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The 260 Journey
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A life-changing experience through the New Testament one chapter at a time.
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Bad News, Good News
Yesterday00:04:21Tap to summarizeDay 125 Today’s Reading: Romans 8 Has anybody ever said to you, “I have good news and I have bad news, which do you want to hear first?” I always say, “The bad news first.” I want to finish on a high note. So that’s what we’re going to do today as we open Romans 8. Bad news and then good news: In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26) Here’s the bad news, Paul tells us: we don’t know how to pray. The greatest Christian on the planet admits he does not know how to pray right. That’s why he said, “we.” He included himself. Those whom you think are amazing at prayer, all those intercessors . . . they don’t know how to pray. None of us do. Not your pastor, professor, church mother, or older Christian. There is good news: we have help in the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit Himself intercedes for us.” How does He do that? Let’s jump over to Ephesians 3:20: “To Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.” God takes our ask and makes it better and bigger than we can ever articulate in prayer. What a relief! We don’t have to be eloquent. We just have to ask and God will take that request, groan, or plea and make it bigger than what we just uttered. Paul is saying to us, "Say something, say anything, and God will get it right for you, because He goes beyond our ask." He takes our ask and goes further. God takes what we say and puts power to it. That takes the pressure off of you and me. We can be saved for ten minutes and still be powerful at prayer. Because it isn’t you, and it isn’t me. It’s God. Hymnwriter William Cowper’s words are true: “Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.” Why? Indeed, we don’t know how to pray. It’s also true that we have the best help to pray. With that understanding, Brennan Manning’s words are an important truth for us to remember: “The only way to fail in prayer is to not show up.” God is committed to taking my simple, silly prayer words and adding power to them. The power depends on whose hands in which it rests. I read a poem by an unknown author that fits our purposes here perfectly. I’ve changed up a few bits to make it more contemporary. A basketball in my hands is worth about $19. A basketball in Keven Durant’s hands is worth about $75 million. It depends on whose hands it’s in. A baseball in my hands is worth about $6. A baseball in Mike Trout’s or Aaron Judge’s hands is worth $19 million. It depends on whose hands it’s in. A tennis racket is useless in my hands. A tennis racket in Serena Williams’s hands is a French Open or Wimbledon Championship. It depends on whose hands it’s in. A rod in my hands will keep away a wild animal. A rod in Moses’ hands will part the mighty sea. It depends on whose hands it’s in. A slingshot in my hands is a kid’s toy. A slingshot in David’s hand is a mighty weapon. It depends on whose hands it’s in. Two fish and five loaves of bread in my hands are a couple of fish sandwiches. Two fish and five loaves of bread in God’s hands will feed thousands. It depends on whose hands it’s in. Nails in my hands might produce a birdhouse. Nails in Jesus Christ’s hands will produce salvation for the entire world. It depends on whose hands it’s in. Your prayer is in good hands; it’s in God’s hands. The bad news is not that bad because the good news is really good.
