The Example of Christ
15:1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles
8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name.”
10 And again it is said,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”
11 And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him.”
12 And again Isaiah says,
“The root of Jesse will come,
even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;
in him will the Gentiles hope.”
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Paul the Minister to the Gentiles
14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written,
“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”
Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome
22 This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.
30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. 33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen. (ESV)
Personal Greetings
16:1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, 2 that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.
3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 5 Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12 Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
Final Instructions and Greetings
17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
21 Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.
22 I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.
23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.
Doxology
25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. (ESV)
ELLO… I read
I like verse 21,”but as it is written,
“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.””
I like this verse because it talks about witnessing. More often then not when you talk to someone who grew up in church and decided not to follow HIM are harder to witness to because they aperantly know everything there is to know. When you witness to people who have never heard of GOD they are much more willing to accept GOD and HIS grace instead of thinking that they know everything. Don’t get me wrong we are to preach to everyone just some people are more ready to hear than others.
CYA
Taaaaaanner…… staying up late again?
20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”
He says that it is his ambition to preach the gospel to other people. Ambition means: “an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment.” So Paul has an earnest desire to see people get saved, for it is the goal that he is striving for, that in the process he will preach the gospel to everyone! And as to whom he will preach to, though, he says that he won’t preach where the people have already been preached to about Christ. Instead, he says that he will go to those who have never been told of him, to those who have never even heard. He isn’t scared of only going where he feels is comfortable, but instead he gives up everything with a determination to go anywhere where there is people who have not heard about Christ.
When it comes to preaching the gospel, I can’t be shy. I can’t hide behind any alter ego. I must stand boldly to speak the truth. My driving ambition in life needs to be all about seeing people get saved. And so I must have a burning desire to preach the gospel non-stop so that others will hear the gospel, and from that they may turn to God in repentance and faith. And as Paul talked about, I don’t want to go as much to people who have already heard. I can still talk to people like that, as I should, but I need to be seeking after people who are yet to hear the good news of the gospel. I need to step further and fully out of my comfort zone to share the gospel not to the places where its easiest to speak, but to places where the situations may be awkward or I might feel uncomfortable. The ambition that Paul had impacted all of the other areas of his life! Because of his ambition, the rest of his life was all about Christ and getting his name preached. And so must I be so fired up to see people get saved that my ambition influences all other areas of my life, that Christ is all that I am living for!
Romans 15:7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
This is my prayer for us at True North: that we would be granted by the God of all endurance and encouragement to be welcoming to each other, and to be unified in Christ Jesus, all to the glory of God.
At True North on the weekends my mindset should be ‘here to serve’. This often is not the case. I want to encourage others and welcome them sincerly in Christ because we share the same hope and forgiveness of eternal life. Regardless I should be always encouraging others in Christ so they may not be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (Heb. 3:13). May God who is good, grant this for True North.
Maranatha!
thank you for that encouraging comment Spencer!! ;D
No prob Sarah! For God’s glory!
Good Morning!!!!
Romans 16:20
“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
I love talking about GOD’s power! HE is so mighty. Nothing imaginable is as powerful as our peaceful GOD. HE will crush satan at the right time. I cannot wait for that day when satan is gone from my life. I will be in paradise with the Perfect ONE. I noticed that in the Bible that Jesus crushed the serpent of satan with HIS foot. HE doesn’t even need to exert HIS full potential of power, HE simply steps on his head and destroys it. Thank you LORD for being that strength when I am weak. AMEN
Amen Conner! God is powerful and mighty to save us from the Evil one! Keep it up in the morning!
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Scripture says that when someone here becomes a believer and dies to his sin, all of heaven is rejoicing. Rejoicing upon my entrance into the Kingdom. And yours. And perhaps the friend we invite to True North, who might end up getting saved. CELEBRATION. For God’s glory. Guys, we need to CELEBRATE when we see one another and welcome one another into God’s House. FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
8 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed,
Paul is an awesome example for me to look to as a Christian. I love verse 8 because he is giving Christ all the glory for his success in winning so many Gentile souls to the faith. The last three words of this verse really stood out to me…word and deed. Paul is saying that God used both his words in preaching the gospel and his lifestyle (a life full of fruit and godly actions) to bring success to his evangelism. I am struck by the need for me to be sure that my life is all about God and not just my words. If I know the gospel up and down and clearly communicate it, it is meaningless to the lost I share it with unless I am living it out in all areas of my life. As I mentioned yesterday, I am striving to go beyond outward acts of obedience and really seeking to honor God with my thoughts and motives as well. This is a high calling, but examples in the Scripture like Paul, and of course Jesus, spur me on in my faith and show me that all things are possible with God!
