The People are without Excuse!

Good morning to all on this last Sunday in August. Waine and I just returned from Jamaica. We were there for 1 week with Tracy, Kai and Hailie. Freddie was unable to come because of an expired passport.  It was good to spend time with Tracy and get to know her on a different level. The babies insisted we say prayer before each meal; this simple act melted my heart each time we held their little hands and let the love of God flow through us. On the way home, the Montego Bay Southwest ticket counter noticed that Kai's passport had expired on July 1. God only knows how he was able to travel to Jamaica on an expired passport. Waine and I were in Kingston and felt powerless to help. We went to the American Embassy in Kingston to try and work things through and it appeared that it would take a minimum of 3 business days to get Kai a new passport. As it was already Wednesday, close of business, that meant the earliest Kai was going to be able to get a new passport would be Monday. I started to pray earnestly that God would make a way for Kai to get back to the US on the appointed day.  I left it in God's hands as the time to departure ticked away. Long story sort, Tracy was given 3 boarding passes to come home. When you need God to act and take care of a problem, He just comes through. We had only 2 hours to solve this problem--the earthly way would have taken 3 days which we were prepared to do. Waine was prepared to go to Montego Bay and stay with Tracy and the kids until Monday but I believe that my prayer, my faith gave God the opportunity to shower blessings. This is how prayer works. Thee is nothing special about my prayers, God can do anything BUT He needs a pathway through which to work. That is our faith. In small things and big things Faith and Prayer allows God's mercies and blessing to flow through. Hallelujah! A small story that demonstrates God's BIG love.

We have finished Acts and I am pushing through to Paul's letters from Rome. Romans 1 verses 1 - 32,  "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—  the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding His Son, who as to His earthly life was a descendant of David, and Who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for His name’s sake. And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.  To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.  I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.  I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.  For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” 

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.  Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 

Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,  slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." Amen and may God add a blessing to reading and hearing of His Word.

I am not sure that it can get any plainer than this! Paul is making it clear that when you have heard the Gospel of the Good News--the salvation that is provided and is available through the sacrifice made by Christ, you are without excuse when the judgment comes. God has made it clear that the ONLY way back to Him is through Christ. That when we don't take that step, we not only miss out on being with Him through eternity but we begin to suffer here on earth and become depraved. We are given over to sin which leads to a life of ENVY, MURDER, STRIFE, DECEIT, MALICE, GOSSIP, SLANDERING, GOD-HATING, INSOLENCE, ARROGANCE AND BOASTFULNESS. Any of this sound familiar. It pretty much describes the world we live in. These are the qualities of a world that has traveled far from God. A world that is on a time clock to self destruct. You need no further evidence!

Paul also talks about homosexuality being a by product of the depravity of sin. This is the scriptural support that homosexuality is not normal. It is not the way of God. God intended that Man and woman be with each other to love Him and one another. A by product of this love is the procreation and continuation of the Human Race. If you ever wondered if homosexuality if nurture versus nature, you now have scriptural evidence that IT IS NOT NATURE. God never intended for men to be with men or women to be with women in a sexual way, which is why quite frankly he made penis' to fit into vaginas and vaginas to be connected to a uterus with fallopian tubes. It is called the act of creation.....And God CREATED, Genesis 1. God CREATES! Anything contrary to this is of Satan who destroys. Does God hate people who practice homosexuality? No He loves all of us but hates sin. Will God prevent people who practice homosexuality from being saved? No because they have the same chance as all sinners to be saved by GRACE. Will Christians still practice homosexuality? Do Christians still lie, cheat, and deceive? Yes, we all sin daily HOWEVER as we mature in the Spirit of God, we begin to leave our childish ways behind us. As we grow in Faith our tendencies toward sin become less and less. Each of us work through our childishness with God.

None of us who have heard the Gospel will have an excuse when we come before God. Our main job is to love God with all of our hearts, mind and soul and then to love one another JUST AS GOD LOVES US. This love will enable others to come to know and trust the God that I serve! To know Him is to love Him. To love Him is to serve Him. To serve Him is to love you!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Stephanie



With All Boldness and Without Hindrance!

Good morning to all on this glorious August Sunday. Waine and I are in Thomaston. We spent last weekend in Orlando with Freddie, Tracy, Kai and Hailie to celebrate Kai's 6th birthday.  I spent Saturday night at Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital with Kai after an appendectomy. I felt powerless to help him when I knew he would have to be operated on, so Freddie, Kai and I held hands and prayed right before he went into the OR. I know Kai will remember that moment during his life and God will use that moment to remind my dear grandson of the Power of Prayer.

I am continuing my journey in Acts 28: 1-30, " Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.  There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days. His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. They honored us in many ways; and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed. 

 After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island—it was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days.  From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged.  When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him. 

Three days later he called together the local Jewish leaders. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death.  The Jews objected, so I was compelled to make an appeal to Caesar. I certainly did not intend to bring any charge against my own people.  For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.” They replied, “We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of our people who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you.  But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.” 

They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet: ‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’“Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”  For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!" Amen and may God add a Blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

How many of us are like the Jews? We hear but do not understand. We see but never perceive. I have given these two concepts a lot of thought.  I have been in the church all my life. My father insisted on it. He made us go to Sunday School and Church ever week. Now keep in my that my father married a woman who was reared in the Buddhist tradition. My mother, who is Japanese,  prayed and offered fresh tea to the picture of her deceased mother daily. I can remember my mother making green tea every morning and offering my grandmother a fresh cup. I asked he once why she would offer tea to a picture that couldn't drink it and she told me that there was a physical life and a spiritual life and both were important. My mother stated that her mother, though deceased, would not be honored if her daughter did not perform this ritual. My mother gave her life to Christ when she was in her 40's and yet she kept up this tradition.

What  Paul was doing in this young ministry was spreading the Good News that Christ died so that all of our sins could be forgiven and he did it in a setting that did not attack the rituals of the people he was witnessing to. Look at the situation in Malta. He was bit by a viper. The people on the island immediately reverted to their rituals that said 'Good people were saved from calamity and Bad people became victims to it. The people of Malta were anxious to help these travels that were stranded by the storm because THEY SURVIVED the storm but then were eager to judge Paul because he was bit by a viper. What Paul demonstrated was that when you are called by God you are neither hindered or defeated by the physical obstacles in front of you. God is a Spirit and only deals in the spiritual realm which is part of the Gospel of the dispensation. Neither the Storm or the Viper would stand I the way of God's Plan for Paul.

God's plan was that Paul bring the Good News to the Gentiles and used the circumstances of the rituals of the Jews to propel the Gospel to Rome. The unbelieving Jews who were so caught up in rituals and doctrine that they refused to accept Christ and His Message. They could not wrap their minds around that message of Christ that we are not saved by works but by the Blood of the Lamb. There are many "Christians" that are trapped in rituals. They think that if they read their Bible daily, if they watch and read religious programs; if they talk about Jesus, that their lives will change. These folk have not embraced the Power of God because their lives are not tapped into the fundamental message of Jesus. If it not by WORKS that we begin our life of abundance it is by faith.

My husband often remarks that "You are one of God's chosen. He (God) favors you." What I keep telling my husband is that God favors anyone, that through faith lives a life of boldness without hindrance! Hallelujah. My faith is the size of a mustard seed and I work that faith daily. I remind myself that I am more than a conqueror in every aspect of my life when I apply my faith. We are all God's Chosen when we accept Christ. We become God's Favored when we live in faith and not in fear.  To know Him is to love Him. To love Him is to Serve Him. To serve Him is to love you.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Stephanie