Conflicted, But Confident

August 6, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁸ Yes, and I will rejoice, ¹⁹for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, ²⁰as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²²If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. ²⁴But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. ²⁵Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. – Philippians 1:18-26 ESV

Paul opens this section of his letter by reconfirming his determination to rejoice in his circumstances. While news of his imprisonment had disturbed the believers in Philippi, for Paul it had been just another God-ordained opportunity to spread the gospel. If others attempted to take advantage of his situation by serving as messengers in his absence, so be it. As long as Christ was being lifted up, Paul was perfectly okay with it all, even if some of these people were motivated by envy rather than a sincere love for the lost.

Paul knew that any success he enjoyed in his ministry had not been because of his powers of persuasion, but because of the power of the gospel. In writing to the believers in Thessalonica, Paul reminded them of the treatment he and Silas had suffered in Philippi because of their preaching of the gospel. Not long after their arrival there, they had cast out a demon from a young slave girl. With the exorcism of the demon, she lost her ability to act as a fortune teller for her masters, and they lost a much-needed source of revenue. In an act of revenge, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the magistrates of the city, where the two men were severely beaten and thrown in jail. Paul reminds the Thessalonian believers that all of this had taken place just before he arrived in their town.

You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition. So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery.

For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else. – 1 Thessalonians 2:1-6 NLT

Despite all that had happened in Philippi, Paul and his companions boldly declared the gospel in Thessalonica, even in the face of opposition. They did so, not for money or the praise of men, but to please God as His faithful messengers. So, Paul was unconcerned with the motives of others. As long as they were preaching salvation by faith alone in Christ alone, he was satisfied and could rejoice. He was not in the ministry for what he could get out of it. For him, it was a calling, not a job, and He never saw himself as a gifted spokesman using his talents to further the Kingdom of God. He even describes himself as nothing more than a fragile clay jar containing the treasure of the gospel message (2 Corinthians 4:7). When he wrote to the Corinthian believers, he reminded them that their conversions were due to the power of the Spirit, not his own eloquence.

When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 NLT

But as Paul wrote to the Philippian believers from his house arrest in Rome, he divulged the tremendous internal conflict he was having. It had nothing to do with a fear of death; he knew that was a possible outcome of his pending trial before Nero, and he was perfectly at peace with that. In fact, he flatly stated, “My desire is to depart and be with Christ” (Philippians 1:23 ESV). He saw death as a reward, not a punishment. But he also struggled with the desire to continue his ministry among the churches he had helped to start. As much as he longed to be with the Lord, he also felt that his work on Christ’s behalf was far from over. That’s why he told the Philippians, “I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith” (Philippians 1:25 NLT).

One thing motivated Paul’s actions and attitude: bringing glory to the name of Christ. If he could do that through deliverance from prison and a continuation of his ministry, so be it. But if his trial resulted in a death sentence, he saw that as a gracious deliverance by God from this sin-marred world. When all was said and done, Paul simply wanted to honor Christ in all that he did, which is why he stated, “I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die” (Philippians 1:20 NLT).

Paul was not making much of himself. He was not bragging about his superior spirituality or attempting to set himself up as an icon of righteousness and religious virtue. He was attempting to encourage the believers in Philippi to share his perspective on life. He didn’t view his arrest and imprisonment as a setback or a sign of God’s disfavor; he sincerely believed that it was all a part of God’s will for his life. By maintaining his focus on Christ and trusting God’s will, Paul had “learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11 NLT). That is why he could say, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation” (Philippians 4:12 NLT).

He knew the Philippian believers were facing their own set of difficulties. They would have to struggle in their faith journey, just as he had. He wanted them to stay strong, to remain committed to the cause of Christ, and to see God’s sovereign hand in all that happened in and around their lives.

Paul was convinced that he would be released and would one day see them again. But in the meantime, he wanted to encourage them to persevere. Later in this letter, Paul writes these powerful words of testimony and encouragement.