6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I love this verse because it proclaims our sole purpose in life; to bring glory to God. This is what I am created for and it is the most important thing I do. Glorifying God doesnt have to be just going to church, going on missions trip, or singing worship songs. While these things are all great things to do and awesome ways to bring glory to God, I can bring glory to God in everything I do, whether it is school, baseball, or even hanging out with friends, my goal needs to be to live for Christ, rather than myself.
HIYA!
I read…
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
This verse is pretty straight-forward, but its an incredible life-lesson. Currently we are housing our “cousin and aunt” (daughter and wife of my dad’s best friend… they’re pretty much family.), who’s sister/daughter just died. We welcomed them into our home without any questions while my cousin looked for an apartment. We should all welcome ANYONE into our homes, or lives, because that is what Christ did for us.
:)
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
I think that this is such an important (and practical) thing to remember. Everything I do with my neighbor needs to be done with a servant’s heart. I want to speak in only in ways that will build THEM up, not me. I want to do things for my neighbor not to receive thanks but purely because I want to serve them. This can sometimes be hard for me. I will serve others because I know I should but complain to myself the whole time. This is the opposite attitude I should have! It reminds me of a message Christa gave at a Girl’s Workshop a few years ago- I need to have a servant’s heart when I’m serving! I need to please my neighbor for HIS good. If I can serve others with the right attitude, it will cause those people to glorify God and see Christ in me. That is, after all, one of my jobs as a Christian-to glorify Christ!
19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.
This verse says three important things. First, it reminds me that our obedience (those at True North) will be known if as a group we obey God’s Word. The Romans were known as a church obedient to God. We should strive to be known as a high school group that is obedient to Christ. Second, we should be wise as to what is good. We should be wise about God’s commands, we should read God’s Word and learn more about Him each day. We should know a lot about good things…evangelism, service, thanksgiving. We should be innocent as to what is evil. That means we should live lives that flee from sin. We shouldn’t get too close to anything that offends God. Instead we should get as far from sin and temptation as we possibly can.
MMMMM I’m lovin’ how you applied this verse to True North as a whole Melissa, this is fantastic!! :D
I really enjoyed this chapter, so much to comment on!!
Verse 1-7 in ch. 15, talks about being an example of Christ and as Christians we must live above reproach… He talk about how we learn from example and saying that in everything we do we much glorify God! It’s really encouraging that just through our actions we can encourage and build someone up and an ultimate goal to motivate someone else to grow spiritually! Just talking about it (especially being at school now) is motivating me and making me take the time out to check myself personally!
and specially v. 6, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…….love this! It really is a motivation for me and reminding me what my job is as a follower, and that is to glorify God! [: This reminded me of Pastor Bent’s message about a month ago….how when we stand before God we don’t want to regret not living 100% for the glory of God…This is my prayer, that I can be the best representation of Christ I can be in order to encourage others and please my God!! And remind myself, that as a Christian, I must be living about reproach!
16:27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen
Our entire purpose for life can be summed up in this one verse. Bring glory to God. Paul’s entire mission and everything that he did was done to bring God glory. My goal in life is to do the same, and many times, i do end up failing… but it is verses like this that encourage and remind me to keep pressing on and to do absolutely everything for God’s glory!
nice comment…and the picture….oh my goodness
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Christ has been so welcoming to us with open arms..it is only His will for us to do the same. If we are to be like Him, that means welcoming EVERYONE for the glory of the Lord. It doesnt matter our thoughts about that person or group, we are still to welcome them
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
This should be my goal anytime I interact with another Christian: to build them up. This reminds me of Ephesians 4:29…
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
I need to be more intentional with my speech to make sure it is fitting and edifying to those I talk with. That means I need to tune into the needs of others better and filter out anything that may be corrupting to them.
Paul writes his letter to the people before he leaves for Rome on one of his big journeys that change not only the people back then, but also our lives. The last things that he really says is to welcome all, treat everyone was your brothers and sisters in Christ. He makes it very clear that you are supposed to love one another, just as Christ loved us. We were outsiders, the opposite of Jesus Christ. He came down to Earth, and yet, He still had compassion on us, He loved us anyways even though we were completely different. He chose to die for both the Jew and the Gentile, (me) because He wants us to be in Heaven with Him one day, orrrr when the rapture comes, (please come soon!). He also gave those last warnings. Because I choose to live out my life for Christ, Satan is coming after me. It says in the Bible (Don’t remember reference), that he will come at me like a lion, prowling for his prey. I gotta watch out that he does not tempt me into sin, or cause me to stumble. It is so very important to have accountability partners as well. I gotta make sure my pal Stephanie is nin her Word or satan will easily tempt her. God calls me to love others and one way I can do that is by keeeping in the Word myself, annnd keeping my friends in the Word. Jesus, You keep me strong, help me keep others strong as well. :)
Great comment Bethany! Good job summing up the chapters..keep it up girlie!
