The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 26:6-7,
How wonderful Jesus has made heaven possible for us!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"It is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me."
The Jews of Paul's day were "earnestly" serving God day and night in order to receive the promise of the resurrection of life. As Paul says, this was their hope they were looking for. But for the Jews, this would be a futile hope. Their earnest serving of God was based on the notion that the hope of the Jews was obtainable by works, not faith.
Paul says in Romans 9:30-33, "What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the 'stumbling stone.' As it is written: 'See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'"
Our participation in the resurrection of life is available only through faith. It is the faith modeled by Abraham in the book of Genesis that brings a righteous standing with God. "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." Genesis 15:6.
The type of faith that Abraham modeled for us all was the type that manifests itself in life choices we make to serve God. James provides a wonderful explanation of this in James 2:18-24, "But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,' and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
How wonderful my participation in the resurrection of life is not dependent on my performance or I wouldn't make it! It is my faith in the performance of Jesus Christ that brings the hope of that promise to fulfillment! What I do as a believer (my performance) manifests the saving kind of faith in my life that Abraham modeled for us.
The Jews of Paul's day were "earnestly" serving God day and night in order to receive the promise of the resurrection of life. As Paul says, this was their hope they were looking for. But for the Jews, this would be a futile hope. Their earnest serving of God was based on the notion that the hope of the Jews was obtainable by works, not faith.
Paul says in Romans 9:30-33, "What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the 'stumbling stone.' As it is written: 'See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'"
Our participation in the resurrection of life is available only through faith. It is the faith modeled by Abraham in the book of Genesis that brings a righteous standing with God. "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." Genesis 15:6.
The type of faith that Abraham modeled for us all was the type that manifests itself in life choices we make to serve God. James provides a wonderful explanation of this in James 2:18-24, "But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,' and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
How wonderful my participation in the resurrection of life is not dependent on my performance or I wouldn't make it! It is my faith in the performance of Jesus Christ that brings the hope of that promise to fulfillment! What I do as a believer (my performance) manifests the saving kind of faith in my life that Abraham modeled for us.
How wonderful Jesus has made heaven possible for us!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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