Mystery and Mercy
Read: Romans 11:25-36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. (v. 36) Romans 11 ends with a final gaze at the mystery of God’s glorious grace in Jesus, climaxing with Paul’s short doxology. Swiss theologian F. L. Godet says, “Like a traveller who has reached the summit of an Alpine […]
Crescendos of Grace
Read: Romans 11:11-24 So do not become proud, but stand in awe. (v. 20 NRSV) Lake Emma sits nestled in a small canyon at 12,000 feet in the shadow of Colorado’s Mount Democrat. Standing on one side, I yelled “Hello!” at the top of my lungs, counting four or five echoes before fading out. An […]
Not Alone
Read: Romans 11:1-10 I have kept for myself seven thousand . . . (v. 4) “It is very hard to be all alone in your faith.” A young Iranian shared those words behind tear-filled eyes as she recounted her testimony in a retreat held by Words of Hope. With church buildings closed inside Iran, this […]
Beautiful Feet
Read: Romans 10:5-21 And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? (v. 14) Two years ago I sat around a small fireplace high in the mountains of Arunachal Pradesh, India, among a few Monpa-language Christians. As I handed them SD cards with digital audio of gospel teaching and praise […]
When To-Do Lists Fail
Read: Romans 9:30-10:4 They have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. (10:2) I love my daily to-do list. It keeps me focused on activities that will help accomplish my goals. I take pleasure in checking the boxes at the end of the day. And, if I do something that wasn’t on my […]
A Place to Belong
Read: Romans 9:19-29 Those who were not my people I will call “my people.” (v. 25) In today’s passage, Paul deals with a challenging question about God’s mercy: why are some saved and others are not? It’s a question that Paul argues is essentially unanswerable in human terms. It’s like a piece of clay asking […]
Children of Promise
Read: Romans 9:1-18 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. (v. 16) Having older sisters who excelled in the high school and college I would attend brought an unexpected advantage. Professors who taught them assumed that I was just as smart. More often than not, I […]
The New Jerusalem
Read: Revelation 22:1-14 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. (v. 4) Think about the great nations of the world, and you will probably think of their capital cities: London, Paris, Tokyo, Moscow, and Washington, DC. These capitals represent more than places of power. They are also cultural centers, […]
New Heaven and New Earth
Read: Revelation 21:1-14 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. (v. 1) Any fan of TV home makeover shows will tell you that there is a certain “formula” that every episode follows. They begin with a tour of the “before” condition […]