4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
This verse is very encouraging to me. I know that what was written in the Bible was written for me- a follower of Christ…and i need to be living out what it says each and every day with no compromise. The Scriptures are not a burden, but they are instruction for us to live. I need to have a desire to obey Gods commands and worship Him always in all i do. I have a hope of knowing i will be with Christ in heaven one day and i am so looking forward to that. as for now, i will preach the gospel and let His word be known.
16:18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
I need to be sure that i am not that person. I need to have no desire for pleasing myself because it creates destruction and lies. I find that when i want to please myself and do something wrong, it creates a big hole that i immediatley fall into.There is literally no point in doing what i want, but i need to do what Christ wants. I need to be speaking words of truth and not flattery or of vein conceit. I need to be serving Jesus Christ ONLY and i need to be lifting my fellow siblings in Christ up!!
Maranatha!!
magnificent comment Michelle, preach it!! d:-/
20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written,“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”
This verse is key in explaining the Christian’s job of bringing the Gospel to areas where it has not yet been preached. The will of God is for every tribe and people to hear the Gospel, and that is not going to happen if nobody brings it to them. But for now, we are still in high school, living under our parents’ roof and abiding by their rules. What then does this mean for us? It means that we need to be bold in telling everyone we know about the Gospel – not just our “friends,” the people we feel comfortable around, but also the people that nobody else would dare approach. Our mission as Christian high schoolers is to the masses of unsaved around us, and if we are too ashamed to talk to people we don’t know in our own high schools, then we will never be bold enough to carry His Name to the corners of the Globe. i will be praying daily for more boldness and opportunities to speak, not just to people I know and feel comfortable talking to, but also to those who are hostile and against Christ – they have as great a need for salvation as anyone else, and if I don’t bring them the Truth, they might never have another opportunity.
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
this verse shows me that I need to be building other up and put them first. It is so important to do this and be in the word because our world is telling us to be selfish.
15:1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
I like these verses because its basically saying to put others above yourself. I have noticed selfishness a lot lately in myself and sometimes it takes someone else to bring that to my attention. My prayer for myself is that I could encourage my parents this week by doing what they ask of me with a good attitude and to be grateful for them and what they do for me. I hope that by doing this I will build my parents up like it says in verse 2.
I am already encouraged!
Shell, I love you!! I love that you love our Lord, and seek to learn and please Him!!
I read…
Verse 30… “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,”
I really liked this verse because it reminds us to pray for those who are doing the work of the Lord. Paul calls the people He is writing to, to pray for him because he desperately wanted people to be saved. Are we like this? Do we ask others to pray for us in our daily evangelism? This needs to happen or else it will be much harder without others’ help. I pray that we would all pray for our friends who are evangelizing daily at school and prepare ourselves for the fight ahead of us.
Great comment Bryan! This motivates me to ask other people to pray for me while I evangelize. It’s so encouraging :)
4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
It is good to realize that we can read the bible not only to gain instruction, but also to gain hope.
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Like it said before in Romans, God calls us to love one another. Here it says christians should welcome one antoher like Christ did, and He welcomed them and was their servant. So that means here God wants us to be servants to our brothers and sisters in Christ! God wants me to be a servant like Christ was.
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
I want to welcome on another because of what Christ did for me. He welcomed me into his family with open arms and I want to show that to my brothers and sisters in Christ. I want to pray for God to bring me people that I can serve and for Him to use me to encourage others. The NIV says to accept one another. By doing this, I hope that it will bring more glory to God!
Jasmine you already do so well at this keep it up =]
4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
God is realllllyyyyyyyyyy amazing!!!!! His word was written so long ago, yet we can STILL apply it to our lives!! It stands true FOREVER!! Prophecies have come true, and I cannot wait for the times to come when God will fulfill more!! His word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path…I will take these letters from God and store them in my heart like treasure!! :D
15:7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
the verses that tells us to do things as Christ did them for me are always the most convicting for me. we are to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters in Christ as He has laid down His life for us (1 John 3:16). we are also to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us (Colossians 3:16). here we are commanded to welcome others as Christ has welcomed us. this is something that i can be doing in two major places:
1) campus lunches- there are new people at our lunche all the time. i need to be friends to them, and reach out to them. i need to make sure that it is not awkward for them, but that i treat them and welcome them with love and compassion
2) True North- i need to befriend those who i dont know that well, and especially those who are new to True North. it is being a good witness and it is God’s will for me. i pray that i would be a welcoming and compassionate person to those who need it.
