Bible Devotion

Day 1

Read slowly and reflectively the assigned passage twice at least and consider the questions below.

Scriptural Reflection
Romans 11:25–32

Paul continues to warn the Gentile Christians against harboring any ill feelings toward Israel:

1. What is the mystery that Paul now reveals to us about the future of Israel?

2. When will it happen?

3. What then is its implication to you, personally?

4. While Paul uses OT passages to affirm the reality of this mystery (like Isa. 59:20-21 and Jer. 31:33-34), such prophecies could have been considered fulfilled if we consider the Gentile Christians as the “spiritual Israel”.  Therefore, by citing these passages which support the revelation of this mystery, is Paul not telling us that God’s covenant with Israel is not only to be understood spiritually, but also factually?  What do you think, especially in light of v. 29?

5. How can you reconcile the apparent contradiction in v. 28?  It is easier to understand that they are “beloved” because of the fathers, but why would Paul say that they are enemies (of God) “because of” the Gentiles?

6. Paul seeks to further assure us of the certainty of the repentance of Israel with a logical deduction in v. 30:

Gentiles:   
  Once disobedient—
    through Israel’s disobedience→
      they now obtain mercy

Israel:   
  Now disobedient —
    through Gentile’s mercy →
      they may obtain mercy!

“Gentile’s mercy” probably means the kind of mercy received by the Gentiles —
What conclusion does Paul draw in v. 32 because of this?

7. Reflect carefully on Paul’s conclusion in v. 32;
a. What has caused the disobedience of the Gentiles?

b. What has caused the disobedience of Israel?

c. What could God have done because of the disobedience of both (people groups)?

d. What has God done instead?
8. What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?


Meditative Reflection
All Israel will be Saved

I have to admit that I am not someone who is comfortable with debating political viewpoints, because I do not wish to be drawn into partisan politics.  As a Bible-believing Christian, I certainly cannot agree with the pro-abortion and pro-gay agenda of the left, but I am equally leery of some of the anti-immigrant rhetoric of the right.  Worse, I do not wish to be drawn into the debate concerning the actions of Israel in the Middle East.

At heart, I love Israel exactly as Paul puts it, “they are loved on account of the patriarchs.” (Rom. 11:28)  In spite of their hardening of heart, they remain God’s covenant people.

Some Christians rejoice at the news that there appears to be a resurgence of religious fervor in Israel, with many people devoting themselves to the study of the Torah.  However, the news of this religious resurgence is not all good, especially among many of these ultra-Orthodox groups, like the Edah Haredit.  Recently in a place called Beit Shemesh, they managed to stop the construction of a mall by smashing windows and vandalizing the construction site, because they believed that “the mall would lead inevitably to mixing of the sexes and immodest behavior.”  A new girl’s school has been opened in the same city. Groups of Haredi men would scream at the parents and spit on the girls; someone threw manure on the walls of the school.  Now, school children have to be escorted to school with police protection, all because these ultra-Orthodox groups’ attempt to limit women’s social roles and educational possibilities.

Their back-to-the-Torah fervor appears to be a further hardening of their hearts to the true gospel in Jesus Christ.

In the meantime, externally, Israel continues to face forces that seek to eliminate their existence.  But I believe, the darker the night is, the closer it is to dawn.  God is faithful. One day “all Israel will be saved”, and the name of Jesus will be honored not only by the Gentiles, but also by His own people.

(News of the Beit Shemesh incident is excerpted from A Spade to Dig With, First Things, November, 2012.)

Day 2

Read slowly and reflectively the assigned passage twice at least and consider the questions below.

Scriptural Reflection
Romans 11:33–12:2

1. Paul bursts into one of the most glorious doxologies, prompted by his conclusion in v. 32.  So, review your thoughts on v. 32 of the last lesson (and if you skipped this question, it is necessary for you to reflect on it, before you can grasp Paul’s doxology which follows).

2. Based on your thoughts prompted also by v. 32, how would you echo Paul’s praises of God’s plan of salvation for both Israel and the Gentiles?
a. What richness is being embodied?

b. What wisdom is being revealed?

c. What knowledge is being demonstrated?

d. Why does Paul say that His judgment is unsearchable?

e. How are His paths (or ways) “beyond tracing”?
3. Paul is echoing the same praise of Isaiah 40:13 when he thinks of God’s plan of salvation.  What part of God’s plan of salvation might be the most unthinkable (to you)?