Transcribe →The Infection in All of Us
2d ago00:06:05Tap to summarizeDay 124 Today’s Reading: Romans 7 The Nuremberg war-crime trials were trials of some of the most wicked men who ever lived. They were responsible for the deaths of six million Jews during the Holocaust. One of those men was Adolf Eichmann, who killed millions of people in concentration camps during World War II. Holocaust survivor Yehiel Dinur witnessed Eichmann’s trial. He entered the courtroom and stared at Eichmann behind a bullet-proof glass. The courtroom was hushed as victims confronted their butcher. Dinur began to sob and collapsed onto the floor. Many assumed he was overcome by anger or bitterness. However, Dinur later explained to Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes that he had been overtaken by a horrific realization: “I was afraid about myself,” he said. “I saw that I am capable to do this I am . . . exactly like [Eichmann].” Wallace concluded the segment with these thoughts: “How was it possible for a man to act as Eichmann acted? “Was he a monster? A madman? Or was he perhaps something even more terrifying: was he normal?” He closed by telling his viewers that “Eichman is in all of us.” In a moment of chilling clarity, Yehiel Dinur saw beneath the skin. We are not morally neutral. We’ve often heard the question, “Why do good people do bad things?” The more appropriate question is, “Why do bad people do good things?” As Augustine said: “My sin was all the more incurable because I did not think myself a sinner.” This idea is what Romans 7 is all about—the infection called sin that’s in all of us. Paul makes it personal, by starting with himself (see verses 9, 11, 13-14, and 17). He reminds us that the great apostle is a great sinner. Sin is the potential evil in all of us. No one has sinned in such a way that others couldn’t also sin. We are all infected by this devastating disease. Listen to how Paul speaks of this disease: I’m a mystery to myself, for I want to do what is right, but end up doing what my moral instincts condemn. And if my behavior is not in line with my desire, my conscience still confirms the excellence of the law. And now I realize that it is no longer my true self doing it, but the unwelcome intruder of sin in my humanity. For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but willpower is not enough to accomplish it. My lofty desires to do what is good are dashed when I do the things I want to avoid. So if my behavior contradicts my desires to do good, I must conclude that it’s not my true identity doing it, but the unwelcome intruder of sin hindering me from being who I really am. (Romans 7:15-20, TPT) Listen to verse 18 again: “I know that nothing good lives within.” This is a powerful statement. Why? If Paul reached this conclusion, we all must reach this conclusion. Have you reached that conclusion about yourself? Have you ever, without hesitation or reservation, put yourself before God and said, “I do here and now solemnly believe and attest and vow and declare that in me no good thing dwells”? This hesitation is what holds people back from being born again. They still hold on to the idea that we are all essentially good people. Think about it. Why would God have to send His Son Jesus to die the awful death on the cross if you and I are more or less good and our goodness is what will get us to heaven? If that idea is true, then God is guilty of the worst case of child abuse in human history. It’s illogical. Someone once said, “God formed man, sin deformed him, education informs him, religion may reform him, but only Jesus Christ can transform him.” The transformation starts with the acknowledgment that “no good thing dwells within me.” Sin deceives us by making us think that we are good and that our goodness impresses God. Let me tell you what “religion” is. It’s humans exhausting themselves to impress God enough that He will invite them to His house in heaven to live forever. It’s the belief that we can influence God. Watchman Nee tells a story of watching a man drown while an expert swimmer who had all the ability to save him watched from the dock without moving. When it looked as though the man was going down for the last time, the swimmer jumped in to save the man. The swimmer explained his motive to Nee, saying that going any earlier would have drowned them both. “A drowning man cannot be saved until he is utterly exhausted and ceases to make the slightest effort to save himself," he said. When we give up, then God takes over. He is waiting until we are at the end of our strength and we realize we cannot defeat the sin inside of us by sheer willpower. "I" is all over Romans 7 until Paul lets out a final cry in the penultimate verse: “What an agonizing situation I am in! So who has the power to rescue this miserable man from the unwelcome intruder of sin and death?” (verse 24, TPT). And then no more "I"s. The rescuer jumps in the water to save the drowning man who’s going under. Paul closes out the chapter by showing us who can rescue us: “The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does” (verse 25, MSG).
