Romans 7

This is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. Almost everything Paul writes here, I can relate to on a personal level. This chapter also marks a transition in the book of Romans. Previously, Paul talked alot about sins and how God has dealt with the sins we have committed. In Romans 7, the Holy Spirit elucidates on how to deal with the root cause of our sins: the sinful nature. God doesn't try to mend us or repair us. He know that we're a hopeless cause. Our problem is not one that can be suppressed or circumvented. The problem is our very nature, the sinful nature. We are in a constant battle with the sinful nature. Like Paul says, the good that I want to do I can't do. The bad that I try not to do, I inevitably do. I know that for myself, a huge battle was always in the realm of entertainment. For some reason, God gave me a very addictive personality. When it came to video games or TV series, the moment I get hooked all productivity died. Even when things are busy and I know I should study or work, that temptation in my heart always gets me to play one more level or watch one more show. God's solution is to put us to death and give us a new life. He doesn't repair, he replaces. When I finally got on my knees and offered that portion of my life to God, He completely removed the temptation. Even now I may still occasionally feel the temptation of being addicted, but when I pray, He sets me free.

The beginning few verses have always been curious for me. I really like the analogy of the old and new husband. The way I see it is that the Law was the old husband. He was a very stringent and strict husband who wanted things done his way. He needed the dishes washed a certain way, the furniture cleaned and dusted, and the food cooked just to his liking (aka nothing that chewed the curd or split the hooves). This husband was impossible to please. Try as we might, we always ended up failing. He would stand there and criticize us telling us of all the places we failed. For reconciliation, he wanted an unblemished lamb as a sacrifice. Pretty soon, we get tired and give up trying to please him. Luckily, in our greatest moment of need, God interceded. The solution he chose was to put us to death with Christ. When Christ was resurrected, He gave us a new life and a new husband. This new husband still had the same unreachable standards as the old. Except rather than letting us struggle on our own, He helps us complete our choirs. If there's dishes that needs washing, He'll wash it with us. If there's food that needs cooking, He cooks with us. In this way, although these standards are impossible for people to achieve, nothing is impossible with God. And by His strength, we too can live a life free of sin. It is all by the way of the cross.

Romans 4

In Romans, Paul has been giving a dissertation on the core beliefs of Christianity. In the last chapter, Paul was talking about God's righteousness and faithfulness and how everyone, both Jews and Gentiles, is under the power of sin. He then expounds on a revolutionary idea: Justification by Faith. Throughout history, the Israelites had believed that if they followed every law written in the Tanakh, then they would be righteous before God. But Paul tells us that outside of faith, it is impossible to be righteous. All have fallen short of the glory of God. But by faith in Christ Jesus, we may be justified. That through this faith, we complete the law. In today's chapter, Paul uses the example of Abraham to show how even from the very beginning, righteousness was from faith.

Abraham has always been known as the father of faith. To both the Jews and the Gentiles, this was undoubtedly true. But in this chapter, Paul is really arguing about timing. Was Abraham considered righteous before or after God gave him Laws to follow? If it was before God gave him any Laws, then Abraham was righteous because he trusted God. If he was considered righteous after God gave him laws, then he might be righteous because he followed the Laws. Circumcision is used here as a representation of the Law most likely because it was the first "Law" that was given. In Genesis 17, we see God establishing a covenant between Himself and Abraham and his descendants. And as a sign of this covenant, Abraham and all his descendants were to be circumcised. This happened when Abraham was 99 years old and still childless. The first time the Bible records Abraham being called righteous was 2 chapters ago in Genesis 15. When God first promises Abram that his descendants would be great in number, Abram had faith and "he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness." Even before this, we see that Abraham had many acts of faith. This included leaving his home to sojourn through a foreign land, enter into battle against other kings to rescue his nephew, and choosing the worse land and allowing Lot to have the better one. It wasn't because Abraham followed a million laws or traditions, it was because Abraham had faith in God. In the same way, our faith if God justifies us. According to God's standard (ie the Law), all of us have fallen short. No one can stand before God and declare that he is righteous because he lived a perfect life. But God used Christ and his sacrifice to complete His Law. Even though we were the ones that sinned, even though we were the ones who should be put to death, Christ placed all of our sins on Himself, and sacrificed Himself for us on the Cross. His death dealt with our sins. Through our faith in Christ, our sins can be erased. Everytime I am reminded of this, I have to say that I am not worthy of receiving this grace. Who am I that God, the creator of the Universe, should send His only Son to die for me? What have I done to make me worth this sacrifice? As Paul said in the last chapter, He did this so that no one can boast. It is so true, I have no quality or characteristic that makes me a better person to save than anyone else. It is all by God's mercy. But thank God He did not leave it at death. Christ did not just die for our sins, He was resurrected for our justification. By His resurrection, we were also given a new justified life. And through this new life, we can continue our relationship with Him. More on this new life in later chapters, so be sure you keep on reading!

