Praying to do the Right thing in the Right Time!

Romans 1:8 – 13 First, I think my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I find a way in the will of God to come to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart you some spiritual gift, so that I may be established – that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now I do not want you to be unaware, brother and, that I often plan to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles.

As we returned the data Romans chapter 1, we are going to look further into Paul's request. Paul in his prayer to God was requesting the opportunity to visit the Romans. His statement in verse 10 and his statement in verse 13 make it clear that this had been his desire for some time. Yet he makes it all so clear in verse 10 that he does not want his desire to overrule God's will. Though he recognized the good that could come from his visit to the Romans he also understood that to be blessed and it it needed to be according to God's will. One writer put it this way," we must be concerned with doing things right (management), but we also must be concerned with doing the right things (leadership)." Paul's comments reveal that he was truly concerned with both of these areas.

One of the primary reasons for Paul's desire to visit was so that he might impart a spiritual gift to help strengthen our established the believers at Rome. Paul getting to spend time with the Romans would allow his spiritual gift of teaching and preaching to be used to build their faith and to strengthen them as a body of believers. But Paul also realized that by being there not only could he encouraged the Romans but they through their faith could also encourage him as well.

In this request we find Paul praying desiring God's will he and at the same time desiring to see the growth the Romans. How often do we become selfish and our prayers ignore the will of God and what his desire is and forget about the benefit of others and their need to grow spiritually? When we recognize the opportunity to minister are we patient enough to wait for God's timing?

 May our prayers like Paul's be concerned with the will of God and the growth of other believers that we might see fruit in their lives.

The Video version of this is available at www.youtube.com/user/churchoflittleton  FW # 63

Paul's Rejoicing

Romans 1:8 First, I think my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

In this verse Paul is showing the priority he gives to being thankful for the salvation of the Romans. Remember, these are people that Paul has never met and that live many miles from him, yet he is thankful for their salvation. How often do we as individuals rejoice when we hear of the salvation of individuals in foreign lands?  When  missionaries send a letter tells of five individuals being saved do we get really excited? Do we take time to praise God because these people have been saved, that they've trusted in the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse their sin?    

Not only is Paul thankful for their salvation but goes beyond that. when he rejoiced that their faith was known to many people around the world. In fact their testimony had spread to other believers throughout the world. They had apparently stood up for what they had been taught and the impact was far-reaching. How well is our faith known? Do our neighbors who live across the street even know of our faith?

The faith of these Romans may have been much like the faith of Chinese Christians today. Christians whose lives are on the line day by day. I recently heard of believers in one particular church that have been locked out of their building. The authorities of the city kept them from being able to rent any properties in their city. Despite this we are hearing that these Christians continue to meet together on a regular basis even outdoors in the wintertime. Because of constant surveillance of the pastor’s home meetings cannot be held there.  The faith of these Chinese people is being reported today the world over just as the stories of the Roman faith had come to Paul half a world away.  Some of these Roman believers would some day face the persecution of Nero

Paul moved from rejoicing in the faith of the Romans to his desire to go to Rome.  He had desired to go for some time as can be seen in verse 13; but he had been hindered from doing so.  Paul made it clear in this passage that he would not put his own desires above those of God’s and would not go until such time that he knew it was the will of God.  From this it can be surmised that we are to seek God’s will above our own.

The video version of this is available at www.youtube.com/user/churchoflittleton   FW # 62

Are you a Saint?

Romans 1:5 – 7 Through him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ: to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

In this first chapter of Romans, we have met the apostle Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ. He has reminded us of the prophecy that Jesus Christ would be born of the seed of David and declared to be the son of God through His resurrection.  Continuing on Paul reminded us that through Jesus Christ we received grace. Grace is favor. God chose to bless us even though we don't deserve it and could do nothing to deserve it.

God was gracious in making Paul an apostle through whom so many would come to obedience in faith.  Paul makes clear to the Romans that they were called of Jesus Christ to salvation through the preaching of God's word (Rom. 10:9-13) and by the conviction of the Holy Spirit. 

Individuals who respond to the call of God to salvation are called saints. Some believe that a saint is an individual who never does wrong and achieves some great status before God. In reality a saint is one who has been put in a position of sainthood by God. A saint is one who has been declared righteous, that is justified. To clarify, a saint is not one that is deemed a saint by the church. A saint is a person that is deemed a saint through salvation by the blood of Jesus Christ. Paul was addressed all the believers at Rome who had trusted Jesus Christ and Him alone for salvation. The same is true today.  Every individual who has trusted in the blood of Christ to cleanse their sins for salvation is a saint.

Paul finished his introductory paragraph in verse seven when he offered this blessing, “grace and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ." His desire was that these believers in Rome would continue to experience God's grace in their lives. This grace would come in many forms as they grew in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and  conformed to His image. This blessing also included peace.

When individuals come to Christ for salvation they are no longer enemies of God and experience peace not only because of this but also through trusting in Christ alone for guidance.   It is through this life of obedience that individuals recognize Jesus Christ as Lord.

 Our hope is that you too experience the grace and peace of God the father our Lord Jesus Christ.

The video version of this is available at www.youtube.com/user/churchoflittleton  FW # 61

Acknowledge God's Discipline

Proverbs 3:11–12 (NKJV) ¹¹My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction; ¹²For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

The fourth principle we see in Proverbs 3 as we begin this New Year is “Acknowledge God’s Discipline.”  The writer begins verse 11 saying “do not despise the chastening of the Lord.”  God’s chastening was part of the promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:14 (NKJV) ¹⁴I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. For those he loved if they departed from God’s ways and walked in iniquity they would be chastened even the king.  The challenge goes on to not “detest correction.”  It may be important here to remember the difference between discipline and punishment.  Discipline or correction desires to bring back to the proper behavior and fellowship.  Punishment on the other hand is payback for what was done wrong. 