Transcribe →There’s a New King on the Throne
3d ago00:04:53Tap to summarizeDay 123 Today’s Reading: Romans 6 There is probably not a better chapter in the New Testament that deals with the relationship between Christians and sin than Romans 6. That relationship is—there is no relationship. You have victory because sin is no longer in charge. There’s a new King on the throne of your heart. C. H. Spurgeon was right when he said, “Sin murdered Christ; will you be a friend to it? Sin pierced the heart of the Incarnate God; can you love it?” We can’t be a friend to sin. We have a new friend and our new friend is now our King: Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:12-14) “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body” (verse 12). The word "reign" is a word for a king or royal who is in charge of a nation and has the throne. Paul is saying that when you get saved, sin is dethroned from the throne of your heart. Now King Jesus sits as the sole authority and He has no rivals. There may be fighters, but no rivals. There may be a coup here and there, but no one ultimately defeats this new King. Sin may be present and sin may fight, but sin will never again be king of your heart. Just because sin fights doesn’t mean it is in charge. Always remember that! Our sin leaves us in a knot, and we need God’s help to unties it. That’s what happens at salvation. He unravels sin and gives us new life. He undoes the knot of sin. Yet humanity tries to redefine the very thing for which Christ died and set us free. • Man calls it an accident; God calls it an abomination. • Man calls it a blunder; God calls it blindness. • Man calls it a defect; God calls it a disease. • Man calls it a chance; God calls it a choice. • Man calls it an error; God calls it an enmity. • Man calls it a fascination; God calls it a fatality. • Man calls it an infirmity; God calls it iniquity. • Man calls it a luxury; God calls it leprosy. • Man calls it liberty; God calls it lawlessness. • Man calls it a trifle; God calls it a tragedy. • Man calls it a mistake; God calls it madness. • Man calls it a weakness; God calls it willfulness. Paul goes on to say in verse 13: “Do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” This verse is important for our understanding of the new King in our hearts. Paul tells us three important things: 1. We surrender to a person. We do not surrender to an idea, a denomination, a church, Protestantism, or Catholicism. The Bible says, “present yourselves to God.” No church can fight off sin like King Jesus. 2. We surrender for a purpose. Paul said, “as instruments” not as ornaments. The purpose in our surrender, it leads to something—righteousness. What are the instruments? The members of our bodies. We surrender our minds, our hands, our creativity, our eyes—all to the King. 3. We surrender at a price. Don’t miss the part that says “as those alive from the dead.” There is something costly here. Jesus paid the price for our resurrection. As Ravi Zacharias said: “Jesus Christ did not come to make bad people good, but to make dead people alive.” We were dead and King Jesus gave us new life. Something sin never did. Listen to what R. C. Sproul reminds us about sin: “I have committed many sins in my life. Not one of my sins has ever made me happy.” Our new King brings joy to us and tells us sin is not in charge anymore. The Message translation captures the concept of sin being rendered powerless when Jesus comes into our lives particularly well: You must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and fulltime—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead!—into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God. (Romans 6:12-14) Wow! Sin doesn’t get a vote and sin can’t tell us how to live. There’s a new King on the throne.
Transcribe →A Praise That Doesn’t Happen in Church
6d ago00:03:50Tap to summarizeDay 122 Today’s Reading: Romans 5 In today’s reading, we land on Romans 5 and see a different kind of praise. Praise that I don’t think is done in the church. It’s a new kind of praise for your repertoire. God gives us to much to praise. In Romans 5:1-2, Paul reminds us of the greatest thing to thank God for: “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2). The Message takes the last phase, "exult in hope of the glory of God," and paraphrases it: “standing tall and shouting our praise.” We praise God that we have peace with God through Jesus. That last part is really important: “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Not through our promises or our good deeds, but through what Jesus has done on the cross. We don’t get anything from God unless it is through Jesus Christ. In June 2006, Warren Buffett, the world’s second-richest man at the time, announced that he would donate 85 percent of his forty-four-billion-dollar fortune to five charitable foundations. Commenting on this extreme level of generosity, Buffett said: “There is more than one way to get to heaven, but this is a great way.” Sorry, Warren, that just isn’t true. You may know a lot about investments, but you don’t know much about heaven. Religion says, "If I change, God will love me." The gospel says, "God’s love changes people." This is a blessing worthy of praising God. But it isn’t this praise that I struggle with. My problem is with the second praise: Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope. (Romans 5:1-4) Or as The Message says, “We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us.” Are you kidding me? Exult in our tribulations? I can praise Him for grace and peace—but not for tribulations. How can I exalt when things are falling apart? How can I worship when I’m crying on the inside? How can I dance when I am hurting? What I have learned is that praise has nothing to do with music. Songs may help, but we don’t need them to praise God. Praise goes deeper than a melody line. When we praise God in trials, it means we know something beyond the music. We see a little further than the present. What do we see? That something is on the other side of our painful situations, for “tribulation brings about . . .” something that could not come from music. Paul says that proven character is on the other side. Perseverance is on the other side. Hope is on the other side. That means the music in our church doesn’t have to be that good to praise Him. We can praise God for the other side of our painful tribulation. Romans 5:1-2 praise happens every Sunday. It’s the Romans 5:3-4 praise at which I need to get better. Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “There are two times to praise the Lord: when you feel like it, and when you don’t.” Essentially, when we praise we are saying what David said in Psalm 34:1: “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Let’s add Romans 5:3-4 praise to our repertoire this Sunday—and every day. Even in our tribulations, we can exult God.
