by Pauline Simonsen
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
… real circumcision is a matter of the heart – it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God (Romans 2:29).
Read Romans 2:25 – 3:8
Yesterday, we read about one of Judaism’s great badges of honour: having the law of Moses. Today, Paul addresses their other great badge of honour: circumcision. For Jews, the physical mark of circumcision was a sign of their identity as God’s chosen, covenant people. Which it was (Genesis 17:9–13).
Paul’s comment? ‘The Jewish ceremony of circumcision has value only if you obey God’s law. But if you don’t obey God’s law, you are no better off than an uncircumcised Gentile.’
What? ‘Surely,’ says every Jewish male, ‘my circumcision shows I am a true Jew!’
It gets worse. Paul goes on to assert that an uncircumcised Gentile who keeps the law can actually be regarded as circumcised, one of God’s chosen people – more so than a circumcised Jew who breaks God’s law!
This is shocking stuff for the Jews of Paul’s time to hear. All their certainties about who was ‘in’ and who was ‘out’ of God’s kingdom are being blown out of the water.
Paul is clear: a true Jew – one of God’s people – is circumcised inwardly, spiritually, not just outwardly in their body as a requirement of the law. This is not just a box-ticking exercise, or rather a knife-cutting exercise done by humans. True circumcision is done by God. It’s an internal work: a cutting off of our old sinful nature.
Paul wrote in Colossians 2:11–14b:
In Christ you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code that was against us …
In Christ, the old covenant of the law is fulfilled. In our baptism, by faith, we were joined to Jesus, dying and rising with him. We were spiritually circumcised – both men and women, Jew and Gentile. And we live forever with him now!
All our fig leaves and badges of honour are so much rubbish. Jesus Christ is our boast, our sun of righteousness, our life and our hope!
Loving Father, your great plan to restore humanity to yourself through your Son is amazing. We pray a blessing on your beloved Jewish people and that they come to know Jesus as their sun of righteousness. Thank you for including us Gentiles in your kingdom through Jesus. Bring us all together one day, under Christ Jesus. In his name, Amen.
Pauline lives in sight of the ranges in the beautiful Manawatu region of New Zealand with her husband, Roger, and two cats. She leads a small Bible College there and offers spiritual direction and supervision to people from a wide range of backgrounds and denominations.
by Pauline Simonsen
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight (Romans 2:13).
Read Romans 2:12–24
My drive to church takes me through town, past the big Downtown shopping centre. I notice how incredibly busy the mall is on Sunday mornings, and I often have some pretty judgemental thoughts, like how godless and consumer-driven people can be. Do none of them go to church? I think about how most people have no idea about God or Jesus, or worship, or truth or morality … You get the idea.
In today’s reading, Paul turns the mirror onto his own people, the Jews. He’s pretty confronting.
You think that because you Jews know God’s law, his Torah given to you at Sinai through Moses, you are superior to the rest of humanity. You boast of your relationship to God based on having the law. You reckon it makes you a guide for the blind and ignorant, a light for people lost in darkness. You’re certain that God’s law gives you complete knowledge and truth (Romans 2:19,20).
But, says Paul, if you are relying on the law for your good standing before God and others, by heck, you’d better be keeping it! You’d better not be stealing or committing adultery, because under that very law, you’re condemned. Those who live by the law will be judged and die by the law!
Worse, if you don’t keep the law you boast about, you are bringing God – the source of that law – into disrepute. Gentiles speak ill of God when they see how hypocritical his people are.
Paul is saying that his fellow Jews were wearing God’s law like a badge of honour. Just having it made them feel superior, smug, spiritually proud and overconfident. A lot like me looking at all those Downtown shoppers.
I wonder what our ‘badges of honour’ are. What do we boast about and rely on for our spiritual standing? Having good theology? My church lineage or family name? Maybe it’s our performance: my regular church attendance, my service in the congregation. These are all good gifts. But if I’m relying on these things for my spiritual standing, then I must do them perfectly.
