumcision! That's right, before he was marked.
That means that he underwent circumcision as evidence and confirmation of what God had done long before or bring him into this acceptable standing with himself, an act of God he had embraced with his whole life.
And it means further that Abraham is father of all people who embrace what God does for them while they are still on the "outs" with God, as yet unidentified as God's, in an "uncircumcised" condition. It is precisely these people in this condition who are called "set right by God and with God"! Abraham is also, of course, father of those who have undergone the religious rite of circumcision not just because of the ritual but because they were willing to live in the risky faith-embrace of God's action for them, the way Abraham loved long before he was marked by circumcision.
That famous promise God gave Abraham--that he and his children would possess the earth--was not given because of something Abraham did or would do, it was based of God's decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed.
If those who get what God gives them only get it by doing everything they are told to do and filling out all the right forms properly signed, that eliminates personal trust completely and turns the promise into an ironclad contract!
That's not a holy promise; that's a business deal. A contract drawn up by a hard-nosed lawyer and with plenty of fine print only makes sure that you will never be able to collect. But if there is no contract in the first place, simply a promise--and God's promise at that--you can't break it.
This is why the fulfillment of God's promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God's promise arrives as pure gift. That's the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions are those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father--that's reading the story backward. He is our faith father.
We call Abraham "father" not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn't that what we've always read in the Scripture, God saying to Abraham, "I set you up as father of many peoples"? Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do; raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing.
When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him,"You're going to have a big family, Abraham!"
Romans 4:23-25 That's why it is said, "Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right."
But it is not just Abraham; it's also us!
The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God.
Developing Patience
Romans 5:1-5 By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us--set us right with him, make us fit for him--we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus.
And that's not all; We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open the his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might strand--out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
There is more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we are hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us,
and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged.
Quite the contrary-- we con't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory
Romans 4:9-18 Do you think for a minute that this blessing is only pronounced over those of us who keep our religious ways and are circumcised? Or do you think it possible that the blessing could be given to those who never heard of our ways, who were never brought up in the disciples of God? We all agree, don't we, that it was by embracing what God did for him that Abraham was declared fit before God?
Now think; Was that declaration made before or after he was marked by the covenant rite of circumcision! That's right, before he was marked.
That means that he underwent circumcision as evidence and confirmation of what God had done long before or bring him into this acceptable standing with himself, an act of God he had embraced with his whole life.
And it means further that Abraham is father of all people who embrace what God does for them while they are still on the "outs" with God, as yet unidentified as God's, in an "uncircumcised" condition. It is precisely these people in this condition who are called "set right by God and with God"! Abraham is also, of course, father of those who have undergone the religious rite of circumcision not just because of the ritual but because they were willing to live in the risky faith-embrace of God's action for them, the way Abraham loved long before he was marked by circumcision.
That famous promise God gave Abraham--that he and his children would possess the earth--was not given because of something Abraham did or would do, it was based of God's decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed.
If those who get what God gives them only get it by doing everything they are told to do and filling out all the right forms properly signed, that eliminates personal trust completely and turns the promise into an ironclad contract!
That's not a holy promise; that's a business deal. A contract drawn up by a hard-nosed lawyer and with plenty of fine print only makes sure that you will never be able to collect. But if there is no contract in the first place, simply a promise--and God's promise at that--you can't break it.
This is why the fulfillment of God's promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God's promise arrives as pure gift. That's the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions are those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father--that's reading the story backward. He is our faith father.
We call Abraham "father" not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn't that what we've always read in the Scripture, God saying to Abraham, "I set you up as father of many peoples"? Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do; raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing.
When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him,"You're going to have a big family, Abraham!"
Romans 4:23-25 That's why it is said, "Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right."
But it is not just Abraham; it's also us!
The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God.
Developing Patience
Romans 5:1-5 By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us--set us right with him, make us fit for him--we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus.
And that's not all; We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open the his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might strand--out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
There is more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we are hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us,
and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged.
Quite the contrary-- we con't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory
Searching For Hope Message
Romans 4:9-18 Do you think for a minute that this blessing is only pronounced over those of us who keep our religious ways and are circumcised? Or do you think it possible that the blessing could be given to those who never heard of our ways, who were never brought up in the disciples of God? We all agree, don't we, that it was by embracing what God did for him that Abraham was declared fit before God?
Now think; Was that declaration made before or after he was marked by the covenant rite of circumcision! That's right, before he was marked.
That means that he underwent circumcision as evidence and confirmation of what God had done long before or bring him into this acceptable standing with himself, an act of God he had embraced with his whole life.
And it means further that Abraham is father of all people who embrace what God does for them while they are still on the "outs" with God, as yet unidentified as God's, in an "uncircumcised" condition. It is precisely these people in this condition who are called "set right by God and with God"! Abraham is also, of course, father of those who have undergone the religious rite of circumcision not just because of the ritual but because they were willing to live in the risky faith-embrace of God's action for them, the way Abraham loved long before he was marked by circumcision.
That famous promise God gave Abraham--that he and his children would possess the earth--was not given because of something Abraham did or would do, it was based of God's decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed.
If those who get what God gives them only get it by doing everything they are told to do and filling out all the right forms properly signed, that eliminates personal trust completely and turns the promise into an ironclad contract!
That's not a holy promise; that's a business deal. A contract drawn up by a hard-nosed lawyer and with plenty of fine print only makes sure that you will never be able to collect. But if there is no contract in the first place, simply a promise--and God's promise at that--you can't break it.
This is why the fulfillment of God's promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God's promise arrives as pure gift. That's the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions are those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father--that's reading the story backward. He is our faith father.
We call Abraham "father" not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn't that what we've always read in the Scripture, God saying to Abraham, "I set you up as father of many peoples"? Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do; raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing.
When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him,"You're going to have a big family, Abraham!"
Romans 4:23-25 That's why it is said, "Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right."
But it is not just Abraham; it's also us!
The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God.
Developing Patience
Romans 5:1-5 By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us--set us right with him, make us fit for him--we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus.
And that's not all; We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open the his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might strand--out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
There is more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we are hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us,
and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged.
Quite the contrary-- we con't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory
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