Passion!

The topic at Thursday night bible study was "A Passion for the Word". I looked up the word "passion" this morning. My favorite definition was "Boundless Enthusiasm".


Hmmm...Does that describe my emotions toward God's Word?





God wrote a book. He wrote it because he loves me and wanted me to know His heart. He wanted me to have a glimpse of His character. Am I as enthusiastic as I should be about reading it?

Are you?

Abba Father,
Give me one pure and holy passion. Give me one magnificent obsession. Give me one glorious ambition for my life...to know and follow hard after You and Your Word.
Amen
While this little guy was skimming the Bible he figured out some interesting facts and shared them with me. Here they are:









BIBLE FACTS: The system of chapters was introduced in A.D. 1238 by Cardinal Hugo de
S. Caro, while the verse notations were added in 1551 by Robertus
Stephanus, after the advent of printing.

A Bible in the University of Gottingen is written on 2,470 palm leaves.

According to statistics from Wycliffe International, the Society of
Gideons, and the International Bible Society, the number of new Bibles
that are sold, given away, or otherwise distributed in the United
States is about 168,000 per day.

The Bible can be read aloud in 70 hours.

There are 8,674 different Hebrew words in the Bible, 5,624 different
Greek words, and 12,143 different English words in the King James Version.

A number of verses in the Bible (KJV) contain all but 1 letter of the
alphabet: Ezra 7:21 contains all but the letter j; Joshua 7:24,
1 Kings 1:9, 1 Chronicles 12:40, 2 Chronicles 36:10, Ezekiel 28:13,
Daniel 4:37, and Haggai 1:1 contain all but q; 2 Kings 16:15 and
1 Chronicles 4:10 contain all but z; and Galatians 1:14 contains all
but k.

BIBLE STATISTICS:
Number of books in the Bible: 66
Chapters: 1,189
Verses: 31,101
Words: 783,137
Letters: 3,566,480
Number of promises given in the Bible: 1,260
Commands: 6,468
Predictions: over 8,000
Fulfilled prophecy: 3,268 verses
Unfulfilled prophecy: 3,140
Number of questions: 3,294
Longest name: Mahershalalhashbaz (Isaiah 8:1)
Longest verse: Esther 8:9 (78 words)
Shortest verse: John 11:35 (2 words: "Jesus wept").
Middle books: Micah and Nahum
Middle verse: Psalm 118:8
Middle chapter: Psalm 117
Shortest chapter (by number of words): Psalm 117 (by number of words)
Longest book: Psalms (150 chapters)
Shortest book (by number of words): 3 John
Longest chapter: Psalm 119 (176 verses)
Number of times the word "God" appears: 3,358
Number of times the word "Lord" appears: 7,736
Number of different authors: 40
Number of languages the Bible has been translated into: over 1,200
OLD TESTAMENT STATISTICS:
Number of books: 39
Chapters: 929
Verses: 23,114
Words: 602,585
Letters: 2,278,100
Middle book: Proverbs
Middle chapter: Job 20
Middle verses: 2 Chronicles 20:17,18
Smallest book: Obadiah
Shortest verse: 1 Chronicles 1:25
Longest verse: Esther 8:9
Longest chapter: Psalms 119
Largest book: Psalms
NEW TESTAMENT STATISTICS:
Number of books: 27
Chapters: 260
Verses: 7,957
Words: 180,552
Letters: 838,380
Middle book: 2 Thessalonians
Middle chapters: Romans 8, 9
Middle verse: Acts 27:17
Smallest book: 3 John
Shortest verse: John 11:35
Longest verse: Revelation 20:4
Longest chapter: Luke 1
Largest book: Luke

Considerations

Sorry for so many posts the last couple of days, but I seem to have a lot to post about lately.

I've got this little 3x5 card from Walk in the Word that has nine questions to ask yourself before making a decision. I've been blessed by it, so I'm going to share them.

SPIRITUAL considerations How will this decision affect my relationship with God?

1. Will this bring glory to God?
1 Corinthians 10:31
2. Is this a decision Jesus would make?
1 Peter 2:21
3. Will I be proud of this decision at the judgement seat of Christ?
Romans 14:10

RELATIONAL considerations How will this decision affect my relationship with other people?

