Romans 9-10

The overall theme in these two chapters is faith vs works. Do we live a life based on works to earn God's love, salvation and favor? Or do we rely on faith and trust in Him?

Let's establish the facts:

Jesus is God:

Romans 9:5 NIV Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

God is in control:

Romans 9:15 NIV For He says to Mose, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

We are not in control:

Romans 9:20-21 NIV But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?" Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?"

The Israelites and many other religions today boast about works for salvation:

Romans 9:30-33 NIV 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." (Emphasis mine)

We are saved by faith:

Romans 10:9-10 NIV That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Faith comes from the Word of God:

Romans 10:17 KJV So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

God is in control, we need not fear. You can belong to His family and rest in His protection by simply believing that Jesus died for our sins, was raised unto life. Hear the Word, let your faith grow, receive Him and live forever!

2 Corinthians 1-2

I find it very interesting how God works. I received a call from a friend this morning. We needed to talk about some issues that were causing some anger and resentment. We operate on the policy of "if you have anything that is bothering you, let's talk about it before it becomes a huge issue." So she did.

I sat down to pray and read scriptures before she came. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 spoke about comfort. A lot of comfort. I highlighted all the comfort in these verses:

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 ³ All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. ⁴ He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. ⁵ For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. ⁶ Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. ⁷ We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.

There is a lot of comfort here!

• God is the source of ALL comfort
  
• He comforts us
• Why? So we can comfort others - we will be able to emulate His pattern of comfort
• The more we suffer for Christ, the more God will comfort us
• Our troubles lead us to comfort others because when we are comforted, we can comfort
• This helps us to patiently endure what others suffer
• We share sufferings, and we share the comfort God gives us

The next few verses were key in preparing for my meeting:

1 Corinthians 1:9-11 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. ¹¹ And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.

• I do not need to rely on my flesh for this meeting.
• I can rely on my God who raises the dead. He is all powerful and can do anything.
• He will rescue us
• God answers prayers for deliverance
  

No, I wasn't in mortal danger. Here we are, two daughters of God who need understanding, comfort and guidance. We prayed before our meeting that our hearts would be opened, that we would accept each other's words and find resolution. We asked God for His presence during the meeting.

1 Corinthians 1:21 It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ...

God graced our meeting, He enabled us to stand firm in Christ. After an hour of gentle conversation, apologies, and clearing up faulty assumptions, we tearfully embraced knowing that God had grown our relationship even more.

God showed up and led us through the comforting and encouraging process of clearing up a difficult situation. Isn't He good?