And, of course, none of us can.
Thank God, ‘a righteousness from God, apart from the law’ has been made known. And ‘this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe’ (Romans 3:21,22). We can put down all our badges of honour and simply hold on to Jesus.
Jesus, only Jesus – he’s my salvation, my hope, my only badge of honour. Thank God I am hidden in you, Lord Jesus, through my baptism. Keep me holding on to you alone. Amen.
Pauline lives in sight of the ranges in the beautiful Manawatu region of New Zealand with her husband, Roger, and two cats. She leads a small Bible College there and offers spiritual direction and supervision to people from a wide range of backgrounds and denominations.
by Pauline Simonsen
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realising that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)
Read Romans 1:28 – 2:11
What have you been watching on TV lately? Are you binge-watching the latest Netflix drama? Or secretly enjoying watching people embarrass themselves on a reality TV series?
Why don’t we take a few steps back from our viewing to look dispassionately at the content on our screens? Because ‘they have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They [show] gossips, slanderers, God-haters; insolent, arrogant and boastful …’ (Romans 1:29,30).
This is certainly not The Waltons.
In case you think I’m targeting your favourite series, I put up my hand too. I’ve also gone along with the descent into degradation. It’s what happens when we don’t ‘think it worthwhile retaining the knowledge of God’ (Romans 1:28). God has let our culture follow its desires, and it has led to a depraved collective mind.
Paul is holding up that mirror again, showing us ourselves.
But maybe some of us are thinking, ‘I refuse to watch bad TV shows. Why do people watch this stuff? I only watch quality TV.’
Ah, Paul has words for us, too. ‘You there, passing judgement on someone else: you’re condemning yourself because you do the same things.’ What are my secret viewing vices?
Of course, our screen time is just a symptom of the much deeper godlessness in our world. Ironically, our screens are reflecting our own degradation back at us – giving us what we want. Maybe what we are.
Where is God in all this? The Creator God who delighted in making a beautiful world and making it good? Watching us humans – letting us – pervert and disorder and uglify it all. And ourselves: the crown of his creation, made in his image.
God’s anger, his wrath, must be rising. Paul reminds us that God’s judgement will come: he will bring this degradation to an end.
But Paul wants us to hear the most important truth: God is rich in kindness, tolerance and patience – calling us to repentance, leading us back to himself to ‘godfullness’. His Son came to find us, rescue us from destruction and return us to our home in God.
This is Paul’s good news. Hear it again, rejoice in it again, and share it with anyone who will listen: God’s gospel for his broken world.
Loving God, have mercy on us and our culture. You know how easily we descend into godlessness. In your grace, wake us up and lead us back to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pauline lives in sight of the ranges in the beautiful Manawatu region of New Zealand with her husband, Roger, and two cats. She leads a small Bible College there and offers spiritual direction and supervision to people from a wide range of backgrounds and denominations.
by Pauline Simonsen
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
The gospel … is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Romans 1:16b).
Read Romans 1:16–27
Listen with me to the beginning of Paul’s teaching in Romans. Ask yourself: Is Paul writing 2,000 years ago or today?
Paul writes: God reveals something of God’s self in creation. All humans instinctively know it – we can see it all around us! The wonder of the cosmos, the intricacies of an insect, the astonishing variety of plants … all this shouts of God’s effusive creativity, his delight in beauty, diversity and order, and his awesome power.
However, we humans no longer praise God or thank him for his power and presence in creation. In fact, we have even refused to acknowledge God – we have become godless. Instead, we idolise things, worshipping creatures rather than the Creator. Paul was thinking of his world: Rome’s pagan temples filled with idols, a culture that normalised debauched sexuality.
He could also be writing about our time. As we humans fell in love with ourselves and our own bodies, our sexual practices followed. We become what we worship. When we ceased to worship Creator God, we were left only with ourselves and the created world. And both are corrupted and dying. So God allows humanity to spiral down into deepening degradation.
