Elliott's Muses

It is Tuesday and in our reading thru the New Testament in a year's journey, we have come to the half-way point on this last day of June. First, I want to thank you for coming along with me, and secondly, I want to encourage you since you’ve made it through 6 of the 12 months in this journey. Today our reading is in Romans 12:1-21. I’d encourage you to read the passage first...read it slowly and take in the many different things Paul writes, and then come back that we might look at it together. “I appeal to you, therefore” is the beginning of this transition from the doctrinal, theological aspects of the Gospel (Romans 1 – 11), to the beginning of the rest of this letter – the practical aspects of the Gospel. You might see vs 1 as a transition in the manner of – “Now that we have settled all of these things God does and is doing, let’s put it all into practice, personally doing the things we know are a result of God’s good news inside of you”. Paul’s “appeal” comes from the first...

If there’s anything that has struck me in 48 years of pastoral ministry, it is the hardening of opposition to the Gospel, and the word of God in general. Yet along with that the urge is to hunker down, withdraw and keep ourselves separated, and think now we are secure – and as a Pastor, I’ve seen that also. We are back to our reading through the New Testament in a year and in today’s reading – Romans 11:1-31 – Paul will challenge our perceptions on what God is doing, and therefore what we should do. Read the chapter and then come back that we might walk through the Apostle’s message for us today. It is easy to lose sight of God in the midst of cultural ups and downs. We wonder as Paul did, “Has God rejected his people?” (11:1), and later asks again, “Did the Jews stumble and fall beyond hope?” We know the assurance of God’s keeping from 8:28-39, but why does life in Christ leave us – at times – wondering, “what is going on here?” The answer lies in two unseen realities: a Remnant an...

Monday, June 29 – If there’s anything that has struck me in 48 years of pastoral ministry, it is the hardening of opposition to the Gospel, and the word of God in general. Yet along with that the urge is to hunker down, withdraw and keep ourselves separated, and think now we are secure – and as a Pastor, I’ve seen that also. We are back to our reading through the New Testament in a year and in today’s reading – Romans 11:1-31 – Paul will challenge our perceptions on what God is doing, and therefore what we should do. Read the chapter and then come back that we might walk through the Apostle’s message for us today. It is easy to lose sight of God in the midst of cultural ups and downs. We wonder as Paul did, “Has God rejected his people?” (11:1), and later asks again, “Did the Jews stumble and fall beyond hope?” We know the assurance of God’s keeping from 8:28-39, but why does life in Christ leave us – at times – wondering, “what is going on here?” The answer lies in two unseen re...

The Weekend, June 27 & 28 – It is the weekend and so our reading covers both Saturday and Sunday. We have been reading in the book of Romans and today our reading is from Romans 10:1-21. I invite you to read the Scripture first and then return so that we might think a bit more about what Paul has written. Thanks The mystery of God is the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. How can we understand the three-in-one tri-unity of God? It is a mystery, but in any language that does not affirm it, you can be sure there is heresy. What we often run up against in thinking about the nature of God is our own finite limitations. We are limited in our comprehension of seeming paradox – when truths sit alongside each other and yet seem to be opposite of each other. This is where we find ourselves in Romans 10 – the paradox of Romans 9 – both are true. In Romans 9 Paul made the case for Israel’s rejection of the Gospel by stating that God is like a Potter, sove...

Friday, June 26 – It is Friday and as we come to the end of the week, we turn the page in our reading thru the New Testament to Romans 9:1-33. Read the passage first and then please come back that we might look some more at what the Apostle Paul has written. At the end of Romans 8, Paul had concluded the message of the Gospel that he had begun in 1:16. The Gospel is a promise from God that through Jesus Christ, sinful and separated-from-God people are redeemed, by grace through faith. Their sins, although real, are paid for by the blood of Christ’s sacrificial death – a propitiation to God that allows him to be both Just in his Holiness, and Justifier of those who can not save themselves (3:21-26). It is a Sovereign action of God that is possible because of his gift of Grace through Faith. Now, we have “peace” with God (5:1), but still, have to contend with our sinful nature. We are redeemed, but we are not in heaven, so the flesh is still with us (chapters 6 & 7). Neverthel...

Thursday, June 25 – It is Thursday of this week, and we’re continuing our reading thru the New Testament in a year.   As we continue to read the book of Romans we come to Romans 8:17-39.   I urge you to read the Scripture as we begin and then invite you to come back to spend some time musing over the Scripture together.   Let’s make sure we have a good sense of the context of Paul’s writing in Romans 8.   There is a sober reality coming from Romans 7 and clearly laid out in the beginning of Romans 8 that there is a warfare between our flesh - which is best described as our sinful nature’s tendency towards selfishness and forgetfulness of God – and the Spirit – the new creation work of Christ that has come to us when we turned to believe in Christ as our Savior and Lord.   We began this chapter with the positive promise that “In Christ, there is no condemnation”.   We are delivered from fear as we put our faith in Christ Jesus’ finished work on our b...