4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There are so many powerful verses in these chapters, but I love how clear and direct Paul is here about why we need to read God’s word. I should be in the Bible every day because it helps me endure trials, maintain my hope, and navigate life’s challenges in a manner pleasing to the Lord. God’s word prompts and advises me so that I can encourage others and help them stay on the path of righteousness. I like too how these verses emphasize that the ultimate goal in studying the scriptures is to help me better bring glory to God through my life.
I love you comment. As i read it I insert your voice in my head and it sounds amazing :D. haha your awsome Boyd
15:2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
This verse I thought goes good with what Pastor Bobby’s blog is about: that we need to be encouraging each other that Jesus Christ will (soon) return to take all his people. This thought really excites me because I will be able to see God face to face and to worship Him in his presence. I pray this everyday and will until his returning, MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!!!!
16:18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
People of the world are trying to constantly fulfill their needs and wants with whatever they can, trying to satisfy their soul with anything and at most times, they will fill it with sin. Jesus is really the only one that can satisfy us, guaranteeing us a spot in heaven and not just temporary pleasure during our time here. I pray that I would always rely on Jesus to satisfy my soul because nothing of this world can truly satisfy.
15:1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
It is very important that we are doing all we can to encourage one another and build eachother up. If we are not friendly and loving to one another many negative things could happen. For one, the person on the wrong end could be turned around and not want to be apart of Christianity. Also, people that are watching who might not be Christian will call us hypocrits and definetly be turned off by Christians. We need to be loving and always above reproach so that we will not give anyone the wrong idea.
Also,
16:17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.
We need to watch out for those things in life that Satan will try and tempt us with. He knows what we want and what gets us to think. As Christians we need to know what is fun and safe, and what is fun only in the world’s eye. We must be careful like I said that we are above reproach and that we are not making mistakes that will cost people to disbelieve Christians and ultimatley think us no different then the world. We must make people see how we act and how we serve God with all our hearts.
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself…..
We need to be building others up, in Christ and in other ways. When we say discouraging things around our friends, or if we arn’t being encouraging how are we helping them. I hope that I am ready with a servants heart to build up others and not just myself, to help other grow in Christ and in troubles. We mey take time to just please ourselves, but if we want to be more like Christ we need to build other up. :)
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Cameron, love your post! Anyways, I am so grateful for Christ who has welcomed me in and chose me to be one of his children. I want to love others as Christ has loved me, and encourage people consistently! True North is always a great time to get to know one another more, to encourage, and welcome them! I love being able to see how my brothers and sisters in Christ are doing!!! My prayer is that I will always be reaching out to others and to be a good example to those who need encouragement!
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
This verse really stuck out to me because God commands us to be welcoming to every one in His name. As He welcomes and loves us, we should do the same to one another so that we can set an example for others to see the love of Christ. Through us, God is able to spread His word and we should be willing to fulfill this for Him.
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
This is awesome. When I became a Christian I felt a peace because I knew that if I died in any moment I would be with Jesus in heaven. And, I just have a peace that God is with me and is comforting me and defends me. Everything is planned by God who has the perfect agenda. It’s just awesome!
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
This is such an amazing verse. Its so peaceful and joyful. The peace that surpasses all understanding has helped me through many hardships and trials. It cannot be explained, all I knew is that is was there and it was helping. Only God could bring about something so amazing.
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
These Chapters were so amayzing. They both had great examples of how I can grow as a Christian. For instance verse two of chapter 15 is explaining that we need to be building others up!! Especially those who are our brother and sisters in Christ!!!!
MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ;
When we do something good for the sake of God we should be proud for the work we did and not think it as a choir and we should be willing to do it any time and any where we are at the time. We need to only be saying what will please God in everything we do. I pray that we could be brave to go out and spread the word of God to the people who needs it even if you get turned down it is still good to go out and tell people about God also give us the power to be a influance on people in our church. Amen.
Brother Riley you are getting me pumped up! Let’s go Evangelize!
17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
This is a great verse about false teachers. We need to look out for people who preach a less radical and more politically correct version of the Gospel and rebuke them for it. There is only one gospel, one name under heaven by which we may be saved.
great comment! :)
4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
This verse is saying that, when we read the Bible, it is for our instruction. So the people who say, “the Bible was only written for those in the past,” they are mistaken. The Bible is given to instruct us, and in it we find encouragement…..(at least I do!) and it gives us hope! So we can say goodbye to worry!
awesome!!! (: There are so many things in Romans that gives answers to other people objections of the Bible, it is AWESOME!!!!! And i for sure find encouragement in the Bible! I would be lost without it!
