Daily Readingod

Did everyone have a nice Independence holiday weekend? I'm pretty sure I ate my way through, but oh was it so good. Is there anything better than BBQ ribs, corn on the cob, & watermelon? Or fireworks? Or freedom? I thank God the abundance He has given us.

Now on to the reading: Romans 1:18-32; Psalm 85:1-13; Proverbs 13:7-8

Paul is giving us a picture of the state of the world. God created the earth and His nature, His personality, His "invisible qualities" are revealed in nature. I just had a wonderful conversation with one of my church family about the floods, earthquakes, and forest fires we have been experiencing this summer. See, God made the earth & He made it somewhat self-sufficient. Weather patterns, flooding, forest fires all take place so that the earth may be cleansed, debris washed away, over-crowding thinned out. When left alone, the God-directed laws of nature keep the earth alive and healthy. And it is in these cycles of death and resurrection that the divine nature & power of God is revealed. As Paul states, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been made clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." God has revealed Himself to us, & we have no excuse for denying Him.

Yet, that is what man has done, they have rejected God & His ways, opting instead for ways of their own. Ways that are wicked, self-involved, and destructive. We have been built with a radar that seeks out God & His Truth, we instinctively know it - yet we continue to deny that piece of ourselves and we choose destruction. And God let's us. This is His gift to us: the freedom to choose. Why? Why does He do this, we does He let us choose? Well, the book of Romans will go into greater detail, but the simple answer is: because He loves us. Love isn't love when it's forced. God didn't make robots - blind unthinking, unfeeling beings who obey His every command. God made children so that we can have a relationship with Him. How liberating & freeing that is. How much more important & satisfying when we choose to love Him, choose to obey Him, choose to be in a relationship with Him. It's enough to blow your mind, isn't it. God loves you so much, He gave you a choice.

So, what will you do with your choice? Will you choose love or hate? Eternal life or destruction? Joy or hardship? The choice is yours.

Psalm 65 goes along with our Romans reading today. When we do things God's way, we find peace & love & goodness. When we cut ourselves off from God, we find folly, struggle, & strife. Why is this? Well, God created the world, so He knows how it best works. He gave us laws or rules for living in the best way possible. Think of a set of blueprints for a house. If you follow the blueprints, you will have a safe, warm, well-working house. If you ignore the blueprints & attempt to just build the house however you see fit, things aren't going to work out so well. But here's the nice things about God - He's always there waiting for you to figure out that you need His blueprints & when you ask - He will provide them.

Proverbs is comparing rich & poor. This is an important lesson: life is not about monetary wealth, it's about spiritual wealth. If you get your spiritual bank healthy & well-stocked, you will never need to worry about your monetary wealth.