4. Paul also quotes from Job 41:11, a speech by God in confronting Job of His mighty power revealed in creation.  What is the point that Paul makes concerning God’s plan of salvation?

5. In v. 36, Paul draws our attention to who God is and His relationship to all created things. He uses the following prepositions concerning “all things”. What do they tell you about God’s greatness?
a. from Him

b. through Him

c. to Him!
6. Remember that this doxology has been prompted by the thought of God’s “mercy” in v. 24.  How then can you define God’s mercy?  In what way can you echo this doxology?

7. How then shall we live, as recipients of such mercy?

8. What is meant by:
a. Offering our “bodies” as sacrifices?

b. Being a “living”, not “dead”, sacrifice?
9. We normally focus our worship to Sundays.  What does Paul tell us about the true meaning of worship?

10. As Christians, we all had a mind patterned after the world (before our conversion), and our minds are still subject to its influence.
a. How then can our mind be transformed (the original word signifies “metamorphosis”)?

b. How can we “detect” the part of our mind which is still after the pattern of the world?

c. What is the factor that has prevented us from knowing the will of God?

d. In truly understanding God’s will, why does Paul ask us to “test and approve” it?
e. How does God’s will differ from our own will?
11. What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?


Meditative Reflection
O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go

As Paul considers the mercy of God which He bestows on both Gentiles and Israel — totally rebellious and undeserved sinners — he bursts into one of the greatest doxologies in the Bible (Rom. 11:33-36).  I invite you to join me in basking in the mercies of God in Jesus Christ through this marvelous hymn by George Matheson as our response to the unsearchable riches of God’s love.

O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go
1    
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

2   
O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

3   
O Joy that leekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

4   
O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.
George Matheson, 1842-1906

Day 3

Read slowly and reflectively the assigned passage twice at least and consider the questions below.

Scriptural Reflection
Romans 12:3–8

1. “Grace” is used twice in this passage of exhortation, once in v. 3 and then in v. 6:
a. What are the different emphases in these two places?

b. What might be common in these emphases?
2. Paul asks us not to be prideful in viewing our gift(s), but to use sober judgment and in accordance to the “measure of faith” that God has given us.  What does that mean?  What does faith have to do with the exercise of our gift(s)?

3. In the exercise of our gifts, Paul resorts to his familiar imagery of a body.  In referring to the physical body, his emphasis is on the different functions; but in referring to the body in Christ, what is his emphasis and why?

4. In naming the different gifts, the original writing reads more like,
“Or prophesy, in proportion to his faith;
Or ministry, in ministry;
Or encouragement, in encouragement;
Or contributing, in simplicity;
On leadership, in leadership;
Or showing mercy, in cheerfulness…”
If Cranfield is right that “the proportion of faith” is essentially the same as the “measure of faith” in v. 3, (see Cranfield, Romans, 621) then (in my opinion), Paul’s emphasis here appears to be exhorting us to use our gifts “in proportion” to our faith; this is not confined to the gift of prophecy, but to all gifts.

However, (a) many commentators opine that Paul’s emphasis is for us to recognize our gift and use it, and (b) other translators see the emphasis as “being focused” on using the particular gift being given.

You may wish to adopt (a) or (b) in the following reflection. However, I would also suggest that you consider reflecting on how to exercise
 each gift below based on what it means to exercise them “in proportion to” your faith.
a. To prophesy “in proportion to” your faith

b. To minister “in proportion to” your faith

c. To teach “in proportion to” your faith

d. To encourage “in proportion to” your faith

e. To contribute “in proportion to” your faith, generously (or in simplicity)

f. To lead “in proportion to” your faith, in diligence

g. To show mercy “in proportion to” your faith, cheerfully.
5. What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?


Meditative Reflection
From Faith to Faith

In today’s devotion, I will explain that the use of faith is not confined to exercising the gift of prophecy, but it is for exercising all gifts given us by God.  I do agree with Cranfield that “the measure of faith” in Romans 12:3 is essentially the same as the “proportion of faith” in 12:6, although he interprets it as some kind of standard of faith against which our lives and our ministries should be measured.

However, I believe that “measure” and “proportion” point to something that cannot be measured. Rather it is honestly discerned by the individual Christian when it comes to the exercise of one’s gift.

