Book Of Romans

Although I am at the end of the book of Romans, I decided to go back and figure out the author of these instructions and to whom he was writing. I found out that Paul was writing these letters to the people of the church, the Jews and the Gentiles. However, the letters were more particularly focused on shedding light on the Gentiles.

These letters that he wrote in the book of Romans fall under the books of the Pauline Epistles. There are 9 books in all under this category and all the books that fall under the Pauline Epistles are books that were written by the apostle Paul as instruction to churches and individuals.

The reason why I was so curious to know the author and the intended reader was because while I was reading I thought of myMuslim background as Apostle Paul stated that you cannot judge a man by what he eats. You cannot condemn he for what he chooses to eat or not to eat. Immediately when I read this I connected to my Islamic background and the emphasis placed on not eating pork. But I knew Islam was not introduced quite yet during this time so it he wasn't talking about Muslims.

As I continued to research to find out WHO Paul was referring to I discovered he was referring tothe Jewish Christians. The Jewish were being rejected by the larger Gentile group in the church because of their dietary constraints and the sacred days that they observed.

In Romans 14:5 Paul writes, "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God."

Basically Paul instructs the Gentiles not to pass judgement on the Jews. He then goes on to state later in Romans 14:22 "So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin."

I love this last statement "...and everything that does not come from faith is a sin." You cannot hide what is in your heart from God. He knows if you are being faithful. This is a great reminder to us all to be faithful in our actions and not to judge the next man.

This was a difficult week for me. I struggled to be faithful in my daily reading. It wasn't that I didn't have th time either. It's b/c I did not making reading my Bible this week a priority. I chose to do other things like surf the internet. I am disappointed with myself that I could not focus and get up each morning and read like I had been doing. But today is a new day and I cannot dwell on the past. So I am proud of myself today. I got up and read. I read 3 chapters in the book of Romans. It's such a joy to read and start to understand what I am reading. I am a new Christian who converted from Islam, so I am like a child in my understanding and knowledge of Christianity. But the more I read the more I understand. For example, I always thought if you do good deeds you will go to heaven. Do good deeds to earn your way into Heaven. However, as I read and even as I had a follow up meeting with a friend, I discovered that you will not be judge by your good works. We have been given grace by God and you do good works because you want to honor God, not because you want something in return. This was such an eye opening experience, because until recently I didn't even understand what GRACE meant. But now I know it means and undeserving gift.....I have to pause my thought b/c Chauncey is having a fit and wants my attention so I will finish this thought later

Psalm 89:14 Righteousness and justice are th foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. Blessed are those that have learned to acclaim you,who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.

I am saved by grace and not by my works. So I "walk in th light of your presence, O Lord" because I want to honor and love you not because I want to see what Ican get in return.

Be a Slave to Righteousness...

Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Of course not.

Romans13 states: Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace

As I read further in Romans I discovered: 16Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Believe it or not if you are a Christian you are still a SLAVE! A slave to righteousness.

Keep your eyes on Jesus

In Bible study today we discussed Mathew 14:22-33. In these versus it describes the situation where Peter and the other disciples were caught in a storm. Jesus appeared to them, they thought he was a ghost initially and were afraid. Jesus told them not to fear because he was their Lord. Peter spoke up and engaged in conversation with Jesus. To sum these versus up, Jesus told Peter to walk across the water (in the midst of a wind storm). Peter had faith and did just that, but began to sink.

We discussed why Peter began to sink. We came to the conclusion that he began to sink because he began to doubt the power of the Lord. He started focusing on the circumstances around him (the wind) and not on Jesus. Peter neglected to keep his eyes on Jesus, thus began to sink.

We are so like Peter in many ways. As Christians we focus on Jesus for a period of time and then we begin to lose sight of him in our current circumstances. We think that we can handle them on our own....and just like Peter we begin to sink when we begin to have these thoughts.

Thought of the day: Keep your eyes on Jesus.

Psalm 87:11 11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

This is my prayer today. The first 6 words jumped out at me because I want to learn so much. And I know the only way for me to learn is to submerge myself in the Bible and in prayer and devotions. On a scale from 1-10, I would give myself about a 6. I am not quite where I want to be in my knowledge of the Bible or Christianity for that manner. It will take some time to reprogram my brain from Islam. There are lots of questions that Iahave and I know if I just continue to read and attend Bible Study that my questions will be answered.