I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us… – Philippians 3:14 NLT

Then he follows up this statement of personal conviction and commitment with a call for them to follow his lead.

Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. – Philippians 3:17 NLT

In the verses that follow, Paul provides the Philippians with specific details concerning the conduct of all who claim heavenly citizenship as God’s children. Their journey of faith would be easy or trouble-free, but God had equipped each of them with the indwelling Holy Spirit and placed them in the body of Christ. They had all the resources they needed to thrive, not just survive what lay ahead.

Paul was torn between two opinions; he was ready to see his Lord and Savior face to face, but he was also anxious to continue his ministry of exhortation and evangelization around the world. He was prepared to face the ongoing struggles of doing God’s will in a fallen world, but he considered death as a promotion, not a punishment. So, whether he faced a long life of service to God marked by pain, persecution, and opposition, or if his next step was heaven, he would rejoice because he was in God’s good and gracious hands.

Father, it’s difficult to understand how Paul could so calmly and confidently state his willingness to continue suffering for the cause of Christ or to face death by execution at the hands of the Romans. It makes him sound like some kind of super saint or, at worst, an overly zealous disciple with a death wish. But he was sincere and meant every word he said. I can’t imagine undergoing a fraction of what he suffered in serving You. I am quick to complain about the smallest setback and reluctant to do anything that might cause me the slightest inconvenience. Yet, as Paul suffered a prolonged confinement in Rome, he wrote some of his powerful and impactful letters. He regularly shared the gospel with all those he met, including the Roman guards who kept him imprisoned. He prayed, not for his release, but for the wellbeing of other believers as they attempted to navigate life in a fallen world. He was the consummate shepherd and a faithful messenger who took his role seriously. He loved life, not because of the personal pleasures it afforded him, but because of the opportunities it provided for sharing the gospel. He longed for death, not because it would provide an escape from the trials of this world but because it would reunite him with Your Son for eternity. Open my eyes, so that I might see life and death the way Paul did. I don’t want to simply admire his dedication and determination; I want to embrace it for as many days as You give me on this earth. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Profoundly Complex But Perfectly Simple Plan

June 19, 2026June 19, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹¹In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, ¹²so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. ¹³In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. – Ephesians 1:11-14 ESV

It is essential to pay close attention to the personal pronouns Paul uses in these verses. He begins to use the pronouns “we” and “you” to refer to two different groups of believers. This will be important to understanding the text. His use of “we” indicates that he is speaking to the converted Jews in Ephesus because he is one of them. When he uses the pronoun “you”, he is speaking to the Gentile believers in the church. So when Paul writes, “In him we have obtained an inheritance,” he is speaking to his fellow Jews. Jesus was born a Jew, and brought His message of the Kingdom to the Jewish people first, and the initial converts to Christianity were Jews.

In a sermon Peter gave right after the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, he said to the Jewish crowd, “God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness” (Acts 3:20 ESV). The Jewish disciples chosen by Jesus would be the very first converts. According to Paul, this was all predestined by God according to the counsel of His divine will. God had intended all along for the message of salvation to go to the Jews first, “so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:12 ESV). But God had not left out the Gentiles.

Paul continues his letter by saying, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13 ESV). God had planned all along for the good news of Jesus Christ to begin with the Jews and then spread to the whole world (the Gentiles). Jesus’ commission to His Jewish disciples, given just prior to His ascension into heaven, made their mission clear.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20 ESV

Just prior to that occasion, Jesus had appeared to the disciples in His resurrected form and had told them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:46-49 ESV).

Luke records in the book of Acts that Jesus gave His disciples one last command before He left them. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8 ESV). And that is exactly what happened; they went to Jerusalem and waited. On the day of the Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came just as Jesus had promised. One of the end results of that amazing event was that the disciples were suddenly endowed with the miraculous ability to speak in languages they did not know. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they witnessed to the tens of thousands of people from all over the world who had gathered for the feast. Luke records for us exactly what happened:

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” – Acts 2:5-12 ESV

Peter preached a sermon, and 3,000 individuals came to Christ that day. The church age had begun, and the message of Jesus Christ would spread throughout the known world as these new converts returned to their hometowns at the end of the celebration of Pentecost.

