Paul,
a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as
an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets
in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant
of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the
resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ
our Lord, 5 through
whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the
Gentiles for His name’s sake, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus
Christ;7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ because I have RECEIVED GRACE. When God came into my life, He changed me. He changed my desires, wants, outlook, goals and perspective. He showed me that He loved me and had a plan for my life. I was an insecure child who never lived up to the expectations of those around me. It seems that there was no hope and that I would never please anybody or amount to anything. I understood myself to be stupid and unworthy. I was a complete disappointment to those who knew me. When I began to seek this God of hope, He came to me. He showed Himself to me. My friends and I used to wonder how He could find us in the hills of Tennessee, but He did! God helped me see that Jesus loved me and that with His help, I would always be received in the eyes of the Father. With His love, I would be received for ever and ever. Through the death of His Son Jesus, I received grace and am forever His! He is proud of me! Though the world many wonder why I'm here, God never wondered why He created me. He knew what He was doing and in fact, was pleased. How could one who has RECEIVED GRACE ever be ashamed of the gospel? I do not know!
Today, celebrate with me that I am not ashamed of the gospel because I have RECEIVED GRACE from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Not only is He risen, but He is risen in me!
I pray that you have RECEIVED GRACE as well. If not, His grace is available for you!
"Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged
the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of
corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.... For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever." Romans 1:22-23;25.
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| Kari Beougher |
Upon first reading this passage of Scripture, my mind immediately goes to Exodus 32 and the Israelite people creating and worshiping the golden calf. It can be easy when reading Biblical passages to criticize or condemn the Israelites for their foolishness. After all the Lord had done for them, how could they turn away from serving the Lord to serving a mere symbol? Right?
Before I can even finish my critique, I am immediately convicted by the countless times idolatry has marked my life. After all the Lord has done for me- forgiveness, salvation, redemption, sanctification (to name a few)- how could I turn away from serving the Creator to serving the created?
And yet, there are countless distractions, relationships, pursuits and objects that can easily steal our affections if we are not careful. Finances, careers, family, success, possessions, ourselves- any and all of these can easily become the object of our affection, devotion, time and worship. In his book, Instruments In the Redeemers Hands, Paul David Tripp says:
"Sin leads us to believe that life can be found away from the Creator,
and so we, in subtle and obvious ways, forget the Creator and deify the
creation. Our behavior is ruled, not by worship and service of the Lord,
but by a ravenous desire for something in the creation."
The worship of anything other than God is futile, empty and unsatisfying. As St. Augustine has famously said, "God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you."
What/who is occupying your heart and mind today? What/who is receiving your attention and devotion? Today, may we set our heart and our mind on the greatness of our God. May we wholeheartedly pursue our glorious Creator and allow nothing to deter our worship for Him.