Transcribe →Step in Steps
1w ago00:05:57Tap to summarizeDay 121 Today’s Reading: Romans 4 Romans 4 is just as much a faith chapter as is Hebrews 11, which gets called the hall of faith. Romans 4 gives us a ground level look of the steps of faith of the father of faith, Abraham. Paul shows us a specific situation Abraham had to walk out in faith and how he did it. And then Paul encourages us to “follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham” (verse 12). Let me take you to the dead of winter in the Midwest. Overnight a foot of snow has fallen, and today, you have to trudge through that snow as you walk to the train or bus. In that much snow, you don’t step in fresh snow, you step in steps—the footprints of people who went before you. They left a track that makes it a bit easier for you to negotiate the terrain. The easiest way to walk then is to put your feet where feet have been. Step in their steps and it makes the journey easier. So let’s look for those steps that Abraham already laid for us, and step in his steps. Let’s first refresh our memories about the story that underlies Abraham’s steps of faith. God promised Abraham and Sarah, his wife, a baby. The problem: he was one hundred years old and she was ninety. I’m not a doctor, but I think this is a problem . . . unless you have an even bigger God involved in the situation. And Abraham did. What steps did Abraham leave for us to walk in? First, faith doesn’t ignore the raw and discouraging facts that are staring us in the face. Real faith is able to look at what really exists. This is the kind of faith Abraham had: “Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb” (Romans 4:19). Abraham contemplated. That means he looked at the facts carefully and with great deliberation, looking at every possibility, leaving nothing out. Here is what Abraham knew to be the facts: In regards to himself, at one hundred years old, his body was as good as dead. Regarding his wife, Sarah, at ninety years old, her womb was dead. Smith Wigglesworth once said, “I am not moved by what I see. I am moved only by what I believe.” Faith looks at the situation and faces it. And Abraham’s situation looked impossible. Second, faith finds good footing in God’s Word. I have a Bible that puts in capital letters any Old Testament passage quoted in the New Testament. In verses 17 and 18, that happens twice. It is Abraham going back to what God told him. The two times the capital letters are used are God speaking to Abraham: (As it is written, “A father of many natIons I have made you”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” As it was written about Abraham, “A father of many nations I have made you.” That is future. But in the present, he was father of no one. You can be honest about what the situation looks like. But you then must find yourself speaking more about what God says to your situation in the Word of God. Staying close to God’s Word will help you speak into future instead of complaining about your present circumstances. Fill your mouth with what He promised, His Word. Finally, the God you believe in will determine your faith level. There is a biblical phrase used many times about Abraham: “Abraham believed God.” It is used all over the Bible—from Genesis to Romans, Galatians to James. But what makes the phrase valid is that there is another phrase associated with Abraham in the Bible just like this one. It’s in 2 Chronicles, Isaiah, and James. And I think it has something to do with the first phrase. The second phrase determined his faith level. It is friend of God. Friend of God makes belief in God easy. Abraham could say, “Regardless of what circumstances I am facing, my Friend is with me.” The God Abraham believed in was his Friend. He trusted his Friend. That’s why when you connect Abraham’s raw circumstances with his faith in his Friend, you get these verses that The Passion Translation makes come alive: In spite of being nearly one hundred years old when the promise of having a son was made, his faith was so strong that it could not be undermined by the fact that he and Sarah were incapable of conceiving a child. He never stopped believing God’s promise, for he was made strong in his faith to father a child. And because he was mighty in faith and convinced that God had all the power needed to fulfill his promises, Abraham glorified God! (Romans 4:19-20, TPT) Edna Butterfield tells one of my favorite stories of what faith is. Her husband, Ron, works with teenage children who have severe learning disabilities. And Ron started looking at his students’ capabilities rather than their limitations, so he got them to play chess, restore furniture, and repair electrical appliances. Most important, he taught them to believe in themselves. Young Bobby was one of those boys. And he soon proved how well he had learned that last lesson of belief. One day he brought in a broken toaster to repair. He carried the toaster tucked under one arm and a half-loaf of bread under the other. That’s faith. The broken toaster of Romans 4—that’s the age of Abraham and Sarah. The loaf of bread of Romans 4—that’s painting the baby’s room blue, because it’s going to be a boy, and they will name that little loaf of bread . . . Isaac.