Acts 25

What impresses me most is verse 7. Even when all the Jewish people were accusing him, they could find no fault in Paul. Whether it be Jewish laws, Temple laws, or governmental laws, Paul was found completely innocent. I think there is a lot of merit of living a blameless life. If anyone ever looked into my life, I'm sure they would find a lot of dirt. Whether it be unconfessed sins, people I've wronged, or minor laws I've broken, my past is tainted. But the way Paul lives has a lot of logic. God desires for us to be like His son, free of sin. This includes all sins, both large and small. I know that for myself, I'm often guilty of committing many small sins. Everytime I start rationalizing in my head, I know that I'm about to sin. The one I'm most guilty of is speeding. I tend to be a very impatient person. Driving is just a complete waste of time in my mind, since it's impossible to truly be productive. And even if it is a socially acceptable action, yet I can often feel my conscience judging me. As it says in 1 Peter 3:16, keep a good conscience so that in the thing which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. If for no other reason, we should be careful especially in the small things to maintain a good testimony before this world. If we are to be salt and light to the world, we must not have anything that can put us or God to shame. The best meter to follow is always the Holy Spirit. He speaks through us through our conscience to keep us on the strait and narrow. So whenever that conscience begins to prick us, be sure to listen up. In this way, our light will shine before all men, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven.

Acts 24

Tests done! Back to real life ;-)


A general impression I have been getting for the last few chapters is that Paul sure has some rotten luck. Everywhere he goes, he either has a mob chasing after him, being thrown into jail, or people conspiring to kill him. Even in this chapter, Paul was imprisoned and Felix tried to extort him. Even when Felix was getting replaced, Paul was still left in there. It's amazing that he survived as long as he did! What always got to me was that Paul is actually serving the Lord. This was still during the foundational years of the church. He was going around, doing the amazing work of spreading the gospel and planting churches throughout Asia Minor (aka Turkey) and Europe. Why is God letting him suffer so much? I know that for myself, whenever I follow the Lord, I expect Him to bless me. In my mind, I think: "Lord, I'm doing this for you. And as it is written: if God is for us, who can be against us?" I am submitting to the Lord's will and His way is best, right? Therefore, the logical conclusion is that He'll make everything go smoothly. But far too often, it doesn't. Every time, something goes wrong be it nonstop rain during a camping retreat, the speaker for the conference getting stuck in Virginia due to snow, or I getting a worse MCAT score than expected. The truth is God didn't promise sunny days or blue skies everyday. After all, it rains on both the righteous and the wicked. What He did promise was His strength and His peace to carry us through. It's much better to be happy and at peace in the rain, than stressed and worried during a gorgeous day. Every time I do submit to the Lord, even if problem arise at first, in the end, He always comes through. Always. Blessed be His name!