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
This verse stood out to me the most because i feel as if God is saying love and take care of one another as i have done for you. Alot of times i get caught up in things; and focus way to much on what i want. But being a christian i need to love others more than myself. Jesus gave everything for you and I. Therefore, we need to put aside our sinful ways and love everyone! We need to be good examples of Jesus. And Jesus is one of the best examples of love and compassion. And how are people suppose to know that if we are representing him yet dont show love and compassion toward others? We need to show the world what Jesus is all about!!! :D
I agree that these chapters were amazing! I just love how Paul is responding to everything! Such humility! Compared to God, I am just a speck of dust when it comes to size and power. I cannot be acting like I know it all, and I am the only person who matters in this world! Being a Christian, I need to be humble and unselfish and must remember how important this factor is everyday and act on it, and that is what I plan to do!
15:7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
We all need to pass on the message of Christ, and welcome people to come together with us. I have always been a Christian, but never really went to church because i never felt comfortable at the churches i tried going to. But then a friend invited me to Compass, and i have really enjoyed it, and never felt so excited to learn and talk more about Christ and God. But i feel so welcomed and like i belong at Compass. I know that I’ve been trying to get more people to come worship with us…and i know a lot of you guys are too! Just as God has accepted us, we must return the favor! I hope we all choose to do the right thing, “For the glory of God!”
“Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”
I Like this verse because it makes me happy that the lord shows himself to everyone and that everyone on this earth will have an opportunity to see God or His work in our world.
21 but as it is written,
“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”
this verse is cool cuz in modern speak, it says, or at least I think it says to evangelize to everyone, not just the people you know. :)
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
This verse cought my eye because it made me think of the time when i got welcomed in, when i became a christian. I should be welcoming other to get to know Christ. Being at a puplic high school i have soo manny opertunities to welcome in other and ive been slcking in evangailizing, now i realize i need to jump on it and tell everybody about Jesus Christ.
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Great Scripture!
This verse really hit home for me. It reminds me yet again that I need to constantly trying to get people to see the true light, not the false one. That I need to be for God and getting other to be for Him as well! Getting the Word out is what we’re all about! It also reminds me of how much I should thank God for having mercy. Enough mercy to spare me and you for the glory of Him!
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Great Scripture!
This verse really hit home for me. It reminds me yet again that I need to be constantly trying to get people to see the true light, not the false one. That I need to be for God and getting others to be for Him as well! Getting the Word out is what we’re all about! It also reminds me of how much I should thank God for having mercy. Enough mercy to spare me and you for the glory of Him!
chapter 15
21 but as it is written,
“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”
as christians we need to go and preach the gosple to people who have never heard the gosple, and to those who are not christians, not people who are christians, just like it is not people who are well that need doctors, but people that are sick
c u all later
0 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Possibly the most encouraging verse of all time!!! The day when Satan is destroyed and Jesus reigns is coming up, and we need to get ready for it! I can’t wait until the day that I get to see the Lord’s face and talk with him, but until then, I pray that I would stand firm in his word and obey his commandments. I pray that I would also stay separate from the world and would be evangelizing so others may also be saved on the day the Lord returns.
2 chapters today!!! Are we doubling it up or what! :D
15:7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
This reminds me of the other chaptes in Romans about judgement. Instead of judging, welcome in. Also, like what Pastor Bobby was saying on the blog, that we don’t know when Jesus is coming back so we should live life everyday as if He is coming back today! Christ welcomed me in and I too need to follow His example and evangelize and welcome ALL! :]
REJOICE!
In Chapter 15 it said Rejoice! and this reminds me of the sermon Pastor Ben did about a month back or so! Rejoice in the LORD!!! :]
27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
AMEN!!! Glory be to God forever! May His will be done! On earth and on Heaven!!! Praise the LORD!!! For He is good!!!
SOO excited for Winter Revival! 16 more days!!!!!!!!! YAY!!! :]
Also excited about making a snowman for Christ tomorrow! :]
***Praise the LORD!!!***
16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Christ’s final command, the Great Commission, was to go and make disciples of all nations. So, as a Christian, it is my job to be a minister for Christ. I’m supposed to be used as a tool for Christ to save people. Like our campus lunch last week, why have a Super Power and not use it? Well, this is mine, and I’m gonna use it!
Romans 15:7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
This is a really good vearse for us that are regular attenders at True North!!! We need to be as people that are not only totally hardcore for Jesus Christ, but also for people that are very welcoming and inviting! That is one of the first impressions that we give people and ussually the thing that eithor makes a person want to come back or not come again. And let us make sure that we are not welcoming people so that we look like we are nice people or make new friends, but that we are doing it for the sole purpose of bringing glory to God!!!
We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
I pray that God may allow me to stop thinking about myself and be more humble and others-centered so that I may glorify God and not myself when i go through my day.
That is good wisdom brother Matt!
