Doing a little devotional study on Romans 5, and thought I would share some of it. The whole chapter is spectacular. Seriously, if you’re feeling run-down or even just need to remember what it means to follow God and be a Christian…read Romans. Just sit down and read it, and let it soak in that this is all really true and really available to us! It’s amazing!
Romans 5 begins, in vs. 1: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Side-note: sometimes we get discouraged reading Scripture because we think that we have to devour huge portions every day, understand every word, and memorize it all verbatim. There is merit in reading whole chapters in one sitting, or committing verses to memory. Absolutely! However, there is also a lot to be said in just one verse of Scripture, and we so often brush by the individual verses, forgetting how crucially they contribute to the whole. If we take time to meditate on one single verse and really ask the Holy Spirit to show us what’s being said and reveal Himself to our hearts, we will find ourselves being fed, and I believe over time we’ll develop a greater awe of the Scriptures. In addition, this often helps me to memorize larger portions of Scripture, beginning one verse at a time and really thinking about what each one is saying.
This was my prayer as I read through Romans 5:1 and looked up some commentary on it.
God, thank you for providing us with this Peace through Your Son Jesus Christ! Jesus, thank you for breaking down the wall of hostility with Your own flesh and blood. God, may we never take this lightly or forget that this Peace that passes all understanding and guards our hearts and minds is only in Christ Jesus.
And it isn’t a passive peace, a casual acquittal that justifies us in court, and then lets us walk, unaware and unaffected.
This Peace in Jesus offers Relationship. It necessitates Abiding.
So help us, God…help me…to walk in Your Peace and never let it go by turning and going my own way, because apart from Jesus, I have nothing.
But in Him, I have everything!
Humanity can rejoice because God has made the way clear and has invited us to be His Friends.
Rejoice with me today, believers! We are Friends of God!
Comments