Romans 9 & 10

Nikke's thoughts

9:14-24

What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses,
"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' "Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?

What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

For the longest time I was mad at God for making me different than everyone else. I did not like having only two fingers on my right hand. Yeah, I still was able to get stuff done and play sports but I had to try even harder than the next person. I just wanted to be normal.

Then one day I realized that having two fingers is a blessing. I know I sound a little weird right? God formed me and molded me differently than everyone else because He has a special purpose for me. (He has a purpose for everyone).

I can just see God smiling as he was molding my hand into such a unique form knowing that the day will come when I realize He is my creator and He made me as I should be.

And that is just it! I did figure it out. God created me different because that is what He wanted to do. Plain and simple.

How much more does it say to someone who does not know the Lord when they look at someone with an abnormality praising the God that made them that way?

I know for me when I see an adult or child on TV with cancer, missing limbs, or just horrible situation and when I hear the words I love the Lord or something along those lines I am moved beyond words!

Could that be my purpose? Possibly. I am not completely sure here I am kind of just talking now. =D

All I know is that God is great and He has shown me some pretty amazing things and has used me in ways that I thought were insane at the time but have been such a blessing.

10:8-12

But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

This is a pretty popular scripture. I just love how simple it is to accept the Lord! It isn't as complicated as some may think.

Step 1. Say out loud (confess) that Jesus is Lord.

Step 2. Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.

God is real and He will make himself real to you if you just ask. All He wants is our relationship and for us to love Him.

Lord, I love you and thank you for making me the way I am. You are such a wonderful creator!

Romans 8

Nikke's thoughts

Webster defines "hope" as : to cherish a desire with anticipation.

As Christians we desire to inherit the kingdom of Heaven and to see God face to face one day.
At least that is what I look forward to.


Chapter 8 covers living in the Spirit and not in sinful nature.

vs. 6-8 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

We can never please God if we are being controlled by our sinful nature! WOW! that is deep.

Here is the great news for those who have the Spirit:

vs. 9-11 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

How awesome is that!?

This is where it gets really cool.

vs. 12-17 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.^[g] And by him we cry, "Abba,^[h] Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.


I love the part where it says "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship"
When I think of royalty I think of confidence, fearlessness, stregnth, poise, beauty and unashamed.
A prince or a princess is born into a culture of establishment and has no need to fear what his or her future holds.

I think of how fearful and the lack of confidence I had before I found the Lord and how I was a slave to that fear like the verse says.
Now I am an heir! A princess to the Lord! I have no need to fear!
That is just so amazing to me. I stand to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven! There is nothing better than that.

We really are more than conquerors!!!

Romans 6 & 7

Nikke's thoughts

So I have to say as I am sure it is obvious that I have been struggling to follow my daily reading plan. So for all you readers out there if possible help keep me accountable =D And for anyone who has encouraged myself and Angie on THANK YOU!!


ROMANS 6 & 7

6:1-2 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!
We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

I once met this person who said that their sin did not matter as God would always forgive them so what was the use in trying to not sin?

These are my thoughts on that statement.
God does have grace and He loves us despite our sin. However, He wants us to strive for living our life without sin as much as possible. None of us are perfect by any means. God sent His son to die on the cross for the purpose of bridging the gap between us and God. So that we may be forgiven and have eternal life if we so choose to accept His invitation. Not so we can abuse the right of forgiveness.

Lets say you threw an extravagant party for a bunch of your friends not wanting anything in return except for a "thank you" and no one gave you the appreciation that you deserve. Wouldn't you feel a bit sad or unrecognized?
Now say it happens again and again and again? How would this make you feel about your "friends"? I know for myself I might ask the question: Were they really my friends at all?

I am sure God feels that way when we keep on sinning. Except on a much larger scale and in a more justifiable manner. It is our eternal life on the line here not just what someone thinks of us!
Myself I am far from perfect and I sin just like everyone else. Lets just remember this:
God gave us the most priceless gift and we should embrace that gift with all our hearts and minds, rather than walk all over it.

Why would we want to live in sin any longer anyways? We were bound and unhappy. (At least I was)



So here is the wonderful news:
Jesus conquered sin! It has been defeated! Satan is fighting a battle that cannot be won by him!
We have victory in Jesus!
We never have to face sin alone. We have Jesus right by our side helping us conquer and persevere through it all!!!!



To you Lord I give you my all. I never want to take you for granted. You have given me a gift that is eternal and I thank you for that.
Amen