Luke records that after Peter finished his sermon, the people “were cut to the heart” and asked, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37 ESV). Peter told them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself” (Acts 2:38-39 ESV).

By accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior, they would receive forgiveness of their sins and be made right with God. They would also receive the Holy Spirit, just as the disciples had. This indwelling of the Holy Spirit was not tied to their baptism, but was simply a part of their commitment to express to the world that they were aligning themselves with the cause of Christ. It was an outward expression of their internal transformation. But the key was that they received the same Holy Spirit as the disciples.

Paul told the Gentile believers in Ephesus that they had been sealed by the very same Holy Spirit when they believed. As a result, they were assured of their future inheritance, just as Paul and the believing Jews in their congregation were. Because the Holy Spirit “is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:14 ESV). The Holy Spirit is literally a “down payment” from God, reminding us that the promises He has made to us regarding our eternity are real and reliable. God’s Spirit never leaves us, and He will also never let us go. His presence within us assures us of our eternal security. He will reside within us until the day that Christ returns or God calls us home. Our inheritance is assured.

Father, I am always amazed and, at time, perplexed by Your plan to use the nation of Israel to accomplish Your divine will for the redemption of mankind. You purposefully and providentially set apart the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to be Your chosen people. In doing so, You chose Isaac over Ishmael and Jacob over Esau. You took Jacob and from his small clan of 70 people, you made a great nation. His 12 sons would form 12 tribes, but it was from the tribe of Judah that you chose to raise up David, the future king of Israel. In handpicking David, You chose to reject his older brothers. But it was through the lineage of David, the young shepherd boy, that the Good Shepherd would come. It was He who said, “I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd” (John 10:16 NLT). And Jesus, the good shepherd, assures me, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me” (John 10:27 NLT).

Father, You began with the people of Israel, but You did not limit Your focus to them alone; they were simply the conduit through which Your gift of grace and mercy would flow to all the nations. You chose to send Your Son as a descendant of Israel, but He would be the Savior of all nations. And when His own rejected Him as Messiah, You chose to send the message of salvation to the Gentiles. But You have not forgotten Your chosen people. As Paul wrote, “Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it” (Romans 11:12 NLT). Only You could have come up with such a profoundly complex but perfectly simple plan, and I am just another amazed and gratified beneficiary. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Our God Reigns

June 4, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ²Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, ⁴for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ⁶For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. – Romans 13:1-7 ESV

At the heart of this passage is the sovereignty of God. That should not be overlooked or under-emphasized. All throughout his letter, Paul has been dealing with the subject of man’s justification before God. He has made it clear that this is the work of a sovereign God. He is the one who calls, justifies, sanctifies and ultimately glorifies all believers. And even in this section of his letter, where Paul is talking about the practical outflow of one’s faith in relationship to others, he keeps emphasizing God’s sovereignty. In chapter 12, Paul talked about spiritual gifts and their role in the body of Christ. Because they are given by God, there is no room for pride or boasting. Like salvation, they are a gift from God and have nothing to do with human merit. Paul wanted his readers to remember that they had “gifts that differ according to the grace given to us” (Romans 12:6 ESV).

Now, as Paul addresses the believer’s relationship with civil authority, he continues to emphasize God’s sovereignty, but it is important that we keep Paul’s words within their context. He is writing to believers in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, the world’s most powerful nation at the time. Both the Jews and the Gentiles who made up the church in Rome knew what it was like to live under the authority of an oppressive regime. And as far as the Romans were concerned, the Christians were little more than a break-off sect of the Hebrew religion. Their only real knowledge of Christianity was tied to the individual for whom it was named, Jesus Christ, who was crucified by Pontius Pilate for claiming to be King of the Jews.