For example, the gift of prophecy is used when a person is prompted by the Holy Spirit to speak to some immediate situation.  It is therefore important for the person to speak only as prompted; saying anything beyond what is prompted by the Holy Spirit would render him a false prophet.

Such a rigid attitude should apply to the exercise of all gifts:
-      If we think we can minister without the help of the Holy Spirit, we will be relying on our own strength and wisdom. That renders our ministry carnal and self-centered.

-      If we think we can teach without the help of the Holy Spirit, we will not be able to divide the Word of God correctly, because only the Holy Spirit can lead us into His truth.

-      If we think we can encourage without faith, our encouragement can only be like secular counseling, and it will not be life-giving.

-      If we seek to help the needy without the exercise of faith, we will fall into the trap of works of - righteousness.

-      If we seek to lead on our own, and not rely on faith, we can only lead the church down the road of the world.

-      If we seek to show mercy without faith, we will only end up in despair, because the need for mercy is endless.
Indeed, we have entered the door of salvation through faith, but it does not stop there.  The entire Christian life is one of faith, especially in the exercise of our gifts given by the Holy Spirit for the common good of the Body.

Day 4

Read slowly and reflectively the assigned passage twice at least and consider the questions below.

Scriptural Reflection
Romans 12:9–21

It appears that Paul is finally done with his theological debates and now turns to ethical teachings concerning the Christian life. While many scholars prefer to treat this passage as “parenesis” (a collection of ethical sayings), based on the use of many participial clauses and a few finite verbs, I tend to agree with some scholars that v. 9, the exhortation to love (agape love), is the main theme and the rest are practical exhortations on how to love.

Vv. 9-13:  Love is the main term, followed by six pairs of participles (according to Cranfield):

1. Do you think Paul is referring to loving God or loving people?

2. Why does he stress that love should be sincere (or as the original writing indicates, not counterfeit)?

3. Let’s reflect on the following six pairs of participles that ask:

- “What do they have to do with sincere (or non- counterfeit) love”?
- “What is the relationship between the two participles within the pair”?
a. Hating evil and clinging to good;

b. Loving one another in brotherly love and honoring one another;

c. Not lacking in zeal, but burning in spirit;

d. Serving the Lord and rejoicing in hope;

e. Enduring affliction and praying unceasingly;

f. Sharing with needy saints and pursuing hospitality.
Vv. 14-21:  Dealing mostly with that which is unpleasant with agape love:

4. What are the reasons given here for us not to curse or repay evil to those who persecute or do evil to us?

5. Paul tells us to bless instead. How should we bless not only with words but with deeds according to v. 18 and v. 20?

6. Why should we care about “the eyes of everybody”?

7. Many commentators categorize this section as dealings with non-Christians. Do you agree?  Why or why not?

8. If we are to obey these exhortations, should our ultimate purpose be that God will repay our enemies?  Why or why not?

9. What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Note:
 Vv. 15-16 appear related to the preceding section of vv. 9-13, and use the infinitives, “to rejoice” and “to weep”, and the participle, “minding”, to emphasize harmony and humility within the faith community.


Meditative Reflection
Love must be Sincere

Many non-Christians, like Gandhi, esteem the ethical teachings of our Lord, especially His teaching that we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44).  As Paul exhorts us to love sincerely, that is, not with counterfeit love, he urges us too to bless those who persecute us (Rom. 12:14).

To not seek revenge on those who hurt us is already very hard to do and to bless them is even harder.  But to bless a person can be verbal only, and so Paul quotes from Proverbs 25:21-22.  We are to feed our hungry enemy and give him a drink when he is thirsty in order to demonstrate love which is genuine and not counterfeit.  That requires much more than words.

For the longest time, I thought Proverbs encourages us to love our enemies in order to “heap burning coals” on their heads as an insult or revenge.  But if this is the case, then it can hardly be in tune with sincere love.

I finally understood it when I had the opportunity to travel under an Egyptian guide. His work for the government was to certify the authenticity of things of antiquity.  I doubt if he had ever read this proverb from the Bible, but as we traveled along the sandy desert, he casually pointed out, “The night in the desert is very cold, and in the old days, people burnt coals and put them on their heads to keep warm.”

I could not help but smile at my stupidity.  I thought that by treating my enemy with kindness, I would in fact send him a kind of more severe judgment.  But that would hardly be agape love, would it?

Day 5

Read slowly and reflectively the assigned passage twice at least and consider the questions below.