4. Would I want this done to me?
Romans 13:8-10
5. Could this appear wrong even if it is really OK?
1 Thessalonians 5:22
6. Will this cause a brother or sister in Christ to struggle spiritually?
Romans 14:13-21

INTERNAL considerations How will this decision affect who I am and what I am becoming?

7. Will this bring me under the power of anything that might enslave me?
1 Corinthians 6:12
8. Can I do this with confidence that this is right?
Romans 14:22-23
9. Am I breaking any previous commitments?
James 5:12

mp3

Mark just used Castpost to put one of his mp3's on his blog. I was definitely blessed by it. Go check it out and leave him feedback. I know he'd love it! Even if you have dial up it'll be worth your time to download it. Very cool. Thanks Mark!

How am I? Well...

You asked how things are treating me.

God is good. I could say amen right there, but that wouldn't spawn much conversation would it. ;)

As I grow in Christ and mature in my faith I realize more and more everyday how little I "deserve". How wretched I am when compared to God's awesome standard of Holiness. As I grow in this realization, it affects my perception of "how I am". When you don't deserve a single good thing from God everything becomes a gift, especially salvation. That's the thing we deserve the least of all, and yet that's the thing that can't be taken away by life's "circumstances".

The physical circumstances that we've become accustomed to calling blessings...those are not promised to us on this earth. However, there have been blessings that are unequivacly promised, and those are the blessings of God's character traits. His love, his mercy, his justice, his grace, his chastisement...those are things that we can lay hold of whenever we want and God will never withold them from his children. So, when people ask me how I am...well...I'm better off than I deserve, and I try to be thankful for it everyday.

I've come to view blessings not as getting what I want, but as anything in my life that deepens my walk with the Lord and helps to conform me to His image. Since God has promised that All things do that in the life of a Christian (Romans 8:28,29), I am blessed FAR beyond what I can comprehend regardless of my physical circumstances (Which happen to be wonderful right now).

Mark Miller

Update on Mark Millers blog. :) He realized that blogger.com is the place to be, so he's decided to switch from xanga so people can actually comment on his site. His new blog can be found here. He's got a few posts up already and it looks like it should be a great site!

Da Net

Mark Miller has a blog. :) Check it out. Say "hi". All that stuff.

My internet's been down at work for the last couple days, so I haven't been able to update. I got some pics uploaded from my KC weekend, and now I have pics from Taylor also.

Michelle Bahr and Aaron Stoller got engaged this weekend. Cool stuff that is. I lived across the hall from Michelle for a year at K-State. Good times, great convo's, excellent suppers. ;)It was a great weekend. It was great to be able to spend some time with Joe. (old college roommate)

A neat thought from Dave Marquart from the weekends campfire talk.
G-U-I-D-E.
Go to God
Understand His Principles
Investigate your options
Discuss with others
Exercise your freedom

Well without further ado...the pics:





Ok, enough of KC. Here's some from Taylor. I won't post all of 'em that Christy Stoller took...and for that some people should thank me. :)

Matthew 5:20

5:20
For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Wow! Can any of us measure up to that? The scribes and Pharisees spent their entire lives studying and interpreting scripture. Many of the transcripts we have today can be traced back to these men. They were dedicated men. How could our righteousness ever surpass that?

Enter Jesus. Unlike these religious leaders, His authority did not come from some leading rabbi. In those days when a teacher of the law wanted to make a point, he would say, "As Rabbi Hallel once said... Therefore..." But Jesus didn't quote rabbis. He would even say, "You have heard that it was said,... but I say...." Jesus did not have to quote another authority because He was the authority. He was God in human form.

Jesus is the only person ever to walk the earth who lived a perfectly righteous life. Yet he broke a number of the "laws" the Pharisees had created in their quest for righteousness. He never once broke a true law of God. The pharisees had twisted and perverted the real message that the law was given for. Jesus fulfilled the real meaning of the law perfectly.

Jesus said, "I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them" (Matthew 5:17 NLT). The word "fulfill" used in this verse could be translated "to carry it out, to make it full, to get to the heart of it." He lived by the law. He obeyed it explicitly. He did everything the law pointed to.