The Christians, like the Jews, were tolerated by the Romans and given certain freedoms to practice their religion in peace. But the Jewish Christians would have had no affinity for the Romans, knowing full well that their people had lived under the weight of Roman rule for years.

Yet Paul tells his readers, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities” (Romans 13:1 ESV). The word Paul uses is hypotassō, and it means “to subject oneself, obey” (Greek Lexicon :: G5293 (KJV). Blue Letter Bible. Web. 23 Dec, 2015). In this passage, Paul does not address what Christians should do when rulers overstep their God-given authority and begin persecuting their subjects; he simply encourages believers to submit to those in authority over them. And he was not alone in promoting this kind of behavior. The apostle Peter said something very similar.

For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. – 1 Peter 2:13-14 NLT

And Paul provides the “why” behind his call for submission to earthly authorities.

For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. – Romans 13:1 ESV

It is a case of God’s sovereignty. Jesus lived out this very idea, having submitted Himself to the Roman authorities, even allowing them to carry out their decision to put Him to death. But He knew that His submission was ultimately to God. During His trial, Pilate asked Him, “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?” (John 19:10 NLT), and Jesus responded, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above” (John 19:11 NLT).

The very existence of the Romans as a nation-state had been divinely decreed by God. Their presence in the land of Palestine and their rule over the people of Israel were not something that caught God off guard. Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-7 ESV). At just the right time, God sent His Son. When Roman rule was at its zenith and the Jewish people were living under their control, the Messiah appeared on the scene. The very existence of the Roman government in the land of Israel played a vital role in fulfilling God’s promises and plan. The death of Jesus, predicted in Isaiah 53, was fulfilled in detail because of the Romans and their practice of crucifixion.

But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
    the sins of us all. – Isaiah 53:5-6 NLT

Unjustly condemned,
    he was led away.
No one cared that he died without descendants,
    that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down
    for the rebellion of my people.
He had done no wrong
    and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
    he was put in a rich man’s grave. – Isaiah 53:8=9 NLT

Jesus’ submission to the Roman authorities was based on His understanding of God’s sovereign will for His life. So, when Paul encourages our subjection to governing authorities, he does so based on his understanding that all authority exists by God’s decree. For a believer to resist God-given authority is to resist God.

Again, Paul does not address what a Christian is to do when the government encourages disobedience to God. But if we follow the example of Paul, he submitted to the governmental authorities on many occasions and was willing to go to jail when their demands contradicted the will of God for his life. Ultimately, Paul found himself a prisoner in Rome because of his faith. His preaching of the gospel led to his arrest and imprisonment. So, there may come a time when the believer must resist and disobey civil authority, but we must always be willing to suffer the consequences of our disobedience, even if it means persecution.

Paul makes it clear that all governing authorities are appointed by God. They are “God’s servant for your good” (Romans 13:4 ESV) and “ministers of God” (Romans 13:6 ESV). Ultimately, our submission to civil authority is to be seen as submission to God because He is in control. We are to live our lives with the understanding that our God is sovereign and rules over all, including nations, governments, leaders, parliaments, presidents, dictators, senates, and all man-made institutions. He is in control at all times, and His plan for this world will be fulfilled regardless of who sits on a throne or rules the nations. He used the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Romans to accomplish His will for the nation of Israel, and He remains in authority over all the nations of the earth at this very moment. So, we are to live our lives in submission to and trust in His sovereign, providential power because our God reigns over all.

Our God is great and glorious
We put our trust in Your name, Jesus
Able to save and deliver us
We put our hope in Your name, Jesus

Blessing and honor
Glory and power
Unto our God forever and ever
All of the honor
All of the praise is Yours
Yours forever

