Feb. 25, 2015: Romans 4:13-25

We encourage you to read this devotion three times a day.  Start in the morning and reflect upon the morning reflection question. Then in the afternoon, read it again and reflect using the noon question for reflection.  For the evening, take time to ponder how this has resonated with you in the day and reflecting using the evening question.  We offer a prayer with each devotion for you to pray or we invite you to pray what is in your heart.

Romans 4:13-25

 

 13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.16 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, ¹⁷as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. ¹⁸Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become ‘the father of many nations’, according to what was said, ‘So numerous shall your descendants be.’ ¹⁹He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, ²¹being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. ²²Therefore his faith ‘was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ ²³Now the words, ‘it was reckoned to him’, were written not for his sake alone, ²⁴but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification. 

Reflection:

  This passage is fitting for Lent.  This is the time that we reflect upon ourselves for introspection, understanding, and hope in growing closer to God.  In this particular passage, the author is recounting the story of Abraham in a sense. We are reminded that through Abraham’s faith that God was able to work within him.  All of what Abraham did was through God.  As we spend this time in Lent, we are reminded that we are nothing.  However, we are everything.  God has claimed us.  Remember all that God can do with the dirt, the dust, the grossness of the world. God makes all things new and incredible.  So, when you feel at your most vulnerable, know that God is creating.  Know that God works with our little faith and leads us to the most wonderful experiences.  This is God’s promise to us. 

Reflection Questions:

Morning:  How have you seen God's beauty in the dust?  

Noon: Is your faith enough to help carry you?

Evening: How do you plan to be bold during the Lenten season?

Prayer: Creator, we are so thankful that You can create beauty out of chaos.  We often feel like dirt and are weighed down.  We give thanks to You, who works in us to create amazing things.  Please help us to remember Your power, Your glory, and Your love. Amen.