Jesus exposed the artificial outward righteousness of the Pharisees while He had the perfectness of a righteous heart. The Pharisees were interested in the actions instead of the motives. They cared about the details instead of the principles. They focused on doing rather than being.

In Jeremiah 17:10, God said, "I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings" (NKJV). God is still looking on the heart today.

By our own standards, as we try to be righteous people, we will fail.

Isa 64:6
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness is as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

We must realize that all our doings and details and actions are as nothing. Compared to God's moral standard our best is still an incomprehensibly pathetic attempt.

That is why our promise of heaven lies in the following passage of scripture.
Romans 4:23-25
23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

That's it folks. Christ. Our doings, and our actions, and our details should flow out of a loving obedience to Christ, not out of a sense of rules or duty. There are no rules we can make up that can come close to righteousness.

Let us thank God today that Christ is risen and that we can take on His perfect righteousness in God's eyes as we strive to be loyal followers of Him to keep His commandments and to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.


Inspiration came from Greg Laurie at Crosswalk.com

New Blogger Born!!

Hey everyone! Go check out Natalie Stoller's Blog and leave her a comment! She worked hard on setting it up, so go welcome her! :)

God's Country

I was going to write about the weekend when I got my pictures uploaded, but last night I helped bag clothes at the Goodfield World Relief building, so I didn't get it done. When you're standing in that warehouse looking at all those pallets of clothing, it's pretty amazing how many lives that will touch. May God be glorified.


I'm excited. I get to go to Taylor in 3 days! I'm driving out early Friday evening so I can spend some one-on-one time with Joe before everyone starts showing up. So if anyone wants to ride back with me, I'd love it.

Here are a couple of pictures of "God's country" to hold you over until you get to see it for real. :)

Update

A few people have said that, instead of bookmarking, they just use the links on my blog to go to other blogs. Therefore, I decided to put links to almost all the blogs I read. I'll let you, the reader, determine if they update enough to warrant frequent checking.

If you know of someone I left off, it was not intentional. Please let me know and I'll add them.

Enjoy

Sunrise

A good friend of mine wrote this song about a mutual friend who passed away at the age of 23. The man who passed away had given his life to Christ three weeks before his death. We went to see him a few days before he died in the hospital, but he had to be put on a ventilator a few hours before we got there, so he was sedated. No one expected, when he went into the hospital, that he wouldn't come out alive. God's timing is hidden from us. It is our responsibility to take advantage of each breathe to bring Glory to His name!

Sunrise

Drove through the rain
to see his face.
Motionless he lay,
and in my heart I prayed,
as he slipped away,
he was going home.
And as he’d enter those heavenly gates
that he may open his eyes
and wake to see
a sunrise in heaven.
In God’s presence he’d be
on that beautiful morning.
A host of angels he’d see.
As he stands in God’s glory.
What a day that will be
watching the sunrise in heaven.

So I lay here tonight,
and close my eyes.
Will I wake tomorrow?
Will God give me life?
He may come to take me home.
We may meet in the sky.
And as I’d enter those heavenly gates,
I pray I’d open my eyes.
This time may wake to see
a sunrise in heaven.
And in God’s presence I’ll be
on that beautiful morning.
A host of angels I’ll see,
as I stand in God’s glory.
What a day that will be
watching the sunrise in heaven.

What about those that do not take the blood?
What about those that reject the saviors love?
What about those who hold onto their pride?
What they’ll never see
when they die.

‘Cause when we wake to see
the sunrise in heaven.
And in God’s presence we’ll be
on that beautiful morning.
A host of angels we’ll see
as we stand in God’s glory.
What a day that will be
watchin’ the sunrise in heaven
watchin’ the sunrise in heaven
watchin’ the sunrise in heaven.

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I miss.

I miss walking to class in the fall. Walking through the leaves from the sycamore tree in the front of Hunting. I miss the air being sharply cool but the sun feeling warm on my face as I walked. I miss that feeling of walking home on a Friday afternoon after your last class and knowing you didn't have anything to do. I miss how my steps would get lighter and faster the closer I got to my apartment. I miss getting to choose how I spent the Friday afternoon, often with Joe. I miss going out to the ball fields and going to Dillons for Chinese. I miss going to the rec. I miss unexpectedly seeing a friend on campus and sharing a smile. I'm going to quit writing now...but there are lots more things I miss. Don't spend today waiting for tomorrow. Spend today in gratitude that God has given you an opportunity to serve him right where you are. I heard a saying today: "Gratitude is the attitude that determines your altitude. Lets be grateful for where we are today.