Hallelujah
Hallelujah, our God reigns
Hallelujah
Hallelujah, our God reigns

Father, You rule and reign over all the nations of the earth. Your authority is absolute and Your will is always accomplished, regardless of who sits in the seats of power and claims to be in charge. No political party or government entity can resist Your will or operate outside Your control. This does not mean that You sanction evil or are complicit in the sinful activities of godless nations. But it does mean that their presence on this earth is not outside Your will. Dictators and despots have always existed. Pride, arrogance, and the allure of power have always driven sinful men to do wicked things. But You have the power and authority to use godless people to carry our Your righteous will. You used Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Ahab, Darius, and others to accomplish Your providential plan for the people of Israel. And You are still operating in undimished authority over the nations of the earth. Help us to see that You remain in control at all times. Despite what happens around us, never let us lose hope in Your redemptive plan for our lives and this world. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Grace, Gratitude, and Growth

June 2, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

³For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ⁶Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; ⁷if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. – Romans 12:3-8 ESV

Up to this point, Paul has spent the entire letter defending man’s justification on the basis of God’s grace and goodness, not human effort. Both Jews and Gentiles are made right with God in the same way, through faith in Christ alone. It is not based on heritage, race, background, income, achievement, or any other criteria. God said, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (Romans 9:15 ESV). So Paul concludes, “Then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:16 ESV).

No one deserves God’s mercy. If we deserved it, it would no longer be mercy, because by definition, mercy is a choice, not an obligation. Mercy is not a payment by God for a job well done. When Paul speaks of the mercy of God, he means “the mercy and clemency of God in providing and offering to men salvation by Christ” (“Greek Lexicon :: G1656 (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 21 Dec, 2015. <http://www.blueletterbible.orghttps://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm>).

God’s mercy is undeserved. In fact, rather than giving us what we deserve, which is the essence of justice, God gives us what we don’t deserve. He extends unmerited grace in the form of salvation and justification made possible through faith in His Son. And grace is a divine prerogative that has nothing to do with man’s worthiness or works. And Paul has emphasized that without God’s mercy, no man would ever experience a right relationship with Him.

Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” – Romans 10:12-13 NLT

So there is no reason for anyone to think more highly of himself. The Gentiles to whom Paul was writing were not to become prideful because God had taken away the message of salvation from the Jews and given it to them. The Jewish believers were not to boast in their heritage as descendants of Abraham. None of that mattered. Instead, each was to “think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned” (Romans 12:3 ESV).

Our place in the body of Christ is not based on the amount of faith we conjure up. Salvation is not a competition and leaves no room for comparison. Each of us enjoys a relationship with Christ because of God’s mercy and grace. We have been placed in the body of Christ by God, each “having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us” (Romans 12:6 ESV). Even our spiritual gifts are a gift from God; we didn’t bring them with us. Spiritual gifts are not human abilities on steroids; they are supernatural enablements, provided by the Spirit of God. And those Spirit-embued gifts are intended for the building up of the body of Christ. Paul told the Ephesian believers that God “makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” (Ephesians 4:16 NLT).

Our gifts are given to us by the grace of God, and we are to use them humbly and selflessly. They are not intended to boost our egos or inflate our sense of self-worth, but to build up the body of Christ. When writing to the church in Corinth, Paul addressed their misunderstanding and misuse of spiritual gifts, which had led them to turn their gifts into badges of honor. Their God-given gifts had become divisive, with members of the church bragging over the particular gifts that they had. Paul had to sternly remind them, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7 ESV).

Each of them had a spiritual gift “empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11 ESV). There was no reason to boast or brag because the apportionment of the gifts had been God’s doing.

God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. – 1 Corinthians 12:18-20 ESV

Our salvation is the work of God. In the same way, our justification or right standing before God is the result of His mercy, not our merit. Our place in the body of Christ was determined by Him, not us. Our spiritual gifts were given to us by His Spirit and intended for the building up of the body of Christ. There is nothing about our relationship with Christ or our place in His family for which we have a right to boast.

We should use our gifts “according to the grace given to us.” A recognition of God’s grace should always motivate our actions and attitudes. Like the psalmist, we should daily remind ourselves of God’s sovereign will over our lives.

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
Worship the Lord with gladness.
    Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
    He made us, and we are his.
    We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. – Psalm 100:1-3 NLT

We are His people, not because we deserved it, but as a result of His marvelous grace.

