Back on Track...

WOW...finally, I think I'm getting back on track after being out of town for several days (had a GREAT time at my 20th H.S. Reunion!) and coming back for a crazy (in a good way) week in the office. So, today we will look at Romans 1:24-32.

This passage begins with a "therefore," which means we need to look back and see, within the context, what it is "there for." Paul has just finished explaining how people know that there is a God down deep inside. He can be seen in creation by "His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, [which] have been clearly seen..." But, he continues, "they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, ...and their foolish heart was darkened." Then, "therefore," He said "fine, if you really want to live to just please yourself, that is, your flesh, then I will allow you to choose to do so." This choice led (and still leads to today) to men and women treating their bodies, physically and emotionally, in ways that God did not intend for them to be treated.

As a parent, it's very hard to allow your child to do something that you know is not the right thing to do...to let them follow through with a decision that you already know the outcome of, one which is certain to cause them pain. But, there comes a point when we have to let them "learn the hard way." A self-professing "hard head," I have been party to many of these decisions myself, and it's only by God's grace that I am still around today to even be sharing this with you. But, I know many of you who are reading this, also, and that you have made a few of these decisions as well, and are still around today for a reason. As difficult as it is for me as a parent, I can only imagine how this felt to a Holy, loving God, who allowed Himself to step back and let His creation utilize their free will.

Read through verses 28-31, and pray about which of those specific sins may be in your life and need to be dealt with. This passage is most often quoted in regards of what God has said about homosexuality in verses 26-27, but the entire passage should be a sobering wake-up call to all of us to deal with sin, no matter what it is, in our own lives.

Have a blessed week, and I'll meet you here tomorrow!
PJ