Transcribe →The Place Where Sin Shows up Most
1w ago00:03:59Tap to summarizeDay 120 Today’s Reading: Romans 3 Rabbi Joseph Telushkin lectures throughout the United States on the positive and negative impacts of words. He often asks audiences if they could go twenty-four hours without saying any unkind words to, or about, another person. More often than not, only a few people raise their hands. He tells everyone else, All of you who can’t answer "yes" . . . must recognize how serious a problem you have. Because if I asked you to go for twenty-four hours without drinking liquor, and you said, “I can’t do that,” I’d tell you, “Then you must recognize that you’re an alcoholic.” And if I asked you to go for twenty-four hours without smoking a cigarette, or drinking coffee, and you said, “That’s impossible,” that would mean that you’re addicted to nicotine or caffeine. Similarly, if you can’t go for twenty-four hours without saying unkind words about or to others, then you’ve lost control over your tongue.” We have a tongue issue because we have a heart issue. Every person’s heart is faced with a serious issue called "sin." It isn’t until our hearts are changed that our words change. God is the only one who can change our heart and fix the sin issue. Romans 3 reminds us that all of humanity has a sin issue that needs to be fixed: “We have already made the charge the Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one’” (verses 9-10, NIV). No one is righteous . . . not even one. Regarding sin in the world, Reinhold Niebuhr said something profound: “Most of the evil in this world does not come from evil people. It comes from people who consider themselves good.” We are all sinners; no one is good. A British newspaper editor once asked G. K. Chesterton, “What’s wrong with the world?” Without missing a beat, Chesterton replied simply, “I am.” He realized that sin is devastating to the individual and humanity. How devastating? Charles Finney was right when he said: “Sin is the most expensive thing in the universe. . . . If it is forgiven sin, it cost God His only Son. . . . If it is unforgiven sin, it costs the sinner his soul and an eternity in hell.” Right after Paul reminds us that we are all under sin—and that no one is excluded from this pronouncement—he uncovers a huge revelation. He shows us where sin shows up consistently. You have to pay attention to see it. Remember Paul has just said in verse 10 that “there is none righteous, no not one.” Now he says in verses 11-15: There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood.” (NIV) The apostle Paul lists five different parts of the body that are the most common vehicles of sin: throats, tongues, lips, mouths, and feet. Ready for this? Four of the five body parts relate to the tongue. Wow! That small member of our body is the biggest dispenser of our sinful nature. Our mouths can destroy lives. Adolf Hitler’s manifesto was Mein Kampf. Someone once calculated that for every word in the book, Hitler killed 320 lives. They calculated that 60 million people died in World War II, and the book has 187,000 words in it. His words killed millions of people. Whatever is in your heart will find its way to your tongue. That’s why we need God in our hearts and sin out of our heart. A. W. Tozer said it like this: “What’s closest to your heart is what you talk about and if God is close to your heart, you’ll talk about Him.” We need God in our hearts today.
