About Me

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I have been married to my wife and hero (Stage 4 Breast Cancer Survivor) Stacy for 23 years. We have raised three awesome son's. Together Stacy and I have learned that true love can ONLY be tested through time. True Love is tested through hardships, boredom, and pain. True love has to whether through life's busyness, while withstanding the pressures of Job, family, and home, middle and old age. You determine whether the LOVE you have is true over time. Respect each other,encourage each other, and serve each other minute by minute, hour by hour...As time alone will tell!

Friday, August 31, 2012

Daily Word

Now the law came to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:20. The “law” was given as an additional element in God’s dealings with His people, so to “increase trespass.” While sin was in the world before the law was given, the law reveals sin in its specific character as trespass, lapsing from a set standard. Such lapses “abound” because the laws demands stir up contrary cravings in sinners’ hearts. But in the face of this increased sin, “grace abounded all the more,” not only keeping pace with offence, but outdoing it, in the great salvation accomplished through Christ. How often do you recognize the “grace abounding” in your daily life?

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Daily Word

And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For, if because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in the life through the one man Jesus Christ. Romans 5:16-17. Paul affirms that all mankind is naturally under the guilt and power of sin, the reign of death, and the inescapable wrath of God. He traces this back to the sin of one man, Adam, whom he describes as our common ancestor. Genesis gives us the history of man’s fall, and it may fairly be claimed that the fall narrative alone gives any convincing explanation of the perversity of human nature. Today, take a few moments and ponder at who you really are by nature, and just how incredible His grace is in your life. Be reminded also that His grace was freely given you’ve done nothing to earn it!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Daily Word

Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. Romans 5:14-15. Adam, the first man, was the divinely appointed head of the whole humanity, and his sin forfeited righteousness for all those he represented. In the same way, God made Christ the representative head of the new humanity so that His obedience to death might gain their justification. Paul spells out the contrast between Christ and Adam. Not only are the acts of the two men contrary, the grace of the work of Christ is seen to be greater than the sin, judgment, and condemnation of Adam in the way it brings justification, righteousness, and the life to ruined souls. When was the last time you shared the greatness of Christ with a wounded soul?

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Daily Word

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all me because all sinned- for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Romans 5:12-14. Paul viewed both Christ and Adam as historical individuals. In the case of Adam, the focus of attention is on his “one trespass” by which we were all made sinners. (Paul begins a comparison here that will be completed later on in this chapter). Death is not natural to humanity, but is the direct result of sin. The universal reign of death is the consequence of sin, and all have sinned in the sin of Adam. All people were subject to death before the law was given to Moses. Yesterday we looked at what needed to be “laid aside” through repentance; today we need to take a long, deep look at the sin in our lives that we have made compromise in to justify it in our own minds. Sin is Sin…period.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Daily Quote

Since, therefore, we have been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Romans 5:9-10. If God would do for us the greater work of reconciliation, at the cost of the suffering and death of His son, He will not hold back the final salvation that is “by Him”, and by “His blood” as the ascendant Mediator. God’s alienation from us is ended by removing the cause of alienation (our sin, guilt, condemnation) by the death of Christ. However, it must be received, by the laying aside of our own alienation and hostility, that is, by repentance and faith in Christ. Repentance is a daily act(s) of laying aside our alienation and hostility towards a Holy God. What needs to be “laid aside” through repentance in your life today?

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Weekend Quote

It is ludicrous for any Christian to believe that he or she is the worthy object of public worship; it would be like the donkey carrying in Jesus into Jerusalem believing the crowds were cheering and laying down their garments for him. ~ Charles Colson

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Weekend Quote

Rise, O Lord, into the proper place of Honor, above my ambitions, above my likes and dislikes, above my family, my health, and even my life itself. Let me sink that Thou mayest rise above. Ride forth upon me as Thou didst ride into Jerusalem mounted upon the humble little beast, a colt, the foal of an ass, and let me hear the children cry to Thee, “Hosanna in the highest.” ~ A.W. Tozer

Friday, August 24, 2012

Daily Word

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one would scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 7:6-8. The wholeness of Christ’s outpoured love is seen in the cross. There God acted “at the right time”, both in the sense that the death of Christ took place according to the divine timetable, and also because it meets us in the moment of our deepest need. This is Paul’s point when he says “still weak,” “still sinners,””while we were enemies”. It easy to claim to be a “Christian”; however, is the life you’re living worth Christ dying for?

