Sharing Life and Christ

This blog is a bit overdue because of how busy I've been on the ship. I will say that I am thankful that regardless of what I am involved in at any given moment, God is there and wants to meet with me. I'm learning that this underway period! I thank and praise God for that. Wow, how to start on Romans 1. There is so much in this chapter. There are a few big picture ideas that Paul goes into depth writing about in his letter. They are: 1. The explanation of the Gospel (verses 1-6) 2. Paul's calling to preach to the Gentiles (verses 1 and throughout 8-15) 3. The Gospel's power and effects (v. 16,17) 4. The wrath of God and the decline of man Greeting (v. 1-7) In the Greeting, Paul begins by stating three interrelated truths about his position in the Gospel. First, he calls himself a servant or slave of Christ Jesus. The word for bondservant is doulos and signifies a willing servitude for the rest of one's life. In defining himself as a bondservant, Paul says that he h...

I'm leaving today to meet up with the U.S.S. Blue Ridge for two months of sailing and playing music all over Asia. Being underway is always a challenge that provides many opportunities to grow in Christ. I'm excited about the journey ahead. If you are reading this, please pray specifically for the following: 1. Daily consistency in the Word 2. God gives me wisdom in my study of Romans 1-8 3. God softens the hearts of people on the Blue Ridge to receive Christ 4. My surface warfare qualification 5. Growth in Christ, no matter the cost. I pledge to write a weekly blog outlining my thoughts on Romans. I plan to spend a week in each of the first 8 chapters, and then I'll be back in Yokosuka. Consider it my attempt at a commentary if you will. God bless. Matt

This essay is dedicated to Adam who always asks challenging questions and makes me search Scripture to find the answers. I was asked a question Friday night about suffering that made me stop and rethink a lot of what I had come to understanding about the necessary, yet unpleasant, aspect of the Christian life. How are we really suffering if we are rejoicing? Doesn’t joy overcome suffering and replace it? Fortunately for Adam, he asked a guy who has been pouring over Philippians for the better part of three months and has been thinking a lot about what it looks like to suffer for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Fortunately for me, Adam’s question brought me to a deeper understanding of what suffering should look like in the Christian life and what it shouldn’t look like as well. I’d like to consider the suffering of Christ, our call to suffer, and our attitude in suffering. For it was fitting that He [God the Father] , for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glor...

There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. Psalm 38:3 No soundness. No health. That is the reality of sin. Sin enslaves us. Sin lies to us. Sin ultimately destroys us. In our flesh, there is absolutely no way around it. After a life of sin, at the end of the day, we receive our payment in full: death. It's wages are deserved, just, final. But God... Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:24, 25a There is hope! Jesus has come down from on high. His light shines in the darkness and guides our steps. He took on the sin of the world so that we might be the righteousness of God! The significance of this cannot be put into words. But we must try and comprehend how great the sacrifice of our Lord! We must never reduce the redemptive work of the Cross. We must always seek to amplify it because we can never fully unders...

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord. How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 36:5-7 God continues to show me just how incredible His love really is. Consider this with me: For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8 God’s steadfast love was displayed in Jesus Christ for all of creation to see and experience. It is a love that was offered freely to sinful, hateful people. It is a love that saves us through unimaginable grace ( Ephesians 2:8, 9 ). It is a love that never changes or...

I’ve been spending a lot of time in Philippians chapter 3 this last month in preparation for a weekly Bible study. The focus of Paul continues to fascinate me and motivate me to shed more distractions from my life so that I may achieve a focus like that of the Apostle Paul. Philippians is filled with the charge to rejoice from a man who endured more trials and suffering than all men (short of Jesus) who ever lived. I’ve repeatedly asked myself “how can this be?” and have become even more aware of the simple truth that when we have our hearts, eyes, and minds on Jesus Christ, nothing becomes more precious or sought-after than fellowship with the risen Lord. How did Paul continue to preach joy throughout his years of persecution, rejection, abuse, and suffering? He continued to grow in relationship with Jesus Christ and considered everything else to be irrelevant apart from this greatest of all treasures. As I meditate on verses like 2 Timothy 2:15 which says: Do your best to prese...