Transcribe →Why the Preacher Got Run Out of Town
1w ago00:04:26Tap to summarizeDay 119 Today’s Reading: Romans 2 Haddon Robinson tells the story of a lumber business settlement in the West, during the American frontier days. As the town grew, the citizens wanted a church, so they built a building and called a minister. One afternoon the preacher spotted some of his parishioners dragging logs that had floated down the river from another village onto the bank. The owner’s stamp was marked on the end of each log. To his shock and dismay, the minister saw his members sawing off the ends where the owner’s stamps appeared. The following Sunday he preached on the commandment “Thou shall not steal.” At the close of the service, people lined up and offered enthusiastic congratulations. “Wonderful message, Pastor.” “Mighty fine preaching.” “Keep up the good work.” It wasn’t the response he expected, so the following Sunday, he preached on the same commandment, but gave it a different ending. “Thou shall not steal. Thou shall also not cut off the end of thy neighbor’s logs.” When he got through, the congregation ran him out of town. While the church shouted, "Amen!" to “thou shalt not steal,” they gave the pastor a one-way ticket when the “thou” became “you.” Romans 2 is about to get close to the heart of us all. Like that Old West pastor, the apostle Paul is about to address us cutting off the end of the logs with the owner’s stamps on them: You have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? (Romans 2:1-4) Later on, Paul says: “You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery?” (Romans 2:21-22). The apostle Paul is challenging us to be careful about condemning others for what we do ourselves. It's exactly what the congregation did that ran their pastor out of town. They cheered about not stealing but were doing it themselves. They loved the sermon on others not stealing but not the one on their theft. It’s like the saying I heard recently, “We are very good lawyers for our own mistakes and very good judges for the mistakes of others.” Paul’s challenge is for us to look no further than our lives. The church in Rome sees the sin issue as what others do but not what they do. Paul has to get them—and us—to practice some self-introspection. When you speak as Paul did, people will cry out, “You’re judging me!” Always remember that correction is called judgment by those who don’t want to change their behavior. When someone says, “You are judging me,” they are using a smokescreen to avoid change. Challenging people’s immoral lifestyle is not popular today. Rick Warren diagnoses why it’s a problem in our country. Consider these profound words: “Our culture has accepted two huge lies: The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.” Verse four is what blows me away in Romans 2. Paul essentially says, “What’s incredible about God is that you will see His goodness on your life while you are living a duality of life, and yet God is still there.” Paul is saying that we must not misinterpret the goodness of God as the approval of God on our actions. God’s goodness is to get us to turn from our wicked ways to Him. The verse in the Contemporary English Version reads: “You surely don’t think much of God’s wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you. Don’t you know that the reason God is good to you is because he wants you to turn to him?” As someone once said, “Truth is like surgery. It hurts, but it cures. Lies are like painkillers. They give instant relief but have side effects for a long time.” Not only does our society need an injection of truth, but you and I need it too. We need it to start with you and me.
Transcribe →What About the People Who Have Never Heard the Gospel? Will They Go to Hell?
1w ago00:04:18Tap to summarizeDay 118 Today’s Reading: Romans 1 "What about the people in other countries who have never heard the gospel? Will they go to hell?” This was a question one of our worship band members asked me. I was finishing up a late meeting at the church, and he was finishing practice. We met each other in the lobby when he dropped that question. More specifically, he said, “We preach the gospel here, but what about for all of the other countries around the world? How will they know what we know?” Today’s reading in Romans 1 is how I began to address this young man’s legit and important question. I wish I were a universalist and an annihilationist, but I can’t be, based on what the Bible teaches. A universalist says everyone goes to heaven no matter how they interpret God, so all of humanity will be in heaven. An annihilationist says there is only heaven and no hell, so those who are evil simply cease to exist. It removes the final judgment. I wish I were both, so responding to such a complex question would be easy. However, the Bible provides an answer. We'll start in the book of Romans. Romans is what I use to explain the difference between a local church band member, a tribesman in the remote part of the Amazon or a nomad in the Sahara who has never heard the Good News. The full answer is in two Bible verses: one about God, one about humanity. Let’s start with the verse on humanity: “That which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). Paul says God has two witnesses on the planet: one is internal and the other is external. Both creation and consciousness speak about God—we see this very clearly in this Romans passage. It is the evidence of God “without” and “within.” In other words, what's outside of us and what's inside of us. German philosopher Emmanuel Kant spoke about believing in God because of two realities that converted him—“the starry heavens above and the moral law of God within.” A story about Sir Isaac Newton and his atheist friend serves as a wonderful example of the evidence "without." Newton’s friend did not believe in God