Washington Y.G. did a bible study on "contentment". I learned that contentment is also translated as "sufficiency". Think about that for awhile. :)

Nuttin' Honey

I wish I had something to write about today, but I don't.

I got some pictures forwarded to me today. The forward said they were from Hurricane Katrina, but I have no way to verify that. Either way, they were neat pictures. God is powerful.
Enjoy

Dodge Aries

I found this video especially funny because my best friend in H.S. had one of these cars! He drove it like a maniac.


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Holy, Holy, Holy

Isaiah was an amazing prophet for God. He preached God's word through four (I believe) kings of Israel in a time of great moral decline in that nation. Uzziah had reigned for many many years (I think it was around 40) in Israel and when he died the nation was thrown into a bit of turmoil and began to morally decay. Isaiah was arguably the pinnacle of the major prophets. While Jeremiah lamented, and Ezekial cried, Isaiah stood firm and preached the truth.

How was Isaiah able to be such an amazing prophet? The answer is in Isaiah 6:1-8

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.


Isaiah saw the Lord people! When the word "Lord" has a lower case o-r-d it is refering to His position as ruler, as king. When "LORD" is in all caps it refers to God's "name", Jehovah. So Isaiah was saying, "I, Isaiah, saw the sovereign, the ruler of our universe!" Now no man has seen God and lived, so the ruler that Isaiah saw was the Christ part of the trinity before he descended to earth as a man.

Notice that as Israel was morally declining the Lord was not pacing...he was not worrying...he was sitting. He is sitting on His throne in total control. He is sitting high and lifted up.

And His train!! The train is a symbol of honor. The only place you see it anymore is at formal weddings. During Queen Elizabeth's coronation in England her train went clear to the back of Westminster Abbey and needed several courtiers to carry it as she walked. But the Lord's train that...that filled the temple!! God is worthy of infinite Honor.

And the seraphims...each with six wings. Two covering their face lest they be overcome by the holiness and purity and majesty that is the Lord. Two covering their feet. Their feet being symbols of themselves. They were covering themselves lest God see them. And these seraphims are calling back and forth to one another in the throne room. They're crying day and night. Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

In Hebrew when they wanted to emphasize something they didn't put words like "very" or "extremely" in from their adjectives. They repeated them. If you fell into a pit that was really deep, you'd say, "I fell into a pit pit." Nothing else in scripture is described by using a word three times, and only the Holy aspect of God is refered to this way. The absolutely terrifying, awesome, amazing, holiness of God is infinite. The house filled with smoke, possibly to spare Isaiah from being completely overcome with the sight. And what is Isaiah's response to all this? "Woe is me! for I am undone;" He cries out in despair because his uncleanness is brought into stark reality when confronted by the absolute holiness of God. He realized what the standard was, and he realized that he was immeasurably short of it. This changed Isaiah. This vision of the holiness of God allowed Isaiah to be an incredibly strong man of God.

But praise be to God the account doesn't end there. In this passage a seraphim touches his lips with a coal from the altar and removed Isaiah's iniquity and purged his sins. Praises be lifted up to God that we too have the ability to be purged of our sins. Not through a coal on our lips, but through Jesus' shed blood.

God forgive us for looking at our neighbor and thinking, "Well, I'm definitely doing better at holiness than he his." Or thinking about holiness in our lives and thinking, "I've been walking this Christian walk for a long time, and I'm doing pretty good...there are a few surface adjustments I could make, but I'm a pretty good person." We are NOT "GOOD PEOPLE". We are nothing. We are filthy and unclean, and woe is us.

The problem seems to lie, for me, in my tendancy to compare myself to others around me rather than compare myself to the perfect, holy, righteous standard of God himself.

1Pe 1:16
Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

My prayer is that I can regain my vision of the absolute holiness of God and let that vision spur me on to strive for the mark of the prize in totally obedience to the Word of God. Praise God for the imputed righteousness of Christ. (Romans 4:24)

Teddy Bear

Compassion: Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.

