Notes from my Bible Study for March 1, 2010

Psalm 60, Exodus 4, 2 Chronicles 33, Romans 1:1‐17

Psalm 60 - Psalm 60 is a psalm of instruction. It teaches the Israelite army how they should pray when going into battle. Apparently, this psalm was written at a time when things were not going so well for Israel. David instructs the army to pray to the Lord for their help. To go into battle, relying only upon human strength and ingenuity would only lead to disaster. The people needed God's wisdom and God's blessing.

Exodus 4 - Excuses, excuses, excuses! It's what Moses first offered to God upon God's calling on Moses' life. God saw something in Moses that Moses couldn't see in himself.

Do we offer God excuses when He calls us to certain tasks? God had an answer for everyone of Moses' excuses, eventually allowing Aaron to be the spokesman for his brother. God equipped Moses for the task ahead of him, and God will do the same thing with you.

2 Chronicles 33 - "Some people gotta learn the hard way," was the lyrics of a song that I used to listen to all the time. Manasseh is an example of someone who had to learn the hard way. His father had been a righteous king, but Manasseh turned his back upon God. When Manasseh was brought into slavery, he repented from the error of his ways. He became a follower of Jehovah, after having worshipped at the altar of idols. Unfortunately, Manasseh's son, Amon, followed in Manasseh's early example. He too worshipped idols, and his reign only lasted two years.

Romans 1:1-17 - I have more commentaries in my office on the book of Romans than any other book of the Bible. I love this book, and am so excited to enter into the study of Romans.

Paul loved the church at Rome. When he wrote the book of Romans, he had not yet visited this group of believers. He had heard all about them though, because their faith was legendary. People around the world talked about the Roman church (vs. 8), perhaps because of the persecution that they endured under.

I love verses 11-12 of Romans 1. In each church I have served, I have used these verses on my first Sunday to convey my excitement about serving in that ministry setting. The words say, "11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen those verses lived out in my life. Mutual encouragement of each other is a quality of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Paul ends this chapter with these powerful words concerning the Gospel:

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

The Gospel is so powerful. Nothing in the world can transform lives like the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I watched again yesterday in amazement as God led six people into relationship with His Son Jesus Christ, through the simple proclamation of the Gospel. When we proclaim the Gospel, people respond! We need to be obedient to proclaim the Word, and let God do the work of drawing people to Him.