Father, grace is a difficult concept for us to grasp because we have had the mindset of merit wired into our brains since birth. We have been raised on a works-based mentality that promises rewards for a job well done, But because You are holy, You demand perfect righteousness from Your people. And because of sin, no one can measure up to Your standards. We all fall short. Paul made this clear when he wrote, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins” (Romans 3:23-24 NLT).

Yet, despite this reminder of marvelous grace, we keep trying to earn Your favor through self-effort. Even after coming to salvation, we turn our backs on Your grace and attempt to live the Christian life on our own strength. But as you pointed out to Paul, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT). You don’t demand righteousness; You provide it. You don’t require holiness; You make it possible. Our salvation, sanctification, and ultimate glorification are up to You, not us. We get to participate, but only as we humbly submit to Your will, rely on Your Spirit, and rest in Your amazing grace. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

The Wondrous Ways of God

May 31, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

³³Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

³⁴“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
³⁵“Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”

³⁶For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. – Romans 11:33-36 ESV

Paul sums up the last three chapters regarding Israel’s rejection of God, their partial hardening, and their ultimate restoration as His chosen people with a statement about His incomparable character. He marvels at God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge. He confesses that God’s ways and judgments are unsearchable and inscrutable. But what is Paul’s point? What is he attempting to say about God?

I think the New American Standard Version has a more accurate rendering of Paul’s opening line: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” The word “riches” refers to abundance or fullness. Paul says that God is overflowing with wisdom and knowledge.

“God’s ‘wisdom’ is His ability to arrange His plan so it results in good for both Jews and Gentiles and His own glory. His ‘knowledge’ testifies to His ability to construct such a plan.” – Dr. Thomas L. Constable, Notes On Romans, 2009 Edition

We may not always understand what God is doing, but we can always trust that whatever He does is right and good. Paul goes on to say that God’s judgments are unsearchable. The Greek word “judgment” carries a judicial sense. It can mean “condemnation of wrong, the decision (whether severe or mild) which one passes on the faults of others” (Outline of Biblical Usage).

We have no right to judge God for what He does, including His judgment of mankind’s sins or His choosing to show mercy to some who deserve His judgment. His “ways” or actions are beyond our comprehension. His thought processes exceed our limited capacity of understanding. Isaiah confirmed this reality when he wrote, “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT).

Paul continues to quote Isaiah to support his point.

Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him? Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice? – Isaiah 40:13-14 NLT

In verse 35, Paul resorts to quoting Elihu, one of Job’s well-meaning but ultimately unhelpful friends.

“If you are good, is this some great gift to him [God]? What could you possibly give him?” – Job 35:7 NLT

He also quotes the words God spoke in response to Job’s questioning of His ways.

“Who has given me anything that I need to pay back? Everything under heaven is mine.” – Job 41:11 NLT

God is not to be questioned or placed under the microscope of our finite minds. While His ways may seem strange or even distasteful to us, they are always right, just, and good. There is always a method and a meaning behind what appears to us as madness. God doesn’t need our advice and does not seek our counsel. He doesn’t owe an explanation for His actions, and we certainly don’t deserve His.

God is not obligated to redeem anyone and is not required to extend His saving grace to any man or woman. That He does so at all should astound and amaze us. It should leave us in awe of His incredible love, patience, and faithfulness. When Paul wrote, “For God has consigned all to disobedience” (Romans 11:32 ESV), he was saying that God was justly passing sentence on all men for their sin and rebellion against Him “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 ESV).

Every human being is guilty of disobedience or “obstinate opposition to the divine will” (Outline of Biblical Usage), and that includes both Jews and Gentiles. But God has decided to show mercy to some, but not because they deserved it. As Paul explains, God shows “mercy on whomever he will, and he hardens whomever he wills” (Romans 9:18 ESV). His mercy and compassion have nothing to do with human will or self-effort (Romans 9:16), but are His sole prerogative. Which is why Paul concludes, “For from him and through him and to him are all things” (Romans 11:36 ESV). The New Living Translation puts it this way: “For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory.”