Scriptural Reflection
Romans 13:1–7

1. Paul lived under the authority of the Roman Empire.  According to your knowledge, what kind of rulers are these Caesars, in terms of morality, godliness and their exercise of power?

2. How would they compare to your government in these aspects?

3. Given the immoral, godless and ruthless nature of these Caesars, Paul still insists that we should submit to them.  What reason does he give in v. 1?  How then should we understand the meaning of being “established” by God?

4. What does God desire of these rulers according to vv. 3-4?

5. Does Paul’s exhortation depend on whether these rulers fulfill their God-desired role?  Why or why not?

6. Of course, we know that not submitting to the authority of the land will bring punishment, but Paul asks us to submit also for reason of “conscience”.  What does he mean?

7. In submitting to the authority, how should we express it according to v. 7?

8. As a result, we obviously cannot evade taxes.  But according to the spirit of submission:
a. Should we strive to avoid paying taxes and exploit tax loopholes?

b. Have you ever thought of paying taxes out of an attitude of respect and honor?

c. How then should you look at your duty to pay taxes from now on?
9. What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Meditative Reflection
Blind Submission?

To read about an exhortation to submit to the authority of the rulers of the land in the Bible should not be too surprising; but to read Paul’s exhortation in this respect to the church in Rome during the time of the Roman Empire is a bit surprising.

Whether or not Paul was writing when Nero was in power is beside the point. The Roman Emperors, in general, are not exactly moral, godly or peaceful rulers.

The immorality among the leaders of the Roman Empire is well documented.  To quote one writer, “They (the Roman emperors) became unprincipled, immoral and debauched … cruel, murderous, incestuous, merciless, tyrannical, pitiless, sexually depraved and savage are just some of the words which can be used to describe many of the characteristics of these evil Roman emperors.”

It is said that Caligula (who reigned shortly after Jesus’ time, between AD. 37-41) opened a brothel in the palace, raped whomever he wished, reported on the woman’s performance to her husband, committed incest, killed for greed, and thought he should be treated as a god.    

In fact, many Roman Emperors proclaimed themselves as god and demanded the erection of their own statutes and worship by their citizens.

It was under such a background that the Apostle Paul commands the Christians in Rome, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities.”

Is Paul advocating blind submission?

Obviously not. As F.F. Bruce puts it,
“When the decrees of the civil magistrate conflict with the commandments of God, then say Christians, ‘we must obey God rather than men’ (Acts 5:29). And when it came to the worship of Caesar’s image, Christians in the Roman Empire had demonstrated they would rather be killed than to worship anyone or anything other than their Lord Jesus Christ.”
But irrespective of the character of the rulers, as far as decrees that do not contradict the commandments of God, F.F. Bruce has this account:
“…in the last years of the first century, a leader in the Roman church who could remember the outrageous ferocity of the Neronian persecution thirty years before, and had very recent experience of Domitian's malevolence, reproduces a prayer for the rulers who have received ‘glory and honor and power’ over earthly things from God, the eternal King, ‘that they may administer with piety, in peace and gentleness, the authority given to them’.  Such language shows how seriously the Roman church took to heart Paul’s injunctions about the duty of Christians to the powers that be.” 
(Bruce, Romans, 222)

Food for thought, indeed.

Day 6

Read slowly and reflectively the assigned passage twice at least and consider the questions below.

Scriptural Reflection
Romans 13:8–14

When he draws near the end of his epistle, Paul continues with ethical exhortations, using the thought of “debt” in v. 7 and applying it, once again, to love:

1. In his emphasis of love, why do you think he once again ties it to the “law”?

2. Of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, why does Paul cite only these commandments? (i.e. what is the point he is trying to make?)

3. Compare it to what Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-40.  Why does he cite only the latter or second part of what Jesus has said, and can still make the same conclusion in v. 10?

4. How does 1 John 4:20 reinforce Paul’s emphasis of loving our neighbors?  Have you been able to “fulfill the law”?

5. What does Paul mean by “our salvation is near”?  Have we not been saved? (See Rom. 8:23.)

6. Paul likens the coming of the Lord as the arrival of the “day” and urges us (a) to wake up or arise from our slumber, (b) to cast off our deeds of darkness, and (c) to put on the armor of light.
a. In what ways can you identify your present condition as being still in a slumber?

b. What are the deeds of darkness that we need to cast off, according to v. 13?  Which one speaks to you most?

c. What is the armor of light we should put on according to Ephesians 6:11ff?
7. Finally, Paul uses the imagery of clothing again, but this time he asks us to “clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ”.  How might clothing ourselves with the Lord differ in nuance from that of the armor of light?