Click HERE to donate to the Red Cross for hurricane Katrina help.

This is a great story about compassion. Many of you will be able to hear Red sing it in your head. This story inevitably moves me to tears. Enjoy

TEDDY BEAR

I was on the outskirts of a little Southern town, trying to reach my destination before the sun went down. The old CB was blaring away on channel 1-9, when there came a little boy's voice on the radio line. He said, "Breaker 1-9, is anyone there? Come on back, truckers, and talk to Teddy Bear."

I keyed the mike and said, "You got it, Teddy Bear."

The little boy's voice came back on the air, appreciate the break. "Who we got on the other end?"

I told him my handle and then he began.

"Now I'm not supposed to bother you boys out there. Mom says you're busy and for me to stay off the air. But you see, I get lonely and it helps to talk cause that's about all I can do. I'm crippled and cannot walk."

I came back and told him to fire up that mike, I'd talk to him as long as he'd like.

"This was my dad's radio," the little boy said, "but I guess it's mine and Mom's now cause my daddy's dead. Dad had a wreck about a month ago. He was trying to get home in a blinding snow. Mom has to work now to make ends meet. I'm not much help with my crippled feet. She says not to worry that she'll make it all right. But I hear her crying sometimes late at night.

"You know, there's one thing I want more than anything else to see. Ah I know you guys are too busy to bother with me. But, you see, my dad used to take me for rides when he was home. But I guess that's all over now since my daddy's gone."

Not one breaker came in on that CB as that little crippled boy talked to me. I tried hard to swallow the lump, it just would not stay down as I thought about my boy in at home in hometown.

He continued, "Dad was going to take Mom and me with him later on this year. I remember him saying, 'Someday this old truck will be yours, Teddy Bear.' But I know I will never get to ride in an 18-wheeler again. But this old base will keep me in touch with all my trucker friends. Teddy Bear's going to back out now and leave you alone cause it's almost time for Mom to come home. But you give me a shout when you're passing through and I'll be happy to come back to you."

Well I came back and said, "Before you 10-10, what's your home 20, little CB friend?"

He gave me his home address and I didn't hesitate one second because this hot load of freight was just gonna have to wait. I turned that truck around on a dime and headed for Jackson Street 229.

As I rounded the corner, I got one heck of a shock, 18-wheelers lined up for three city blocks. I guess every trucker from miles around had caught Teddy Bear's call, and that little boy was having a ball. For as fast as one driver would carry him in, another would carry him to his truck and they'd take off again. Well you better believe I took my turn at riding Teddy Bear. And then I carried him back in and put him down in his chair. Buddy, if I never live to see happiness again, I want you to know I saw it that day in the face of that little man. We took up a collection before his mom came home. Each driver said goodbye and then they were gone. He shook my hand with a mile-long grin and said, "So long trucker, I'll catch you again."

I hit that interstate with tears in my eyes. I turned on my radio and got another surprise. "Breaker 1-9," came a voice on the air, "just one word of thanks from Mom Teddy Bear. We wish each and every one a special prayer for you cause you just made my little boy's dream come true."

I'll sign off now before I start to cry. "May God ride with you; 10-4 and goodbye

Jesus Wept
posted by Luke

Hurricanes and Suffering

Help the Red Cross

Folks, my heart hurts.

I've been browsing around on the internet looking for stories of what's happening in New Orleans. I'm reading about tremendous pain and suffering. I'm reading about babies dying of dehydration. I'm reading about old people dying as they sit in their chairs with no food or water. I'm reading about thousands of people stuck in convention centers with no plumbing or sanitation. I'm reading about people who are desperately waiting for someone/something to come and help them. I'm also reading comments from people around the country who are angry. They are angry that more isn't being done. They are angry that we weren't better prepared. They're angry and our government hasn't responded. Then I've heard people who are angry about the fact that all those people stayed in New Orleans when officials gave the order to evacuate.
"Why the heck didn't they get out when they were supposed to! I'm sorry it happened to them, but they should've listened!"
I've heard people who are angry because people are shooting at helicopters and high jacking busses and stealing guns and ammo from stores. I've heard people angry because the stories they're reading in the newspapers aren't what they'd have done if they were in that situation. But you know what? The vast majority of angry opinions I've heard are from people who AREN'T there. They sit in their nice air conditioned offices and complain loudly about how things 'outta be. There is very seems to be a severe lack of compassion in some people.


