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5th Roman’s Blog – I am taking a college course and posting a series of blogs on Romans. I would appreciate feedback on these blogs.

• “HIGHLIGHTS OF ROMANS
• 1. Introduction (Romans 1:1-17) Paul introduces himself from the standpoint of his relationship to Christ, explains his purpose for writing and summarizes his gospel message.
• 2. Humanity’s problem: sin (Romans 1:18-3:20) …. ‘There is no one righteous, not even one.’ (3:10) … all are in need of a Savior.
• 3. God’s provision: a Savior (Romans 3:21-5:21) … God nevertheless demonstrates His love to us by sending a Savior.
• 4. God’s process: shaping believers into the image of His Son (Romans 6-8)
• 5. God’s plan: restore Israel (Romans 9-11)
• 6. God’s purpose: apply Christ’s righteousness to the believer’s daily living (Romans 12:1-15:13) … practical aspects of the Christian life…
• 7. Conclusion (Romans 15:14-16:27)”
• (Romans: Justification by Faith; pg. 23 & 24; Third Edition 2010)

VERSE:
Romans 1:20 NLT “Forever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. 21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think of foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. (futile)”

MY MUSINGS:
Sounds like today, doesn’t it? We are sinners and without acknowledging and putting our faith in God, we find ourselves in rather dire straits. The problem isn’t that God is hidden. God shows Himself clearly in His creation.

I was talking with my husband this morning about the beauty found in our recent snowstorm – cold and icy, yet beautiful. I was thinking how each individual snowflake has a pattern, so intricate and beautiful and yet without something to magnify the snowflake, we miss the pattern and beauty. Who but God would have put that much detail into a single snowflake? Amazing isn’t it! That brings me to the question, how can anyone fail to see God when they look at nature? Yet so often few acknowledge Him. Often we try to go it alone rather than putting our faith and trust in Him.

A couple of statements stood out to me in the verse above. First it says that, “they knew God, but wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks.” In fact, they came up with their own foolish ideas – their own gods to worship. Don’t we do that today? We know God, yet we choose to go it on our own. Instead of putting our faith and trust in Him, we try to figure everything out ourselves. We forget to give God thanks, we don’t take time for worship, instead we worship our own foolish gods – the gods of success, jobs, money, pleasure or __.

Do you know what it leads to when we don’t acknowledge God; when we refuse to put our faith and trust in Him? Read the rest of the verse – it leads to confusion, dark (depressed) minds and futile thinking. If you read further in the chapter, it also leads to all kinds of sin and even approving of others who practice wickedness. I don’t think I want to go there. But that too sounds like our world today. Without Jesus, our minds become darkened. We lack purpose and direction. We selfishly live only for ourselves, only for the here and now. What is the answer? Turn away from our sin, look to Jesus and begin to live in relationship with Him. To put it another way, repent, acknowledge God and live your life by faith, worshipping and thanking Him everyday. Acknowledging God is the best way to live life with purpose and blessing.

PRAYER:
Father God, I do acknowledge you and thank you. I thank you that you are my God. I thank you for all that you made and the beauty you created in each and every aspect of creation. I thank you that you are with me and that you love me. I acknowledge your Son, Jesus, as my Lord and Savior. Help me to look to you everyday. Remind me to look up and give thanks when life is messy, crazy and stressful. Teach me to trust you whether I am walking in sunshine or rain, whether I am on the mountaintop or in the valley – wherever I find myself, may I always remember to look to you. I know that without you, I am nothing. You created me, you redeemed me and you give me purpose. When I recognize futile, foolish, selfish thinking in my life, I give it to you and I ask you to once again restore me and change my heart and my thoughts. May my heart long for you all the days of my life. Amen.

WHAT IS GOD SAYING TO ME:
* Am I acknowledging God in my life? * Do I remember to worship God and give Him thanks or have I become so busy that I’ve put God on hold?
* Am I a thankful person? * Am I living my life with purpose as I walk in faith with God or am I living selfishly with futility? * How can I live with purpose and welcome God to rule and reign in my life? * What other gods might I be worshipping? * Is there anything that I am putting before you, Lord God?