Romans 1:1 (ESV)

¹ Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, …

What does it mean to be set apart?

It calls to mind holiness: being made for an express purpose; separate from the everyday and mundane.

To see it as an honour and a privilege rather than a burden.

And the gospel?

Well we know that’s the good news about Christ Jesus: His birth; His life; His crucifixion; His resurrection; His ascension.

But this gospel needs to be shared.

It’s no use keeping this good news to ourselves. It should be shouted from the rooftops. Proclaimed to all: ‘ … the wise and the foolish.’ (1:14)

If we, like Paul, are to be true ‘servant[s] of Christ Jesus’ (1:1) then we too need to ‘live by faith’ (1:17) as we promote the gospel.

To see it as our God-given role as Christians rather than the responsibility of only a select few.

Kim+

prayer : help me to embrace my role as a servant of Christ Jesus as I too promote (and proclaim) the gospel

action (New Year’s resolution): develop the habit of a more consistent prayer life

Ecclesiastes 4:6 (ESV)

⁶ Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.

Quietness. 조용함.

The loud clamour of a busy schedule often gets in the way of some quiet time with the Lord our God.

A chance to talk to him.

To ‘meditate’ on His word (see Psalm 1).

And in so doing to simply sit at the feet of Jesus and ‘listen to him’ (Matthew 17:5).

Yet how sad would it be if in ‘[hearing] the word of the kingdom [we did] not understand it’. (Matthew 13:19)

Or we ‘… [receive] it with joy but then ‘when tribulation or persecution arises … [we fall] away’. (Matthew 13:20f)

Or that we allowed the ‘cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches [to] choke the word’ thereby making it ‘unfruitful’. (Matthew 13:22)

Working our butts off without a prayerful dependence on God our Father is doomed from the outset.

Kim+

prayer : help me Lord to meditate on your word day and night

action : find a quiet place to spend time with God, free of distractions and disturbances

Psalm 105:2 (ESV)

² Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of his wondrous works!

Wondrous. 놀라운. Amazing. Awesome.

Words seem so inadequate to describe the works of God.

For God ‘created the heavens and the earth’ (Genesis 1:1) and ‘made all things’ (Isaiah 44:24).

But this refers not just to His creation but to His ‘deeds’ (Psalm 105:1); His ‘miracles’, and His ‘judgements‘ (Psalm 105:5).

Our role as His people is not a secret: we are to ‘tell of his wondrous works‘, to ‘make known his deeds’. (Psalm 105:1)

In our gathering as His body, the Church, we should ‘sing praises’ that do just this.

Songs not so much about us but about Him.

Have we lost this sense of awe?

Are we so wrapped up in ourselves that we fail to wonder at His grace and mercy and steadfast love?

Kim+

prayer : thank God for His wondrous works

action : sing His praises loud and clear

Ecclesiastes 3:17 (ESV)

¹⁷ I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.

Judge. 판사.

It’s nice to think that when we stand before God we will be considered “good enough”. Certainly better than other people because we’re not as bad as them. Thus, we conclude (wrongly) that we will escape God’s judgement (Matthew 1:24) and His wrath (Romans 1:18).

However, further on in the Book of Ecclesiastes the writer explains that ‘… there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.’ (7:20) The Apostle Paul also makes this abundantly clear (see Romans 3:9-20).

Jesus Himself foretold of a day when He will come and ‘[separate] the sheep from the goats’. (Matthew 25:32)

All will be judged! (Acts 17:21) It is naive to think otherwise.

Yet it is not the result of anything we do. Quite the contrary, it’s entirely the work of Jesus: His death; His blood; His resurrection.

Only those who are God’s sheep, following Jesus the Shepherd (John 10:11, 14, 16), will be found justified (Romans 3:24)

Let me repeat that: ‘… no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight’ through their own works. (Romans 3:20)

Only by faith (Romans 3:28), through the shedding of ‘the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect’ (1 Peter 1:19) will we be found innocent.

It’s pretty black & white.

Where will you stand on judgement day?

Kim+

prayer : thank you that you are a God of justice and mercy

action : confess my sinfulness daily, thankful that Jesus, my Saviour, has paid the price of my rebellion against God