Archive for category: GAMEtime Sharing

i GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 13:8-14.  Let’s go!

Romans 13:8a (NIV)
8  Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another,…

On verse 8:  Paul is saying two things: (1) we should not stay in debt to others. So if we borrow money, we need to pay it back; and (2) we should always see ourselves as owing a debt to love others. That’s because God showed us the greatest, most incredible love of all, and He asks us in return to live a life of loving others.

Romans 13:8b-10 (NIV)
8…for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.
9  The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
10  Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 12:9-21.  Let’s go!
 
Romans 12:9-21 (NIV)
9  Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
10  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
11  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
12  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
13  Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

On verses 9-21:  Paul’s advice to the Christians in Rome is just as applicable to us today.  You can even turn these verses into a prayer, asking God to help you to love sincerely, hate what is evil, cling to what is good, etc.  Each of these verses could be a sermon on its own, but here’s one lesson I learn generally from these verses:  God will never ask you to do anything that He Himself isn’t willing to do, or something that He Himself has not already done.   In fact, when you read Romans 12:9-21, don’t see it simply as a list of ways we ought to live. Even more, remember it’s a portrait of Jesus and how He lived his life on earth.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 11:25-36.  Let’s go!
 
Romans 11:25-36 (NIV)
25  I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
26  And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27  And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
28  As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs,
29  for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.

On verse 36:  Paul says that all things are FROM God, THROUGH God, and FOR God.  What does that mean exactly?

“All things are FROM God.” Explanation: God is the creator of the universe.  He is omnipotent (all-powerful) and omniscient (all-knowing).  Nothing happens in this world without Him allowing it. In this way all things are FROM God.   So why would God allow evil and suffering?  We cannot know all the reasons.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 11:1-10.  Let’s go!
 
Romans 11:1-5 (NIV)
1  I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
2  God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah–how he appealed to God against Israel:
3  “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”?
4  And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
5  So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
 
On verses 1-5:  For those who wonder, “Has God completely rejected the people He originally chose, the Israelites?” The answer is no.  As an example of this, Paul says, “Look at me.  I’m a Jew myself, and God did not reject me but saved me.” 

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 10:1-11.  Let’s go!

Romans 10:1 (NIV)
1  Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.
 
On verse 1:  In Romans 9 Paul was talking about how it is God who elects in advance whom He will save.  Yet notice that this does not stop Paul in Romans 10 from praying to God for the Israelites that they may be saved.  Why is Paul praying for his fellow Israelites’ salvation when he knows that God has already made a decision about whether or not to save the Israelites?  It’s because even though God is sovereign, our choices still matter.  Just because God, who stands outside of time and space, makes choices doesn’t mean that our prayers and our decisions don’t also have a real impact.  Don’t let God’s sovereignty be the reason you throw in the towel and say, “Who cares then since God is in control anyway”.  Instead let God’s sovereignty be the reason to throw your whole self into living for God’s glory, since God is the judge and only God knows the ultimate outcome of our stories.