These opening chapters of Romans are some of the most challenging in the entire New Testament. Paul unapologetically holds up a mirror to the people of his time – Gentile and Jew – and shows them their lost degradation. He tears away the fig leaves of self-righteousness to show that humanity has nothing to solve its sinfulness.
Paul is speaking to our time, too. He uncompromisingly applies the law – and it beats down upon us and makes every reader of these chapters squirm. People today find Paul’s remorseless truth-speaking profoundly challenging, confronting and even offensive! We do not like being presented with our own ugliness.
But to truly understand the profound love and goodness of God and what Jesus did for us all, we must look honestly at our own godlessness. Otherwise, God’s grace becomes meaningless. These verses would be terrible, but for the golden hope that Paul holds out at the start of this letter, the good news of Jesus Christ that is the power of God for salvation to all who believe – Jew and Gentile, 1st- and 21st-century people. God gives us his righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. He solves our hopeless state!
Paul’s gospel – God’s gospel – changes everything!
Gracious God, thank you for your mercy on all of us humans. Thank you for Jesus, our Saviour. Without him, we are lost in our own spiral of sin. Give us eyes to see clearly and hearts open to your transforming work. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Pauline lives in sight of the ranges in the beautiful Manawatu region of New Zealand with her husband, Roger, and two cats. She leads a small Bible College there and offers spiritual direction and supervision to people from a wide range of backgrounds and denominations.
by Pauline Simonsen
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
[God] is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times (Romans 1:9b).
Read Romans 1:1–15
How do you introduce yourself to a group of people you’ve never met?
The Apostle Paul is writing to the Christians of Rome – people he has never met before. He didn’t plant the church in Rome – in fact, it’s unlikely any apostle had visited Rome by this time. The house churches there grew up organically, with immigrant Christians (perhaps from that first Pentecost in Jerusalem), local slaves and diaspora Jews. It was a melting pot of people groups, like the city of Rome itself.
Paul had a long-held desire to come to the believers in Rome. Rome was the centre of the world, the capital of the Roman Empire – a great, cosmopolitan city. All roads led to Rome! Paul sees the huge strategic potential for spreading the gospel throughout the Roman Empire from the crossroads of Rome. And now, finally, the way may be opening for him to go there.
But first, he must introduce himself and his teaching to the Christians of Rome by letter. He must present his credentials. Paul opens by stating his name and identifying his patrons whose authority he carries. He is Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to proclaim the gospel of God. This ‘gospel of God’ is the good news about Jesus, long prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures, a descendant of David in his human nature, and the Son of God in his divine nature, revealed in his resurrection from the dead.
These are Paul’s heavyweight patrons: God and his Son, Jesus Christ! They have called Paul and graced him to, in turn, ‘call people from among all the Gentiles’ to faith in this Jesus. That’s Paul’s job, and now he’s coming to Rome to ‘have a harvest’ there too. Nothing like declaring your intentions upfront!
I am impressed and chastened by Paul’s fervent desire to bring Jesus to the people of Rome –people he hasn’t met yet! See how his ardour burns fiercely for them: ‘God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times’ (Romans 1:9). I wish I had a fraction of that ardour.
And then I remember: I have Paul’s heavyweight patrons too! The same God who called, sent and empowered the Apostle Paul calls, sends and empowers me. And you!
God, stir up our ardour for those who don’t yet know you. Fill us with passion for the good news of Jesus! Use us to bring your harvest home! Amen.
Pauline lives in sight of the ranges in the beautiful Manawatu region of New Zealand with her husband, Roger, and two cats. She leads a small Bible College there and offers spiritual direction and supervision to people from a wide range of backgrounds and denominations.
by Pauline Simsonsen
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give …! (Luke 11:13)
Read Luke 11:1–13
The disciples are watching and listening to Jesus pray. And when Jesus finishes, one of them says, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’
Now the disciples were good (mostly) Jewish boys: they probably prayed the great Shema, the 18 Benedictions, and the Kaddish three times daily, as good Jews did. They spoke to God in their prayers, using Psalms as their prayer book. However, there was something special about Jesus’ praying that was new and different for them. And they wanted it.