20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
This verse is so encouraging!!! One day Jesus is going to conquer Satan and throw him in the Lake of Fire! He will not rule over the earth anymore, and Christ will reign eternally! I pray that Jesus comes back soon, I cant wait any longer! MARANATHA!!
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
These chapters really reminded me on the importance of welcoming one another, and with a loving heart. I remember the first time I came to Compass. The most memorable thing for me was being greeted warmly, and with genuine kindness. It kept me coming back. Even when we just want to talk with our friends, and think to ourselves that someone else will greet the newcomer… we need to overcome those thoughts, and meet someone. We do not know God’s plan for that person or even the influence we can have on any person. So let’s do our part in welcoming each other because we are all God’s children.
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Christ welcomed everyone with open arms when he was down here on earth!!! he never ever turned away anyone who was willing to hear the gospel!!!!!! We need to welcome as many people as we can into the kingdom of heaven!! Maybe someone wants to know more about Christ and has no one to ask!! Thats why no matter what age, we should be spreading the gospel to all, and realizing that even the people who like they would want to talk about the Gospel the very least, might have an intuition of what the gospel means and wants to know more!!!!!
MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!!!!
20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,
This verse should basically define mine life. As a Christian i need to be spreading the Gospel to those people who have not yet heard of Christ’s death and resurrection. It is so important to tell others the Gospel because you could be the only chance for some person to here the it. It is so easy to just let an open door pass by but that door could be your only chance. So i pray that I would not be letting doors pass by me but that I would take that moment to tell that person about our Savior, Jesus Christ.
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
love this verse! we to be as encouraging and welcoming to other Christians as Christ was towards us. i need to make sure that my life glorifies god, and that people can see what Jesus did for me in the way i live my life.
20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”
I love this verse because it talks about witnessing. From what i have experienced, it is easier to evangelize to people who have never heard the Gospel because they are accepting God and His grace and not just the facts and what they know. Not to say we cant witness to everyone, we need to. Especially to the ones who have never heard it.
29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.
This verse is refreshing and calming to me! i love it!!! It just puts my mind at ease just to know that we will all, one day, be with our Lord and Savior and we will come to him completely through His grace and Mercy. It is all thanks to Jesus Christ!!
17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
I like this verse because we can all relate to it. We all face temptations and situations that we know we shouldnt be in and it is al because we fall into the habbits of this world and fit into what everyone else is doing. We need to stop our old habbits of fitting in with the world and live for the Lord.! We are all going to and have faced obstacles in our life, but it says to AVOID THEM! i se people everyday who are “serving their own apetites” and it reminds me that I need to be serving our Lord Christ! :)
love it !!!!!! (:
DONT FORGET TO BRING YOUR BIBLE FOR WORLD HISTORY TOMORROW (:
Romans 16
20 “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
I love this verse! What an amazing promise! This is great because it accomplishes so many things. One thing this verse does is show God’s tremendous power. He is the most powerful being, period. This teaches me that I need to always be relying on Him, for He is faithful and powerful, He will never let me down. ANother great thing that this verse does is make us an amazing promise. The all-powerful, all-mighty Lord is always with us. That is so awesome! This is so reassuring. It gives me so much faith and confidence. There is nothing to fear! With God i am invincible, even to Satan
20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
This is such an awesome promise to us! God will crush Satan! Boo ya! Our God is so powerful and amazing, its a mystery why some are ashamed of the gospel! Lets be bold in the face of this world!!!!!
15: 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.
15: 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed,
It is critical for me to be proud of the work that I do for God and my life I live for God. I will not do anything without it being gloryfying to God. God accomplishes so much through me and Ii pray that I will do this for God.
I really liked 15:1:). We need to help out the weaker if we are stronger but also, if we are weaker we need to listen and humble ourselves to the strongers’ advice and wisdom.
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.—I really need to encourage my brothers and sistas in Christ a lot more! I need to be an example and make sure that everything I am doing is bringing glory to the LORD so that when I am building my fellow Christians up, I know I am not being a hypocrite! Helping other’s out with growing spiritually will also help me to make sure that I am living my life out right! I also definitely need to work on building nonbelievers up too. I want to be a Christian that pushes them to repent and not someone who they think is a hyprocrite and pushes them away. I know that other people may watch your actions when you say you are a Christian so they could see if you are being a hypocrite. I want people to see that the way I live shows the truth about God and how he wants me to live!
MARANATHA!!!
make war!!
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
This verse stuck out to me because it was a “one another” in the past chapter of Partners I did. In the NIV it is translated as “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God”. I need to make sure I am welcoming others just as Christ welcomed me. Bringing others who are God’s children in and making them feel welcomed and accepted and comfortable. This means me being genuine in how I greet and receive others and being glad to see them and welcome them. I want to be genuine in how I talk with others and make sure my conversation is genuine and that I am a listener.
