Thursday 7 May 2009

Thursday Reading: Romans 1:16-17
 
Key Verse: Romans 1:17
17  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Devotion:
It is very interesting to be able to read through the various books that Paul wrote and to see the difference between his attitude and those around him. He was a man that started out by persecuting the Christians for going against the law as laid down by the Sanhedrin; and yet God used him in a mighty way to reach so many people all around the Mediterranean.  The Jews are God’s chosen people, a people that the prophets had always foretold would reject the salvation of Christ just when they should be reaching out to Him the most. The Romans were the ruling force at the time of these writings and even the Jews had to live in subjection to them; yet the Romans also looked to the Jews and did many things to try and please them. If a kingdom as powerful as that would look up to a small nation such as the Jews, they must have known that there was something special about their God!

But it is amazing how the power of the moment or the laws that seem good to man can override the fear of the unseen. No matter how big an unseen fear is, a visible fear will weigh in more than it... and that is because we give in to things seen rather than to things unseen. That is just the way people are because they put things out of their minds that they cannot immediately see because they do not want others to think that they believe something that cannot be seen!

The Jews upheld their own laws more than the truth that Jesus tried to give them. The gentiles looked up to Roman law more than Christ’s teachings. Each country was establishing their own power-cells from where they could manage their own laws and follow their own wills rather than looking to Jesus Christ as Teacher and Judge. We all have to face Him at some stage; I want Him to be on my side rather than fight against Him... Keeping your faith may be hard at times, but it will always be worth it!

Points to Ponder:
What laws do you follow?

Are you rejecting Christ because of those laws?