Jewish people never addressed God so personally – they never used God’s personal name, YHWH. They didn’t think of God as Father – yet this is consistently how Jesus talks to God: Abba, Father, Dad. Today in Middle Eastern streets, you can hear children calling out to their abba. It speaks of love and intimacy, of childlike dependence. This is the relationship that the disciples perceive in Jesus’ prayers, and they wonder at it and yearn for it.
So, Jesus gives them his prayer. Their Lord’s prayer. He reworks and simplifies the Jewish prayers to honour their traditions. But Jesus’ prayer reveals God as a loving Father who delights in giving good gifts to his children! This Abba God will care for his children and provide them with all they need: daily bread, forgiveness, deliverance from temptation and evil. Indeed, he will give his own Holy Spirit to those who ask him! Paul reminds us, ‘You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children’ (Romans 8:15,16).
Jesus came to reveal the heart of God, which is that of an extravagantly loving, grace-abounding father (think of the prodigal son’s return!). Jesus shows the deep love and intimacy between him, as the Son, and God, his Father. Then, he invites his disciples into that intimate relationship, too.
And Jesus calls to us, his disciples now, and beckons us forward into the intimacy and love of this family of God. ‘Become a little child again,’ he says, ‘wholly depending on and trusting in your Heavenly Father. Come boldly and persistently, like little children do – leaping into Papa’s lap and badgering him to grant their request! Come, knowing that your Heavenly Abba loves to receive you and care for you.’
When you pray, say, ‘Abba …’
Lord Jesus, teach us to pray like you did! Please lead us to know our Heavenly Father as he wants to be known. Abba God, draw us to you and grow in us childlike trust in your goodness and love. Bless you, Abba.
Pauline lives in sight of the ranges in the beautiful Manawatu region of New Zealand with her husband, Roger, and two cats. She leads a small Bible College there and offers spiritual direction and supervision to people from a wide range of backgrounds and denominations.
by Greg Fowler
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20b).
Read Matthew 28:11–20
A few years back, a Year 12 student spoke to me about tattoos. She told me that she wanted to get a tattoo on her arm, and she needed my help. I said she should discuss it with her parents, not me. To my surprise, she told me that her parents were thrilled with her idea, and they would also be grateful for my help. She asked me to translate the final words of Matthew 28 into Hebrew, and this is what she wanted on the inside of her forearm. The tattoo would look cool, and it would be a constant reminder to her that Jesus is with her always, to the end of the age. She also hoped people would ask her about the tattoo so that she could be a witness to God’s love. I couldn’t think of a better reason for a tattoo.
I often want things that don’t add much value to my life. Like many of us, I can get sucked into the latest ‘big thing’ or devote my time to things that aren’t helpful or useful for real rest. Buying a new car or bike, starting a new hobby, getting into that fantastic new show on Netflix, or allowing sport to take up too much of my time is easy for me to do. With the pressure of work and the complexities of relationships, I naturally drift toward distractions. We all do. And in and of themselves, distractions are not bad. It is my heart that usually needs a readjustment.
While I am chasing the latest distraction, Jesus stands ready to be more powerfully present with me than I could imagine. I think I need one of those tattoos, so I can be reminded every day that Jesus has given me his word that he will be with me always, until the end of the age.
Maybe if I see that, I will look to him for satisfaction and true rest. What more could I want than the maker of heaven and Earth to partner with me in his mission? What more could I want than his promise of deep rest that recharges my soul? I could not wish for anything more than his grace. May his last words to the disciples be encouragement to us all.