Discipline or correction is a sign of God’s love just as it is a sign of a Father’s love.   Proverbs 13:24 (ESV) ²⁴Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. So rather than despising God’s discipline and correction we can be thankful for it rather than like a fool who “despises his father’s instruction” (Prov. 15:5; cf. Prov. 12:1; 13:18; Prov. 29:17).

Just as some children foolishly resist parental discipline, we are warned not to ‘reject the discipline of the Lord, or loathe his reproof’ (v. 11). Some professing Christians become bitter and even angry with God when they endure physical and emotional pain. Others are tempted to despair, wallowing in their misery. Instead, we should remember that we are children in whom our heavenly Father delights (v. 12b) and that he is sovereignly allowing us to suffer because he loves us (13:24). Thank God that he cares enough about us to discipline us as a father and doesn’t let us get away with much for long. Unlike that of our earthly fathers, God’s discipline is perfect (Heb. 12:9–10), which means that you can be sure that every trial that comes into your life is perfectly designed by your heavenly Father for your benefit. It has been said, ‘He will melt you in his furnace that he may stamp you with his image.’ The psalmist states, ‘Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word’ (Ps. 119:67).^[1]

The promise that comes with this principle is that God’s love brings maturity.  We are promised that we are being conformed to the image of Christ! (Rom. 8:29)

  May we all respond quickly and correctly to God’s discipline and correction.

The video version of this is available at www.youtube.com/user/churchoflittleton  FW # 60

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^[1] Jim Newheiser, Opening Up Proverbs (Leominster: Day One Publications, 2008), 64-65.

Sparks Highlight 1-11-12

Kids and young people can make good decisions to serve and obey the Lord – such were three Hebrew young men named Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  They knew that that God did not want them to bow down to the golden statue of the king.  The penalty of disobeying the king was to be thrown into the fiery furnace.   The three young friends obeyed God, instead of the king, and refused to bow before the statue.  Under penalty of the law, they were thrown into the fiery furnace.  But, God did not allow them to be burned or even harmed by the fire.  When the king looked into the fiery furnace he saw not three people, but four.  The king saw the fourth person, an angel of the Lord, sent to protect the three friends from the flames, to save them.  That is exactly what Jesus does for us.   He saves us from the fire – the Bible tells us there is a lake of fire that burns night and day for eternity apart from God.  That lake of fire is the place of punishment for the penalty of our sins, but when we accept what Jesus did on the cross and make him the Lord of our life, Jesus saves us from that punishment.  We continue to see the plan of salvation through the lives of ordinary people  - this time, three young men who obeyed and only served the Lord.  Read about them in Daniel 3.

You are welcome to join us anytime at Sparks!    You can also check out the AWANA program at           www.fbc.littletonil.org.     

Mrs. Jennifer Schroeder, Mr. Roger Fox, Mrs. Barb Stein.

Acknowledge God's Daily Provision

In Proverbs 3:9–10 (NKJV) ⁹Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; ¹⁰So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

Today’s principle for the New Year is to Acknowledge God’s Daily Provision.  Solomon’s statement in this verse is, “Honor the Lord with your possessions.”  To do this we must remember that everything belongs to God.  Since everything is His we are simply entrusted as stewards to care for these possessions.  We must not forget that it is God that gives us the ability to work for it is “in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).  As a steward we can Honor the Lord with my possessions by using them to honor and glorify Him from day to day.  But the writer gets specific when he tells us to “Honor the Lord with the firstfruits of all your increase.”  In giving back the “firstfruits” we acknowledge that God is the one that gave us the ability to earn the money that we have.  It is God that sustains our life so that we can work and provide (cf. Ex. 23:19).  The most practical way we can do this is to give God the first cut of paychecks.  Although in our society the government may take their portion out before the check is received, we can write their first check to our local church to give back “tithes” or 10%.  We are told by Christ in Mt. 22:21 to “render to God the things that are God’s.”  In Malachi 3:8 the prophet made it clear that the “tithes and offerings” were God’s and to hold them back would be to “rob God.”

The promise to those who will obey and “honor God with their possessions” is abundant blessing in their income.  Yet this cannot become our motive.

One writer clarified this passage by saying, “The word translated ‘honor’ (v. 9) literally means ‘heavy’. Such giving shows how highly you value God or how weighty you consider him to be. Giving is also an act of gratitude towards God who has given us all things (Deut. 8:18). Giving is an act of faith. When you give generously, you are expressing confidence that God will meet your needs and that you won’t regret your charity.”^[1]

It is also important to give wisely. “Many religious organizations clamor for money. Some make spectacular promises of worldly prosperity and health for their donors. Other people who seek our charity are poor because of their laziness and should not be helped (10:4a; 2 Thes. 3:10). When you give foolishly, you are not giving to God.”^[2]

Remember, acknowledge God with your possessions by being a good steward and giving back what is already His.

 May we all be honoring God with the things with which He has blessed us.

The Video version of this is available at www.youtube.com/user/churchoflittleton  FW # 59

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^[1] Jim Newheiser, Opening Up Proverbs (Leominster: Day One Publications, 2008), 62-63.

^[2] Jim Newheiser, Opening Up Proverbs (Leominster: Day One Publications, 2008), 63.