Romans 2 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

(Has God spoken to you lately if not click to listen to God's teaching?)

Max Lucado Daily: Jesus Unties the Knots

“We found this woman in bed with a man!  The law says to stone her.  What do you say Teacher?”

In her despair she looks at the Teacher.  His eyes don’t glare.  “Don’t worry,” they whisper, “it’s okay.”  Her feet were bare and muddy. Her heart ragged, torn as much by her own guilt as by the mob’s anger.  So, with the tenderness only a father can have, Jesus begins to untie the knots and repair the holes.

The woman’s accusers question, “Tell us teacher!  What do you want us to do with her?” Jesus just raised His head and offered an invitation. “I guess if you’ve never made a mistake, then you have a right to stone this woman.”

Silence. Then thud. . .thud. . .rocks fell to the ground. The crowd walked away.  Jesus said, “Go, sin no more!”  (John 8:11). Jesus saw her not as she was, but as she was intended to be.

from Six Hours One Friday

Romans 2
New International Version (NIV)
God’s Righteous Judgment

2 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”[a] 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.

12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

The Jews and the Law

17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”[b]

25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26 So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27 The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the[c] written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Matthew 5:38-48

English Standard Version (ESV)
Retaliation

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,[a] let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,[b] what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Thoughts On Rain

March 20, 2013 — by Julie Ackerman Link

He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. —Matthew 5:45

When torrential downpours beat on the heads of my newly planted petunias, I felt bad for them. I wanted to bring them inside to shelter them from the storm. By the time the rain stopped, their little faces were bowed to the ground from the weight of the water. They looked sad and weak. Within a few hours, however, they perked up and turned their heads skyward. By the next day, they were standing straight and strong.

What a transformation! After pounding them on the head, the rain dripped from their leaves, soaked into the soil, and came up through their stalks, giving them the strength to stand straight.

Because I prefer sunshine, I get annoyed when rain spoils my outdoor plans. I sometimes wrongly think of rain as something negative. But anyone who has experienced drought knows that rain is a blessing. It nourishes the earth for the benefit of both the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45).

Even when the storms of life hit so hard that we nearly break from the force, the “rain” is not an enemy. Our loving God has allowed it to make us stronger. He uses the water that batters us on the outside to build us up on the inside, so we may stand straight and strong.

Lord, we know that we don’t need to fear the storms
of life. Because You are good, we can trust You
to use even our hard times to build our faith in You.
We lean on You now.
The storms that threaten to destroy us God will use to strengthen us.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 20, 2013

Friendship with God

Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing . . . ? —Genesis 18:17

The Delights of His Friendship. Genesis 18 brings out the delight of true friendship with God, as compared with simply feeling His presence occasionally in prayer. This friendship means being so intimately in touch with God that you never even need to ask Him to show you His will. It is evidence of a level of intimacy which confirms that you are nearing the final stage of your discipline in the life of faith. When you have a right-standing relationship with God, you have a life of freedom, liberty, and delight; you are God’s will. And all of your commonsense decisions are actually His will for you, unless you sense a feeling of restraint brought on by a check in your spirit. You are free to make decisions in the light of a perfect and delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong He will lovingly produce that sense of restraint. Once he does, you must stop immediately.

The Difficulties of His Friendship. Why did Abraham stop praying when he did? He stopped because he still was lacking the level of intimacy in his relationship with God, which would enable him boldly to continue on with the Lord in prayer until his desire was granted. Whenever we stop short of our true desire in prayer and say, “Well, I don’t know, maybe this is not God’s will,” then we still have another level to go. It shows that we are not as intimately acquainted with God as Jesus was, and as Jesus would have us to be— “. . . that they may be one just as We are one . . .” (John 17:22). Think of the last thing you prayed about-were you devoted to your desire or to God? Was your determination to get some gift of the Spirit for yourself or to get to God? “For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). The reason for asking is so you may get to know God better. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). We should keep praying to get a perfect understanding of God Himself.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Snowballs...or Avalanches - #6833

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Honestly, snowball fights have always been a mismatch in our family. When our boys were little, they didn't stand a chance. Then they got bigger than I am; now I don't stand a chance. Actually, snowballs are fun unless you get too many of them. If you put thousands of snowballs together and roll them down a mountain, you've got an avalanche. That's not fun.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Snowballs...or Avalanches."

Our word for today from the Word of God is in Matthew chapter 6, and I'm going to begin reading at verse 33. It's familiar territory. "But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Jesus is giving some very practical advice here about how to handle life's burdens. He says, "Take your troubles in 24-hour chunks." Just the other day, I was trying to do it the way most of us do it a lot of the time. I found myself adding up all my responsibilities, all the deadlines, all the pressures of the next 30 days, looking at this monster To Do List, and I said, "There is no way I can get all this done! I can't meet all these expectations. I can't begin to address all these problems." I started to panic, and that usually leads to paralysis. It was going to be the Mission Impossible month. Well, you know, I'm running in panic because I see an avalanche. But the fact was I didn't have to do those 30 days on that day that I was doing all the worrying about all those days. I could only do one day that day.

That's what Jesus is saying, "Don't try to do tomorrow today; carry tomorrow's load today. Don't do that! You carry each day's load on a daily basis," because the Bible says that that's how you "take up your cross" daily. All I had to do was to have one good day. Make as much progress as possible, and then trust God for the undone to crown Him

Lord of the undone. You trust God that He will take 30 days like that, bless it, multiply it, and make up the difference for your inadequacies, and some of those problems solve before you get to them. Miraculously make the time you have enough. That's happened to me more times than I can count, and I have to keep learning this lesson over and over again. Even telling you about it helps me to hear it again.

Today is a snowball. You can handle a snowball coming at you. It's just that when you put many of those snowballs together and try to deal with them all at once, you're going to be trying to deal with an avalanche. That's not how God made you. He gives us strength for one day at a time. I know that from Deuteronomy 33:25. It says, "He will give you strength equal to your day." And there's a wonderful promise in the book of Zephaniah that says, "Every new day He does not fail." Maybe you're being paralyzed right now by all the "might's" and the "could's" and the "what if's". You're trying to handle a week, or a month, or a year today and you're melting down.

Relax! In God's word He promised that He will make sure that all these things will be given to you as well. He's in that process. He's already out there in the future getting it ready. Don't you try to deal with it. You work on today's snowball, and then you won't have to be buried in an avalanche.