8. Why does Paul contrast being clothed with the Lord with the gratification of the desires of our flesh (which is Paul’s way of referring to our sinful nature or body)?

9. What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Meditative Reflection
The Night is Nearly Over

Soon after I became a Christian in my late teen years, I was deeply drawn to the prophecies of the end-times.  I would seize every opportunity to attend conferences that sought to unfold the mystery of the end-times and the signs of Jesus’ second coming.  I would try to lay my hands on books and articles that claimed to unlock the secrets of the end of the world.  I spent quite a bit of time in studying in detail  books like Revelation and Daniel, drawing charts and penning timelines.  I came across books that even gave precise dates of Jesus’ coming, and others that named Kissinger and others as Anti-Christs.

Naturally, I was disappointed with many of these irresponsible interpretations of the prophecies and far-fetched predictions.  I did not lose the zeal and urge to know more about the end-times until I grew more in knowing what God required of me — to pursue His love through His word, and not for the sake of gaining knowledge, even spiritual knowledge.

Yes, I am still acutely sensitive to the events that happen around me and in the world. They constantly remind me of the Lord’s imminent coming, but I am not the least bit concerned about who the Anti-Christ is and when Jesus will likely come.  It is far more important that I am prepared to meet the Lord, whether through death or His return.

Day 7

Read slowly and reflectively the assigned passage twice at least and consider the questions below.

Scriptural Reflection
Romans 14:1–12

Paul now turns to address some of the common issues which do not pertain to the essence of the gospel and yet have unnecessarily divided the early church.  They are the same issues that Paul addresses the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 8) and the church in Colosse (Col. 2:16), namely the eating of food sacrificed to idols and the observance of certain days as sacred.

1. Although the issues addressed here are different from those of the previous chapter, what common thread can you detect among the issues addressed?

2. What then do you understand as the main challenge to the church community then and now?

3. I call the issue of eating food sacrificed to idols and the observance of so-called sacred days as non-essential to the gospel.  Do you agree?  Why or why not?

4. Why does Paul call those who eat “vegetables only” weak in faith?

5. What is the reason given by Paul that even though they may be “weak”, we cannot show contempt nor judge them (according to v. 4)?  What might happen if we do, as implied by this verse?

6. In holding on to our position concerning food or sacred days, what should be our key motive, according to v.6?

7. As we hold our position over non-essential issues, what other motives might we have that are not pleasing to the Lord?

8. Can you honestly say that “If I live, I live for the Lord, and if I die, I die for the Lord”?  Why or why not?  (Please pause and think through this question.)

9. Paul concludes with warning us that even as Christians, “we will all stand before God’s judgment seat…(and) give an account of ourselves to God.”  How then shall you live, especially among brothers and sisters in the church?

10. What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Meditative Reflection
Living and Dying for the Lord

As I reflect on whether I actually live and die for the Lord, I find it easier to discern the former than the latter.

Whether we are living for the Lord obviously has to do with both our goals in life and also in the decisions we make on a daily basis, be it big or small.

Not everyone likes to sit down and write down their goals in life.  Some do.  If we do, it is important that we make certain that our goals will bring glory to God and are in tune with His will.  But if we do not have written goals, it is even more important that we spend time in self-examination to ascertain what our goals really are and whether they will bring glory to God and be in tune with His will for us.

However, I believe it is equally important that the decisions we make on a daily basis also meet the above two criteria, i.e. that they would bring glory to God and are in tune with His will.  Decisions in small things are just as important as decisions in important matters.

But what about dying for the Lord?  Most of us will not die as martyrs for the sake of the Lord.  How then will we know that we also die for the Lord?  I guess it is reflected in how we face death.

I have come across many good Christians who have eagerly served the Lord most of their lives.  But when it comes to the time of facing terminal or prolonged sickness, I am surprised to hear their complaints and to see their desperation.  On the contrary, I have visited some very ordinary Christians who exhibit peace, great peace as they calmly face the possibility of death and are obviously totally prepared or even looking forward to meeting their Savior.  It is at times like this, that I have come to understand that only when we are able to die for the Lord that we can truly live for Him.

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