At the Right Moment, Day 1 Surrounding yourself with the right people. Read Esther chapter 1. Our next series is going to take us through a classic book of the Bible. Esther is a tremendous book of the heroism and determination of Esther and her uncle, Mordecai. We see God working through their lives in ways that they never expected and in ways we never would have guessed. As we read through the first chapter, we see the stage being set with all the royalty, pageantry, and opulence that would have been found in the empire in that day and time. The king and his wealth are on full display,…

Why I Believe in Christ, Day 16 Be wise and innocent. Read Romans chapter 16. As we come to the end of the book of Romans, Paul begins a long list of all the people that he is thankful for. This book has provided so much background into Paul’s beliefs, theology, and why he is so passionate about following Jesus Christ. But Paul understands he can’t do this alone. Paul’s relationship with Christ has led to him building many other tremendous relationships as well. Paul is excited about all that he is doing and all that God is allowing him what to do, and he knows that the Roman people…

Why I Believe in Christ, Day 15 Overflow. Read Romans chapter 15. Paul is starting to wrap up his letter to the Romans. He has shared so much with them, and he wants them to understand the power that is in believing in Christ. It’s not a false hope. It’s not a fake hope. Their belief in Christ means that hope and power can overflow in their lives. Everything that they do should to overflow with the hope and the power of Jesus Christ. God’s Holy Spirit was given to them and as believers, they can experience that presence every single day. Because of that, everything they do should be…

Why I Believe in Christ, Day 14 Christ is over everything. Read Romans chapter 14. Paul uses this chapter to address some of the controversies in the church in that day. Paul wants people to understand that it’s not as much about the specific actions that they are taking, but it’s more about faith they have in God. Their relationship with Christ is not based on their actions, so, whether they are doing one thing or not doing another thing, isn’t going to impact whether or not they are a believer in Christ. Now we need to understand that there are similar situations today. Among various denominations of the church,…

Why I Believe in Christ, Day 13 Fairness. Read Romans chapter 13. God is fair and wants us to be fair as well. Jesus even made a statement about paying to Caesar what is owed to Caesar. We are to give people what they deserve. God wants us to give to him what he deserves as well. We shouldn’t try to cheat or shortchange people. Later in the chapter, he talks about how love is the fulfillment of the law. It’s always interesting to see fairness alongside love. So often we see what people do, and our first reaction is not to love them, but to be upset with them…

Why I Believe in Christ, Day 12 Give it all the God. Read Romans chapter 12. As we’ve gone through the book of Romans, we’ve seen Paul explain how we are not perfect. God is the only one who is perfect. We cannot be made right on our own, it requires God to bridge the gap for us to be made right. As Paul has explained in the previous chapters, we now know that the only possible response that we could have is to give God everything. That’s what this verse is talking about today in chapter 12. We are to come to God and bring him a sacrifice of…

Why I Believe in Christ, Day 11 Who can know or understand the mind of Christ? Read Romans chapter 11. Paul spends much of this chapter explaining how people can become part of the family of God. He wants people to understand that they can be grafted into the family, just the same is a plant can be grafted into another plant. When people make a decision to accept Jesus Christ as their savior they become part of the family of God. While Paul says this is possible, he does not explain exactly how this happens. He indicates that process is part of the mystery and amazement of God. We…

Why I Believe in Christ, Day 10 What do we pray for? Read Romans chapter 10. Paul has been talking about the importance of Christ and how we need him in our lives. It’s interesting that he moves from that realization to the reminder that we should be praying for everyone else to come to that realization. Once we have come to the place that we understand our need for Christ, there should be a burning desire in all of us to ensure that everyone else understands their need for Christ as well. What are we praying for? What do we passionately and earnestly desire to see God do. Does…