Salvation is a gift of God and is based solely on His mercy. It has nothing to do with anything inherently good in the one who receives it. No one deserves God’s mercy. What He chooses to do in regard to sinful mankind is completely up to Him. As God, He is free to do whatever He deems to be just and good, and all that He does, He does for His own glory. His actions always reveal His character in a way that illustrates and accentuates His glorious nature. Whenever He acts, He expresses His judgment, and He does so in a perfectly just and righteous manner. When He punishes, He never does so unjustly; it is always deserved. When He shows mercy, it is never at the expense of His justice. In other words, it is never unjust or unfair.

When God pardons the sins of those who believe in His Son, He doesn’t just turn His back on their sins and act as if they never happened; that would be unjust and unrighteous. Their sins deserve punishment. Their crimes require sentencing and payment of the penalty due. So God took care of the penalty with the death of His Son. He paid the price for our sins by sending His Son to die in our place. And as Paul declares, “How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable are His ways! How wonderful are the ways of God!”

Father, You are the just judge who always rules rightly and without partiality. You are the righteous Law-Giver and the flawless Law-Keeper. You are light and in You there is no hint of darkness (1 John 1:5). I may not always understand Your ways, but that gives me no right to question Your motives or character. You are always in control and Your plans are always perfect, righteous, and good. In the moment, when the circumstances of life appear difficult and even unbearable, I can sometimes question Your goodness and greatness. I can begin to doubt Your love for me. But Paul reminds me that all things come from You; they pass through Your sovereign hands and are intended for my good and Your glory.

“…everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory” (Romans 11:36 NLT).

Paul’s imprisonments were part of Your will for him. It was from those prison cells he penned the majority of his letters. Some of his most encouraging words came during what must have been his most discouraging moments. Yet, he didn’t allow his suffering to stifle his faith or keep Him from trusting Your will for his life. I want to make his prayer my own, asking that I might live my life in submission to Your marvelous, mind-boggling, and fully reliable will for my life.

For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. – Philippians 1:20-22 NLT. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Our Ready, Willing, and Able God

May 29, 2026May 29, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

²⁵Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. ²⁶And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
²⁷“and this will be my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.” – Romans 11:25-27 ESV

Paul has been establishing the fact that God is not yet done with Israel. While the majority of Jews have rejected Jesus as their Messiah, a remnant has been shown mercy by God and placed their faith in His Son as their Savior. Paul was living proof of that reality, and there were other believing Jews in the church in Rome.

The Gentile believers had much for which to be grateful to the Hebrew nation. It was through the Jews that their Savior had come. Jesus was a descendant of Abraham and born into the line of King David, all in keeping with the promises made to both men. And while those Jews who refused to accept Jesus as their Savior were “broken off because of their unbelief” (Romans 11:20 ESV) and the Gentiles were grafted in, that did not mean that God had turned His back on His chosen people. If He was able to mercifully take Gentiles and graciously graft them into the root of Abraham, could He not do so with the Jews? Paul poses that very question.

And even they [the Jews], if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. – Romans 11:23 ESV

The important word here is “belief.” Faith in Christ is required for anyone, whether Jew or Gentile, to be grafted into the root of Abraham. Paul wrote the Gentile believers in Galatia, reminding them of their status as children of Abraham because of their faith in Jesus, the descendant of Abraham.

The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith. – Galatians 3:7-9 NLT

He went on to clarify, “Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:14 NLT).

It is through faith, our belief in the saving power of Jesus Christ, that we inherit the promises made to Abraham. We become part of God’s family through belief in His Son, and the same thing is true for God’s chosen people, the Jews. But Paul indicates that a “partial hardening has come upon Israel” (Romans 11:25 ESV). The term Paul used is interesting. It is pōrōsis, and it means “obtrusiveness of mental discernment, dulled perception” (Outline of Biblical Usage). The root word means “to grow hard, callous, become dull, lose the power of understanding.”