18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
I want to be one that serves and glorifies the Lord with what i do hereon this earth! i want my life to be a representation of Christ.
20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”
This is a verse that gets brought up to me frequently when i am evangelizing. There are people that say well what about the little kid in Africa who never got to hear the gospel? This is THE VERSE for that question. The Lord will make himself known to everyone, and everyone will understand at some point in their life.
I am so thankful that i get to read the Bible, and grow in the knowledge of Christ, and comment on it with all of these amazing and wonderful people, it is such a blessing!
AMEN GIRL (:
maranatha!!!
17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.
We have no reason to be proud in our accomplishments except in Christ. It is by his power that we are able to do every good thing. This reminds me of after the missions trip last summer, the only thing to be proud of is my work in Christ, not in how great of a servant I was….
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
I need to work on encouraging others and building them up. Building others up will help them in their walk with God, along with helping our walk.
20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written,
“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”
I like these verses because that is what I want to make my ambition!! To tell the gospel to those who haven’t heard… And, soooo many people have not heard the one, true gospel that will save them! It’s weird how selfish I can be in not bringing up the gospel more often with people because seriously, it is the only thing that will last…. All this world will perish, all the unsaved people be cast into the lake of fire, but a relationship with God will last forever… So, those people should be warned!!!!! And, I have the news! I pray that God will make me more and more bold daily so that I may fearlessly proclaim His name to all who need to hear..
awesome comment and i totally agree (:
20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel
Reading about Paul is so encouraging to me! He was defnitely a man with fervor for Christ! His life goal was to preach the gospel and to serve Christ wholeheartedly. Like Pastor Bobby said in the fervor sermon, other people’s fire for Christ is contagious and such an encouragement. I want to be like Paul and follow his example in that I am completely sold out for Christ and only living to bring his name glory! I’m praying that I would keep my fire for Christ burning and encourage others to do the same.
5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It seems that these past days verses like these have stood out to me. Lately I’ve been struggling with some issues with my parents and there has been tention between us. This verse says live in Harmony with one another that we may glorify God with one voice. Wow, Convicting. My relationship with my parents is my most important here one earth as Bobby said this weekend, and I need to glofify God with them together!
11 And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him.”
Honestly love this verse. I memorized it a while ago becaause I was having conviction of rejoicing in every situation, that helped
30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. 33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Prayer is so important. I love how in these verses Paul uses the word strive. “Strive” means to exert oneself vigorously. I want to strive in prayer. Pray with me this semester that more kids than ever before would repent of their sins and put their faith in Christ.
21 but as it is written,“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”
I love this verse! When that Day comes, those who have been told will see Him and those who have never heard will understand(: What a great verse and what a great day that will be!
17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
Be cautious of those who cause obstacles to make you stray. Stay away from those people who do not serve the Lord, but instead serve themselves because Satan is working inside of them and the create barriers contrary to what you have learned and been taught in Gods Word! I need to stay away from those kind of people, especially at school because they will indeed bring you down and cause you to sin!
20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
YESSSSSSSSS! I cant wait for that, Satan will be crushed forever by the God of peace (:
MARANATHA! I cannot wait for the Day that my Lord comes and i am definitely going to start making people aware of the Day that is drawing near and is closer than we think because we MUST be ready(:
17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.
I think this could really be applied to so many things we come across everyday (i.e.: television, school, people at school, ect) and it can sometimes be difficult when so many negative things are being thrown at you in so many directions. But the scripture goes on to say, 19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. So just by doing what is right we will be rewarded and shouldn’t keep our minds off of what God wants us to do =]
4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
This verse is so encouraging, as is the Bible as a whole. No matter how I’m feeling before, I always feel much closer to God after I read my bible. I need to make sure that I don’t just come on to SOTD once a day real quickly and do nothing else. Staying in the word is one of the most important things I can do. No matter how my circumstances are going, I know that the Lord is always good, and basing my happiness off that fact is definitely the way to go.
MARANATHA!
These chapters were pretty long but I still enjoy reading them:) From Romans chapter 15 I liked this verse.
29) I know thy when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.
This verse is so great because it reminds me that when I will see Christ or people of Christ I will always be welcomed with his awesome blessing. This is always so reassuring to know that you will always be welcomed by Christ for your faith. Also that God is always too happy that you praise him.
Romans chapter 16
19) For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.
This verse is pretty amazing in the fact that the Lord reminds us that our obedience to him and our faith in him is recognized by people and for that the Lord is happy. It is also important because He is warning us to be careful about what is good and bad and which actions we shall participate in.