Dear Jesus, we hear your promise to be with us always. Help us to live our lives believing that promise. Give us your Spirit and grace, which renew us and hold us close to you. Amen.
Pastor Greg lives in beautiful Redland Bay with his wife, Connie, where they enjoy the beaches, weather and outdoor lifestyle of south Brisbane. He serves as the college pastor at Faith Lutheran College, Redlands.
by Greg Fowler
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it (Matthew 28:2).
Read Matthew 28:1–10
There have been a few times in my life when I have felt hemmed in with no place to go; I was out of options. It’s uncomfortable and depressing when it seems like there are obstacles in our lives that are blocking our paths. When our family was young, I had a job that paid well but it was unsatisfying and meant working long hours. I wanted to spend more time with my family, but I would have to put our financial security at risk if I did. It seemed I was stuck.
Jesus is the one who removes barriers in our lives. In all areas. Jesus came to Earth so that he could join us in our lives, and he wants to be involved in everything: spiritually, emotionally and financially. He wants all of us, not just a section we have compartmentalised. He wants to show his power in our entire lives. His resurrection demonstrates that.
I love the Scripture that tells of how the angel moved the stone. It wasn’t for Jesus’ benefit – he had already risen – it was for ours. God the Father sent his messenger to proclaim Jesus to the soldiers, to the witnesses and to us as hearers of the story. The message was word and deed. He is risen. He cannot be hemmed in. He has power over death and life. And the invitation to us all is simple: as he has broken free, he offers a relationship that will allow us to break free. What good news!
I chose to trust that Jesus wanted me to break free. I prayed and asked Jesus to show me the way. I asked others to pray for me and with me. Soon after, I received a job offer that allowed me more time with the family and more time for our church community. Jesus broke me out. He asks us all to look to the tomb when we feel we need to break free from something in our lives. See the stone and the angel and hear his promises.
Dear Jesus, as you showed your authority over all life and death through your resurrection, be with us in our struggles. As the stone was moved, we pray that you move obstacles that get in the way of living in the freedom you give. Amen.
Pastor Greg lives in beautiful Redland Bay with his wife, Connie, where they enjoy the beaches, weather and outdoor lifestyle of south Brisbane. He serves as the college pastor at Faith Lutheran College, Redlands.
by Greg Fowler
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb (Matthew 27:61).
Read Matthew 27:55–66
My father was diagnosed with cancer when he was just 69. He was an important part of my family’s life, and in his retirement he spent lots of time with my kids. When I got the phone call that my dad had died, I experienced many levels of grief. Of course, I would miss his company, but it hurt to see my children miss out on him as well. It hurt to see my mum be completely disoriented and never fully recover. I didn’t know what to do or say.
I took solace from the two Marys at Jesus’ tomb. They, too, felt grief on many levels: for themselves, for their community, and for all those whose lives would be changed by his touch. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary just sat together. They stayed with each other. When there were no words, they knew that just being there was enough.
I was blessed with several people who came and stayed with me when my dad died. They didn’t offer wise and comforting words, and I didn’t ask. ‘Just stay with me’ was all I said. Amazingly, things became clearer, and grief was replaced with love and blessings from those whom God has given to me as time went by. As Mary saw the risen Christ and her grief was transformed into hope, so I saw my children, my mum and my pain transformed by the blessings God provides.
In times of grief, the best gift we can give is to simply ask, ‘Can I stay with you?’ We don’t need fancy words or remarkable deeds. Just being there is healing. Listening to God’s word is healing. Seeing how God fills our lives with blessings is healing. Praise God for his love and his willingness to stay with us.
Lord, thank you for always staying with us. Prompt us to stay with one another as the two Marys at the tomb stayed with each other. Please help us to stay with those who need your presence. Amen.
Pastor Greg lives in beautiful Redland Bay with his wife, Connie, where they enjoy the beaches, weather and outdoor lifestyle of south Brisbane. He serves as the college pastor at Faith Lutheran College, Redlands.