Acts 14

God does some pretty amazing stuff in this chapter. It's unfortunate that often when God works, others get the credit. In this chapter, it was the Greek Gods (through Paul and Barnabas). In our world, often it's scientific knowledge and chance. Whenever someone gets healed from a sickness, whenever something amazing happens, we have to find the scientific proof of why and how it happened. Often, the solution is a confluence of external factors and luck. It's so hard to admit that it really was God's hand. Paul and Barnabas are very impressive in this chapter. As soon as the people started to praise them, there was no hesitation in them. They instantly tore their clothes and gave the glory to God. This is something that I need to do more often in my life. A couple of years back, I was walking back from class with a few classmates. I don't remember what we were talking about but suddenly, one of them said, "You know Dennis, I don't know why but you're a very happy person all the time. Why is that?" I had an opportunity here to testify as a witness for God. Here was an opening for me to begin to sow the seeds of the gospel in my classmate's heart. But, I failed to rise to the opportunity. Instead, I mentioned something about me naturally having an optimistic personality (which is completely untrue) or some other untenable excuse. When I got back home, I thought about what had happened and repented. I swore to never let go of another opportunity to stand up for Christ. Paul and Barnabas were willing to stand up for Christ, even to the point of being stoned. But God protected them and continued to bless them throughout their journey. How great He is!

Stand up for Christ today!

Acts 13

I'm a very visual person so I'll begin with a map. In this chapter of Paul's first missionary journey, it covers his trip starting from Antioch, to Salamis, to Paphos, to Perga (in the region of Pampylia), to Antioch (through the region of Pisidia), and it ends with Paul and Barnabas leaving Antioch. The description of Paul's trips always confused me until I realized there were multiple Antioch's. These Greeks apparently weren't the most creative people in the world when it came to naming cities.

From the very start, this was a journey inspired by the Holy Spirit, but using people who were prepared for the mission. The second verse mentions ministering to the Holy Spirit and fasting. This concept of fasting is pretty foreign to me. I read about it all the time in the New Testament, but I really don't know how to apply it. When do you use it? How do you go about doing it? Do you fast for a set amount of time? Or do you go until the Lord answers your prayers? Are you allowed to drink water? I've done it in a few situations in the past but I don't really remember what I was fasting for or how I went about doing it. I think it's something that the Lord will eventually have to reveal to me. All I know is that from this scripture, these people were actively preparing for the journey before the Lord even sent them. I always wonder what mission the Lord is going to send me on. Will He ask me to serve in the hospital? Will He call me out to full time service? Will He send me out as a missionary? But I think the right question I should be asking is how am I preparing right now for wherever the Lord will send me? For Paul and Barnabas, they prepared by ministering and fasting in Antioch. For David, he was prepared by shepherding sheep in his youth. For Moses, God broke him for 40 years so that he would be ready to lead the Israelites. I am confident that if we follow the Lord closely, and continue to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, He will prepare us for great things. Allow the Lord to prepare you today!

Acts 12

This story of Peter's arrest is first and foremost a testimony to the power of prayer. God is so amazing that sometimes, we can't even believe how He answers our prayers (like the brethren who didn't believe Rhoda). But I think there's a smaller story here with the servant-girl and for some reason, this is the story that jumps out to me today. There has to be a reason why the author of Acts included so many details of this story. In the story, it seemed as though all the brethren were gathered together at the house of Mary and were in the middle of a deep prayer meeting. They were praying fervently with purpose hoping the Lord would protect Peter. Suddenly, in the middle of the prayer meeting, there's a knock at the door. As the servant girl, it is Rhoda's duty to answer the door. But in the midst of such a great and fervent prayer meeting, it could have been all to easy to ignore the knock. Maybe it was someone delivering a message, maybe it was a solicitator. Surely, whoever it was could come back later after we finished this awesome meeting! But Rhoda was faithful in the small duties that were entrusted to her. She went to answer the door, and because of the faithfulness she displayed in the small things, Peter was saved before any guards could find him. God also her worthy enough to be remembered throughout history in the book of Acts. One other thing that Rhoda did that I found impressive was that she held firm to what God showed her. Even though all of the elder brothers and sisters doubted, she did not. She had heard Peter's voice and there was no mistake. I think this shows us that first and foremost, we trust in God. Whatever He has shown us, how ever He has led us, we should hold onto those things first. Even if other people doubt or tell us otherwise, if it was something the God revealed to us Himself, then we should not doubt. Of course, older brothers and sisters are great resources. They have walked with God for much longer and know His character very well. But, they are not our God. It's always better to trust Him than to trust anyone else. Be sure today, in whatever the Lord asks of you, to be faithful to Him in the small things. And He will bless you far beyond your craziest imagination!