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Daily Word

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out unto our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5. Character confirms our confidence that the glory we hope for will one day be ours. Often times we confuse other situations with true suffering? Not everything we go through causes suffering; if it doesn’t provide an opportunity to endure by which character is created then there is nothing to hope in or rejoice over.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Daily Word

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2. That “we have now received reconciliation” implies that we are at peace with God already. With peace established, we now have access to God’s presence. The wall of partition has been removed. This peace is not a guarded truce subject to warfare. It is a permanent peace. NT hope is assurance of something not yet fully experienced, and quite different from uncertain, wishful thinking. That this hope will not be frustrated is guaranteed here and now by the love of God that the Holy Spirit pours into believers hearts. Acknowledge His presence in your life and dwell for a few moments His peace. If you find it difficult, then what is it in your life driving that peace from you?

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Daily Word

But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Romans 4:23-25. Christ’s death and resurrection are two aspects of one saving work. In the first part Christ bore the legal penalty for our guilt. In the second, He rose from the dead, His resurrection confirming that His death was a sufficient and effective offering for sin, pleasing the supreme judge. Take a moment and grasp the fact that that this was written for YOU’RE sake, and that righteousness is counted to you if you believe in Him. Today…cast out ALL distrust, waver no more, and stand firm in belief that God is able to do what He promised!

Monday, August 20, 2012

Daly Word

No distrust made him waver concerning the promises of God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:21-22. What is it that you a wavering on, and what will it take for you to become fully convinced? He is faithful in ALL that He has promised…

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Weekend Quote

To be brought within the zone of God’s voice is to be profoundly altered. ~Oswald Chambers

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Weekend Quote

It is not only prayer that gives God glory but work. Smiting on an anvil, sawing a beam, whitewashing a wall, driving horses, sweeping, scouring, everything gives God glory if believing in His grace you do it as your duty. To go to Communion worthily gives God great glory, but to take food in thankfulness and temperance gives Him glory too. To lift up hands in prayer gives God glory, but a man with a dungfork in his hand, a woman with a slop pail, gives Him glory too. He is so great that all things give Him glory if you mean they should. ~ Gerard Manley Hopkins

Friday, August 17, 2012

Daily Word

In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. Romans 4:18-19. Trusting in God’s power, Abraham gained assurance that the promise would be fulfilled. Paul indicates that true faith is directed towards God and not humanity, toward divine word and toward human situation. In the natural course of events, believing that Sarah would bear a child (the first requirement for receiving what was promised) was utterly futile given the barrenness of the womb. Trust God’s power and gain assurance… What is it in your life that “In hope you must believe in hope” as taught by Abraham.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Daily Word

As it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”- in the presence of God whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls in to existence the things that do not exist. Romans 4:17. Rather than father of the Jews only, it was already clear in Genesis that Abraham was to be the spiritual patriarch of all believers, Jew and Gentile. Nor is it unbelievable that the promise of God should be received by Gentiles also, for the one whom Abraham believed “gives life to the dead.” This is evidenced in the new life that came from the apparently dead womb of Sarah, in the life given back to Isaac when he was under the sentence of death, and ultimately in the life restored in the resurrection of Christ. Life has been given to your once “dead bones”; how will you glorify God today in that newness of life?

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Daily Word

That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring- not only to the adherent to the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. Romans 4:16. Because the promise in all its elements is received by faith, it also rests “on grace”. Had it been on the basis of works, the promise would have failed; had it been on the basis of circumcision, it could have only been received by the Jews. Because it is by faith, and therefore by grace, it is “guaranteed” to come to Abrahams true spiritual offspring, or all believers whether Jew or Gentile. Take every opportunity to strengthen your faith by stepping up and stepping out in FAITH today!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Daily Word

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be heirs, faith is null and the promise void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. Roman 4:13-15. The promise was received by Abraham through faith, “not through the law”. If the inheritance were dependent on obedience to the law, faith would have no place in the divine scheme of things, and the promise would be void, since the law cannot bring the obedience it requires for its fulfillment. Given the established truth of sinfulness of all people, it is impossible that the promise could be received on the basis of law-keeping. How much different would your walk with Christ be if you had faith like Abraham?