I thought of a little analogy that helps with this that everytime we go to cross the street we check for cars and when there are no cars we can go. This think of the cars as the bad things in the world so once you check if the situation is ok and there are no “cars” then it should he alright with God and your actions will be noticed :)
15:20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written,
“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”
You know, my dad was just telling me today of a friend of his who gave up everything he had to go be a missionary in Ireland.
I thought “Ireland? Why not Uganda or India?”
But when I thought about it more, I realized that everywhere around the world, people need to hear the word of God.
I think to be an out-of-country missionary would be absolutely incredible :)
Maybe God will call me to spread His word with others who have never even heard His name before, whether it be 2 blocks up the street, or 2 continents over, I’m ready to go anywhere and do anything for my God :)
16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Uhm, can I get an AMEN?! :D
This verse is ‘MAZIN :D
God will completely obliterate Satan and bring peace to everyone all over!
Is that the best news ever, or what??
Ah I can not WAIT to spend eternity with my Savior!
I’m so PSYCHED!! :D
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Coming after verses addressing how the Gentiles should praise the Lord for God has made a way of salvation for them, this verse stood out. Paul uses hope to describe God and God is seen as the provider of both joy and peace. It also touches on the power of the Holy Spirit and to think that is living within us Christians is incredible. This verse is a prayer from Paul to the readers and should be our prayer. I love how the hope and joy and peace we have stem from the Lord, not of ourselves. Paul petitions that the Lord would provide this, not originating from within us. May God truly fill True North with all joy and peace in believing.
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
Wow, this is pretty moving. I am supposed to help and please my neighbor and love him. Oh man, but thats haaard. Oh wait, Christ didn’t complain when He became a human, got NAILED TO A CROSS, and rose again for my sins! What gives me the right to complain? Pssh if Christ could come down and do that for ME, then I can surely help others and love my neighbor.
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Christ was the example of ultimate love when he laid down his life for me while I was still his enemy. I’m convicted of my pride while reading this verse. I need to follow the example of Christ and truly put the other persons needs before my own. I really need to step up my love for those who are my brothers and sisters in Christ.
3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
Christ is the supreme example of selflessness, so I want to meditate on what he did. This morning my thoughts went to Philippians 2 where it talks about Christ humbling himself and becoming a man. Bobby once used the “human becoming ant” analogy in a sermon; while that is a shocking example it does not even come close to what Christ has done for me!? If God did not think that dying on a cross was “below” him, how could I ever think of any act of service as “below” me?
19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.
This verse is telling me that I am responsible for recognizing and not following teaching that is contrary to God’s Word. This is going to key to pay attention to when I go to college because it might be difficult to find a good church (or at least as good as Compass!). Being “taught” the wrong things isn’t an excuse for sin. I need to stay in the Bible so that I will continue to get the right information, and can follow it!
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
My hope is in God alone. No matter what happens, I know that He is with me and I have joy in every circumstance! Tonight I just want to praise God for who he is and for revealing himself to me more and more each day. It’s only by his grace that he’s opened up my eyes to the truth, and for that I am extremely grateful!
I love Paul so much!!!!! I just love how he cannot be satisfied with preaching the Gospel in only one area. He has to get it around everywhere that he can. He wants to make sure that their is not one town that hasn’t heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!! It seems like our excitement today for getting the Gospel spread out isn’t like it should be. I’m sure if Paul were here today at our high school, he would want to make sure that every kid got to hear a little knowledge of the Gospel and what Jesus Christ is all about!!!! We should definitely have a mindset like Paul!!!! He is one of my top 10 most wanted to see people in Heaven!!!!! MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!!!!
Romans 15
5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is easy to go thru the life focused on the things that we need to do in our own lives. Christ’s example to us here is to serve and encourage others in love. God’s attributes of patience and encouragement need to be our attributes as well. God has given us the ability to mirror his character so He may be glorified thru us. We need to extend to others the same patience and encouragement that was extended to us thru God. When we are not enduring and encouraging other believers than we are bringing discord to the body of Christ.
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
I pray that I will demonstrate these attributes to others with love all for the Glory of God.
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.
It’s too easy to get caught up in the world and forget that every good think omes from the Lord. I need to be more thankful for all things that happen in my life. BUt even the simple one’s, like just going somewhere safely.
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Awesome verse! The ones before it are talking about how we need to endure and encourage one another so that as one we can bring glory to God! And then a practical thing we can do to promote harmony among believers is to welcome one another. At first this sounds really basic, but usually where we live, people are not very friendly and tend to be guarded and exclusive about things. How unfortunate if that attitude of our Orange County culture came into the church and Christians treated each other that way! We need to be warm and welcoming, accepting one another and making every effort to build each other up for the glory of God. One main way I’m trying to obey this command is by coming a little early and planning to stay later after church activities, so I can have the time to greet people and show them that I am genuinely glad to see them and even hoping to talk with them to encourage them!