As I read Romans 4, I began reflecting on the word and trying to figure out what I could take from the reading of Abraham. The one thing that stuck out the most was Abraham's faithfulness to God. Abraham did not waver his faith that God would give him an abundant offspring. Although Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was way pass her child bearing years , he trusted that God would deliver his promise and give him a family. This made me realize that I too must be steadfast in my faithfulness and trust that God will keep his promise if I am faithful to His word.

Psalm 84:12 O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

I want to trust in the Lord with all my might and all my soul even when things are not going as planned. It is easy to trust in the Lord when things are going smoothly and when I am not faced with any turmoil. However, it is more difficult to realize God's plan for me and to trust Him when I am going through something. My prayer is to give me the wisdom to trust in you Lord today tomorrow and always no matter what I am going through.

Proverbs 16:2 "All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but his motives are weighted by the Lord."

So in every decision that I make, I must ask myself, Are my motives sincere? The Lord knows what truly lays in my heart. I may be able to fool man, but I cannot fool God. Many times I feel uncomfortable beacuse I am afraid of what people may think about me or my actions. Soemtimes I think people will think I have ill intentions. But really I should not be concerned with what others think, because God knows my true intentions and He knows what I do is to please Him.

Acts 26:32 Agrippa said to Festus, " This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar." This man of course is referencing Paul, but I am now confused, because Acts 27 talks about Pauls sail to Rome and he is still treated like a prisoner. At one point the guards wanted to kill all the prisoners (inlcuding Paul) because they feared they would all escape due to the inclement weather conditions.

However, once Paul finally arrives in Rome he is allowed to live by himself with a soldier to guard him. I am not sure if this soldier is guarding him to protect him from all those oppose what he is preaching or if he is still a prisoner.

They found Paul guilty of anything and while he lived in his home, preached to all those who came to see him.

As I reflect on the conclusion of Acts I see that Paul has stayed steadfast to preaching God's word. Through all the trials and tribulations he stayed firm in his belief and relaying the Good News to all that would hear him. This is an example of how we should be on fire for God and His word. No matter how steep the circumstances may be, we need to remember that if we keep our faith in Jesus that he will make us victorious in the end.

I continue to read in Acts about Paul and his attempt to prove his innocence to the authorities. Everyone that he states his case to cannot find him guilty of anything, yet he remains in captivity. Currently he is pleading his case to the King Agrippa and they have not found him guilty of anything. At one point they call him insane, but they (King Agrippa and Festus) do not beleive he deserves death for his actions.

Proverbs 16 states, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and you plans will succeed." I believe this is very evident in Paul's plans. He is being successful because he is committing to God. I think we all want to be successful in some area of our life, but many times we loose sight of that because we are chasing a dollar. Although, I want to prosper in this world, it is more important to me to gain favor from God and to help others around me. I want to be tight in my relationship with God and everything else will fall into place. That's why I've committed myself to getting up each morning and reading my Bible before I do anything else. God must be at the center of my life and I am making Him a priority. I feel myself transforming. I know it sounds corny, but I really reflect on my actions now. I ask myself. " Would God approve?" This helps to keep myself in check. I pray every morning that I can be the Christian God wants me to be and that I lead a Christian life in all that I do.

I realize it is difficult because there are sooo many temptations of this world, but I am committed to God's plan.

Psalm 80:19
19 Restore us, O LORD God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.

I want to be restored and I want to be saved so that I amay dwell in the kingdom of the Lord. However, it is not enough for me to just say it. I must live these words as well. If I want God tohave mercy onme then I must show Him that I am willing to make the sacrifirices within this world and be an example to all those around me and that surely is my intentions.

Acts 23:12-35

In these passages there is a plot derived by the Jews to kill Paul. They vowed not to eat or drink until they accomplished their mission. However, he is swiftly transferred to Caesarea and is now awaiting his accusers (The Jews), so that the govenor can hear the case and make a decision regarding the fate of Paul.

Reflection: The Jews are very disturbed by the words of Paul and they I beleive they feel threatned by what he is telling the people. Although, he is only relaying the Good News, the Jews refuse to accept it and they are consumed by their plan to kill him. Interesting enough sometimes we become consumed with our own plans that we go to extremes to accomplish what we want instead of the will of God.

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