but preferred to take the position that the universe "just happened." One day Newton showed him a model of the solar system. The sun, the planets, and the moons were all in place. The sizes of the spheres were in proportion, and the planets and the satellites revolved around the sun at their relative speeds. The friend admired the model saying, “It’s intriguing. Who made it?” “Nobody,” said Newton. “It just happened.” Newton was stating that to have a design of the universe, there needs to be a designer of the universe. A big bang didn’t do it, but a big God did. The “within” argument is the moral law. The distinguishing between right and wrong is innate within humanity. This premise was the entirety of C. S. Lewis’s conversion and his must-read book, Mere Christianity. What is not clear is how much information a person gets from within and from without? Even with only these two witnesses, however, I do know that it is enough by which to be judged and not have any excuses. For all of us in the West, I believe we will be judged more severely than the person in an Indian remote village because we have had the gospel made clear to us almost our entire lives. Now let's look at the verse about God: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25, AMP). This verse is so powerful. Abraham said this about God. God will do what is right with what He has given humanity to believe. From consciousness and creation will people in other countries know Jesus was God in the flesh, came from a virgin, died for the sins of humanity on the cross, rose from the dead, and ascended to the right hand of God the Father? That I don’t know. It doesn’t seem so. What I do know is that whatever they get will be enough for them to be judged and they will be without excuse.
Transcribe →Forty-Three-Mile Friends
2w ago00:04:31Tap to summarizeDay 117 Today’s Reading: Acts 28 In today’s reading, we look at the last chapter of Acts, chapter 28. We are going to discover real friends today—forty-three-mile friends. When talking about friendship, John Churton Collins said, “In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.” In Acts 28, Paul is in adversity. He is in Rome where he will meet death. However, something happens that can be overlooked. Acts 28:15 shows an extraordinary act of friendship: “The brethren, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the Market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.” Let me give you some timelines. Acts 21–23 took place in AD 59 and Acts 24–28 took place in AD 62. We are dealing with a very tough three years of prison for the apostle Paul, who has been defending himself against the angry mobs and has faced an unexpected amount of tragedies and also miracles before he lands in Rome, the final place he will live. Let me take you through his journey and show you how important Acts 28:15 is in Paul’s life. It all starts getting crazy in Acts 21. Paul will never again be free from chains after verse 30. He ends up on an island from a shipwreck. While building a fire, a snake bites him, but God protects him. When God heals him from the bite, everyone thinks Paul is a god. He ends up staying on the island for three months until he finally gets to Rome in Acts 28:15. People who love and care about Paul go to see him. They take an important journey to get there. Let me explain. Apii or Appius is forty-three Roman miles (roughly thirty-nine-and-a-half contemporary miles) from Rome. That means Christians walked forty-three miles to be with Paul, forty-three miles to encourage the apostle. I love that Luke, the writer of Acts, uses the Greek word that translates "to meet us." It specifically describes people going to meet a general, king, or conqueror. They go to meet Paul as one of God’s generals. This is so important to Paul. He thanks God and takes courage. It lifts his heart and spirit because he realizes he isn’t alone. The body of Christ is there to encourage him. Christians are never alone. You have a family called the Church. Every time someone makes a sacrifice to call you and you are encouraged, you have forty-three-mile friends. Every time you are visited in the hospital, you have forty-three-mile friends. When someone sends you a Bible verse or prays for you, you have a forty-three-mile friend. If you ever have someone give you a hug when you are down in the dumps, you have a forty-three-mile friend. To be a forty-three-mile friend—like these no-name-people who encourage Paul—costs time. If they walked a quick pace and made a mile every 20 minutes, that means they traveled 14-15 hours just to encourage Paul. It was sacrificial. It took time out of their schedules and lives. "Appius to Rome” is such a quick part of the Scripture that it’s easy to glance over without ever giving it a thought. However, this phrase is an important detail about those Christians. They were forty-three-mile friends. I have forty-three-mile friends in my life who have made journeys to encourage me when I did not know if I had the strength to keep going. Think about your friends—your real friends, not your “friends” on social media. A court in Florida recently made a decision on the legal definition of “friendship.” It was based on the question, “Are your friends on Facebook actually your friends?” According to an appeals court, legally, Facebook friends aren’t necessarily your friends. The court looked into this because of a judge who may have been required to recuse herself from a case—because an attorney involved was friends with her on Facebook. However, the court ruled that recusal was not necessary, because they said Facebook friends are not really friends. Thank God someone is getting it right. Just because you "follow," "like," or "friend" someone doesn’t mean you have a friend. Real friends go forty-three miles, they don't just press a "follow" or "friend" button.