Monday, August 13, 2012

Daily Word

Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? He received the sign of circumcision as the seal of righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of the circumcised of all whom believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness, would be counted to him as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised, who are not merely circumcised but who walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. Romans 4:9-12. Abraham serves as a prototype for all believers, both Jew and Gentile. For the Jew, he serves as a prototype because his circumcision pointed back to justification; for the Gentile, because he received justification apart from circumcision. Grasp the depth of faith here!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Weekend Quote

What man has written man will read; But God fills every root and seed with cryptic words to strangely set for mortals to decipher yet. ~ Charles Dalmon

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Weekend Quote

No image but the image of God can fit your soul; every other seal is too narrow, too shallow for it. ~ John Donne

Friday, August 10, 2012

Daily Word

Now to one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one whom God counts righteousness apart from works; “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” Romans 4:4-8. It is a general principle that wages are earned by work, not received as “a gift”. Although faith was Abraham’s action, it contributed nothing to Abraham’s resultant righteousness before God, which was God’s own gift. In this sense, while faith as the instrument of justification involves human activity, it is not a “work” of merit. Blessedness, fellowship with God together with all its accompaniments, and salvation are not earned, but are the effect of the gift of forgiveness.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Daily Word

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, an it was counted to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:1-3. Contrary to the view that Abraham was considered righteous and sustained in covenant with God on the basis of his obedience and faithfulness, Abraham had nothing “to boast about”, for Gen. 15:6 proves that it was by faith, not by law keeping, that he was counted righteous. Could you be counted as righteous according to your faith?

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Daily Word

For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the god of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one – who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no mean! On the contrary, we uphold the law. Romans 3:28-31. Salvation does not come through possession of the law. This implies that salvation is available to others as well as Jews. Paul confirms this truth in the face of Jewish opposition by the appeal to the fundamental principles of OT religion, that God is one. Paul is rejecting the law as the way of salvation. But since the law as moral demand was not given to sinners in order to justify them, the principle of salvation by grace through faith cannot be contradiction to the law. Be reminded as they were; that if Abraham was justified by faith, than so are you!

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Daily Word

Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but the law of faith. Romans 3:27. The point made in back in chapter 2:17,23 resurfaces here. Since Jew and Gentile alike are under wrath for their sin, and since the law does not protect Jews, but rather reveals their condemnation, and since the gospel exposes their unrighteousness while revealing God’s righteousness, no one, not even a Jew, has grounds for boasting. Boasting must be excluded since faith alone, not human achievement brings salvation. What does “boasting” mean to you, and can you find yourself inadvertently guilty of it more than you realize?

Monday, August 6, 2012

Daily Word

For all have sinned and fall short the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because His divine forbearance passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:23-26. Christ died a propitiatory sacrifice that satisfies the divine judgment against sinners, bringing forgiveness and justification. The sacrifice does not cause God to love us – God’s love caused Him to offer His son. When was the last time you stopped and re=recognized how truly the gift of your salvation is?

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Weekend Quote

If the cross suited us, it would no longer be a cross, and if we refuse those that hurt us, we will refuse all crosses. The cross which God sends us must of necessity always be humiliating, painful, paralyzing, difficult. ~ Louis Evely

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Weekend Quote

Who is the greatest saint in the world? It is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives most alms, or is most eminent for temperance, chastity, or justice; but it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God wills, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness, and has a heart always ready to praise God for it. ~ William Law

Friday, August 3, 2012

Daily Word

-the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. Romans 3:22-24a. The righteousness of God must be received now that it “has been manifested: The righteousness of God is exclusively for those who have faith (“there is no distinction: for all have sinned”), whether Jew or Gentile. Made in the image of the glorious God, humanity has exchanged God’s glory for idolatry and distorted His divine image. Now people are morally and spiritually ugly and depraved. Grace renews and restores humanity’s lost glory in believers. Recognize the importance of share His gospel today!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Daily Word

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it- Romans 3:21. The Law of Moses, seen as demand, cannot save. Yet the gospel is not contrary to the Law of Moses. The gospel was already proclaimed in both “the Law and the Prophets”. But “now” (the time filled with redemptive significance because of the coming Christ) God’s righteousness comes to historical realization through Christ and His work. Righteousness with God is not achieved by our acts of obedience to the law. Never the less Paul insists the gospel is not lawless. Many today appear to confuse obedience with legalism. Do you understand the difference?

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Daily Word

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Romans 3:19-20.Paul sees scripture as the living voice of God. No one, whether Jew or Gentile, has grounds for appeal; none can claim to be free from guilt before God. All are lost. While the Jews appeal to their possession of the law as proof of privileged position before God. Paul has now demonstrated that any Jew’s sin is unveiled and condemned, not hidden and condoned by the law. At the last judgment, all argument will be perfectly just and omniscient judge will be futile. Is there a sin in your life that you have misinterpreted the scripture in order to condone its place in your life?