Meditating on Romans 1-3 (Apr 3)

Merciful God Frees Us From Sin

Paul begins by describing the
helpless condition of humanity.
A rebellious nature has led
to rejection of the Creator
and worship of the creation.
God in turn has permitted the sinful
nature of human beings to express
the fullness of its corruption.
Jew or Gentile, the whole human
race stands helpless before God.
Truly, all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God.

Lord, we realise each person
has sinned either by rebelling
against You God of by ignoring
Your will. No matter what our
background or how hard we try
to live good and moral lives, we
cannot earn salvation or remove
our sin. Only Christ can save us.
Lord, we will Share the Gospel,
we will Be Doers of the Word, for
we are Grateful for Your Mercy.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Lord, we will Share the Gospel:
I am eager to come to you in Rome
too to preach God’s Good News.
For I am not ashamed of this Good
News about Christ. It is the power
of God at work, saving everyone
who believes… This Good News
tells us how God makes us right…
This is accomplished I from start
to finish by faith (Rom 1:15-17).
Father, I know that You have sent
Jesus into this world. Through Him
I have been declared righteous
and I am freed from the penalty
and the power of sin. He has done
for me what no other could ever do.
Enlarge my appreciation & affection
for Jesus and for Your gospel.
And may I share it to others. Amen.

Lord, we will Be Doers of the Word:
God, it is not those who merely
hear the law whom You declare
righteous in Your sight. It is those
who obey the law whom You
declare righteous (Rom 2:13).
Loving Lord, we humbly ask
You to grant us the grace
not only to be hearers of the Word,
but also doers of the same;
not only to love You,
but also to live Your gospel;
not only to profess You,
but also to practice Your commands
to the honour of Your Holy Name
and the health of our soul. Amen.

Lord, we’re Grateful for Your Mercy:
All have sinned; all fall short of
God’s glorious standard. Yet now
God in his gracious kindness
declares us Not Guilty. He has
done this through Christ Jesus,
who has Freed us by Taking
Away our sins (Rom 3:23-25).
Father,thanks for loving us so much
that You make us right with You.
Because You are a just God and
could not simply overlook our sins,
You sent Your Son as the perfect
sacrifice to take the punishment
our sins required. So grateful I am
made right with You when I trust
your Son to Take Away all my sins;
and You remember them no more.
Because of Jesus’ death, You God
declares me Not Guilty; and sees
Christ’s righteousness instead of
my sin. Thanks for giving the Spirit
to empower me not to sin. Amen.

Preview on Romans (Apr 3)

Righteousness thru Faith In Christ

As the Bible is arranged by genre,
to enhance understanding context
we had been meditating scripture
by time sequence over 3OT phases:
OT1A: Genesis
OT1B: Poetry Book of Job
OT1C: Life of Moses (Exo to Deut)
OT2A: History to David (Josh-1Chr)
OT2B: Five Books of Psalms
OT2C: 1 Kings & Wisdom Poetry
OT3A: 2 Kings & Prophets
OT3B: 2 Chronicles & Prophets
OT3C: Post Exilic Period & Prophets
Then we meditated on John where
we learnt Jesus Christ as Son of God
and believing we’ve life in His name.
And Acts records fulfilment of Jesus’
Commission as Spirit-transformed
disciples spread the gospel.

Next, Romans. Although Paul had
not founded the church in Rome,
he had heard of the exemplary faith
and service of the Roman believers,
and he intended to visit them.
Thus the letter to the Romans
served to introduce both Paul
and his messages. As such, it has
been called the gospel according
to Paul. Writing perhaps from Corinth
on his third missionary journey,
Paul sets forth some of the central
doctrines of the Christian faith:
justification by faith, life in the Spirit,
unity in the body & God’s redemptn
program for Jew and Gentile alike.

We will meditate Romans over three
weekends in the following divisions:
R1-3: Problem of Unrighteousness
R4-5: Provision of Righteousness
R6-8: Pursuit of Righteousness
R9-11: Program of Righteousness
R12-16: Practice of Righteousness
Lord, thank You that we have
been justified through faith; and
thanks that we have peace with God
through our Jesus Christ. Amen.

Reflection on Psalms Book 4

Knowing God thru His Names

The purpose of Psalms is to provide
poetry for the expression of praise,
worship and confession to God.
Psalms Book 4 is similar to Numbers.
Just as Numbers discusses the
relationship of Israel to surrounding
nations, psalms 90-106 often
mention the relationship of God’s
overruling kingdom to other nations.
This week we understand God better
thru His revelation of names, mostly
related to His ability to meet needs.
On Monday, we learn from Ps 90
about God as Our Dwelling Place.
On Tuesday, we learn from Ps 91
about The Lord My Refuge.
On Wednesday, we learn from
Ps 95 about God Our Maker.
On Thursday, we learn from
Ps 98 about The Lord The King.
On Friday, we learn from Ps 99
about the God Who Forgives.
Let us humble ourselves and pray
and seek His face…In Jesus’ name.