Transcribe →The Day the Convict Became a Captain
2w ago00:04:53Tap to summarizeDay 116 Today’s Reading: Acts 27 Today, we'll take a boat ride on some rough waters in Acts 27. This boat has 276 on board, most of them prisoners. The apostle Paul is below deck in shackles and on his way to Rome. At one point the most famous prisoner on the boat tells the professional seafarers, “I wouldn’t go that direction.” And his advice is rejected vehemently: Paul began to admonish them, and said to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” But the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. (Acts 27:9-11) Paul warned that if they continued on the journey, they would experience damage and great loss. The other passengers were probably thinking, “What does a religious man know about sailing?” They do not listen to the Christian and this is what happens: Before very long there rushed down from the land a violent wind, called Euraquilo; and when the ship was caught in it and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves be driven along. . . . The next day as we were being violently storm-tossed, they began to jettison the cargo; and on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned. When they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst. (Acts 27:14-21) At some point, some "Einstein" on the crew said, “Where is the guy who told us not to go on this journey? Maybe we should listen to him?” They pull the prisoner up on deck. They wanted to hear from Paul; they had an awakening. That story is an example of what at an awakening looks like in our country. It’s when people want to hear from God again—not the professionals: not the politicians, not the news reporters, not Hollywood celebrities, or athletes. It's when people declare, “Let’s hear what God has to say.” The sailors are at that place of desperation when they want to hear from Paul. This is what he tells them: Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.” Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on a certain island. (Acts 27:21-26) When Paul says, “An angel of . . . God . . . stood before me,” that means God gave Paul a word for the ship. The captive is now the captain! The sailors listened to the one they had in the bowel of the ship. Wait until you hear Paul teach them how to survive! In verse 44, Paul tells them that when the ship breaks up, they are to grab hold of a plank and float to shore. Holding on to a piece of wood is going to get you through your storm. I have a sneaky suspicion you may have caught where I’m going with this. The only chance for America and the impending storm we will face is still a piece of wood—a two-thousand-year-old piece of wood on which the Son of God died—the cross. There’s enough wood for everybody. Paul is speaking to his enemies. He is helping the sailors survive who made him a prisoner. All 276 make it to shore during a terrible storm. The storm allows the captive to become captain. Paul guides the ship and those on board to safety. How? It is like two men who are on a beach gazing out at sea. One man says, “I see a ship.” The friend replies that he doesn’t see anything. The first man persists in saying he sees a ship. The friend says, “Well, I have 20/20 vision and I don’t see anything.” To which the first man says, “Yes, but I have binoculars. And there is a ship.” The godly have binoculars. They know what is coming. Many times the world won’t listen to the church until the storm comes and until hope is lost. And then we listen as we stand up with the Word from God. The world won’t listen to us sitting in our church seats. They did listen to Paul, however, when they were drenched on the deck of a boat being battered by a storm. God has a way of using storms to bring us to places in our lives and in our hearts that we would not have gotten to on our own. It’s called providence. God uses circumstances and directs our steps. When hope is lost in our society, there is wood that can get us to safety. Grab a plank. It is the cross of Jesus.
Transcribe →