A lot of the people who are stuck in New Orleans were the ones who were very poor to begin with. They didn't have the luxury of taking a few days off work, book a hotel, and get out of town. They may not have even owned a vehicle that could fit their family. Even if they had all the means to get out and choose not too, does that make them any less deserving of all the help and support that this country can muster? Is it our place to say or even think, "Since they didn't do what they should've done, they're less deserving of our compassion."?

My head is spinning. My heart is aching. I'm praying.

There are so many who seem so determined to find the negative side in EVERY situation.

And through it all there are thousands of people working. Thousands of people rescuing. Thousands of people giving. Thousands of people feeding. Thousands of people who are mobilized to bring comfort. Thousands of people who will never stand in front of a camera. Thousands of people who will not get media exposure.

I heard a story this morning on my way into work. A local grade school took an un-announced collection for the victims of the hurricane, and out of a school of 800 they collected $500! That's un-announced people. I have a feeling a few kids went without lunch that day. I don't know about you, but I didn't carry "extra cash" on me in grade school. These kids gave their food money for that day.

My prayer is for this tragedy to bring Glory to God. May many people throughout our nation turn to Christ for comfort and find a committed relationship that will last a lifetime.

Romans Road

First off, to everyone who's been praying for me lately, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Do you ever get so wrapped up in walking down this road we call life, that you tend to push to the back of your mind what road we're actually on? For those of us who have made a life altering commitment to our Lord and Savior, we're on the road to HEAVEN! We're on a road that follows the example of Christ! I know I have a tendency to get so wrapped up in walking straight, doing good things, living a good life, and other physical aspects of my walk, that sometimes I minimize the goal. I minimize where I'm going! What follows is a reminder of the road we started on as Christians. Let's not forget, but everyday remember the fundamentals and be ever grateful to our Savior for taking our sins and crucifying them on the cross, and rising to give us a confident expectation of eternal life!

Faith:
Relating to God:
The conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ.

Relating to Christ:
A strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God.

Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."




Question: "What is the Romans Road to salvation?"

Answer: The Romans Road to salvation is a way of sharing the Gospel of salvation using verses from the Biblical book of Romans. It is a simple yet powerful method of explaining why we need salvation, how God provided salvation, how we can receive salvation, and what are the results of salvation.

The first verse on the Romans Road to salvation is Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." We have all sinned. We have all done things that are displeasing to God. There is no one who is innocent. Romans 3:10-18 gives a detailed picture of what sin looks like in our lives. The second Scripture on the Romans Road to salvation, Romans 6:23, teaches us about the consequences of sin - "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The punishment that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal death!

The third verse on the Romans road to salvation picks up where Romans 6:23 left off, "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:8 declares, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Jesus Christ died for us! Jesus' death paid for the price of our sins. Jesus' resurrection proves that God accepted Jesus' death as the payment for our sins.

The fourth stop on the Romans road to salvation is Romans 10:9, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Because of Jesus' death on our behalf, all we have to do is believe in Him, trusting His death as the payment for our sins - and we will be saved! Romans 10:13 says it again, "for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins and rescue us from eternal death. Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

The final aspect of the Romans road to salvation is the results of salvation. Romans 5:1 has this wonderful message, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Through Jesus Christ we can have a relationship of peace with God. Romans 8:1 teaches us, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Because of Jesus' death on our behalf, we will never be condemned for our sins. Finally, we have this previous promise of God from Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Would you like to follow the Romans road to salvation? If so, here is a simple prayer you can pray to God. Saying this prayer is a way to declare to God that you are relying on Jesus Christ for your salvation. The words themselves will not save you. Only faith in Jesus Christ can provide salvation! "God, I know that I have sinned against you and am deserving of punishment. But Jesus Christ took the punishment that I deserve so that through faith in Him I could be forgiven. With your help, I turn away from my sin and place my trust in You for salvation. Thank You for Your wonderful grace and forgiveness - the gift of eternal life! Amen!"