For the time being, the Jews, individually and collectively, are experiencing a callousness to the gospel message, but this was all part of God’s divine plan. As Paul wrote earlier, “their rejection means the reconciliation of the world” (Romans 11:15 ESV). It was their rejection of Christ that led to the gospel being taken to the rest of the nations of the world. But Paul indicates that there will be a point when “the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Romans 11:25 ESV). Thomas L. Constable explains what this phrase means:

“When all the Gentiles whom God has chosen for salvation during the present age of Jewish rejection (setting aside) have experienced salvation, God will precipitate a revival of faith among the Jews. Even though some Jews trust Christ now, God is not presently working through them as Israel as He will in the future (i.e., in the Millennium), after multitudes of them turn to faith in Christ. He is now working through the church.” – Dr. Thomas L. Constable, Notes on Romans, 2009 Edition.

Paul writes, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins” (Romans 11:26-27 ESV). He is quoting the writings of the prophet Isaiah.

“And a Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord.” – Isaiah 59:20 ESV

Paul understood this passage as a prophecy concerning the Messiah, which was partially fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. But upon His arrival, Jesus was met with opposition from His own people. The apostle John described the less-than-warm welcome Jesus received from His fellow Jews.

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. – John 1:10-12 NLT

The Jews didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet when Jesus appeared the first time. But God is far from done with them. He will still accomplish His will among the Jewish people and fulfill the promises He made to them, but it will not take place until He has completed His work among the Gentiles. There is a day coming when the number of Gentiles to be saved will be complete. Paul is not inferring that ALL Gentiles will be saved; he is indicating that there is a limited number of those who will place their faith in Christ, and when that number has been reached, God’s work among the Gentiles will have been fulfilled. He will then turn His attention to the Jews.

But when Paul says that “all Israel will be saved,” he does not mean that every single Israelite who has ever lived will become a believer in Jesus Christ. In the same way that not all Gentiles will come to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, neither will all Jews. But when compared to the relatively small believing remnant of Jews that currently exists, the number that will come to faith in the future will be large, and there will be representatives from every tribe of Israel.

The prophet Zechariah predicted a future day when God would do a mighty work among the people of Israel. He quotes God’s promise to complete His divine plan for His chosen people.

“I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.” – Zechariah 12:10 NLT

The day will come when the people of Israel will grieve over their mistreatment and rejection of their Messiah. But their sorrow will be turned to joy.

“On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity.

“And on that day,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will erase idol worship throughout the land, so that even the names of the idols will be forgotten. I will remove from the land both the false prophets and the spirit of impurity that came with them.” – Zechariah 13:1-2 NLT

But not all Israel will be saved. The prophecy is very specific in indicating that God will redeem and restore a remnant of His chosen people.

“Two-thirds of the people in the land
    will be cut off and die,” says the Lord.
    “But one-third will be left in the land.
I will bring that group through the fire
    and make them pure.
I will refine them like silver
    and purify them like gold.
They will call on my name,
    and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘These are my people,’
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” – Zechariah 13:8-9 NLT

God is ready, willing, and able to redeem Israel. He is not yet done with His chosen people, nor has He fully rejected them. He is simply waiting until the full number of Gentiles has come to faith in Christ, then He will turn His attention to the Jews. His plan is perfect, and His timeline is right on schedule. We don’t know when these things will take place, but we are to trust that they will, because our God is faithful, just, righteous, powerful, and fully capable of completing what He has started and fulfilling all that He has promised to the people of Israel and to us.

Father, as Paul has so persistently illustrated, You are a promise-keeping God. Your Word is filled with promises You made to the nation of Israel and You will fulfill every one of them. As Balaam said, “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” (Numbers 23:19 NLT). You are good for Your word. You don’t renege on Your promises and You never change Your mind. You are faithful, true, and totally trustworthy. And the fact that You will keep Your promises to Israel is a powerful reminder that You will keep the promises You have made to me and every other Gentile believer. You are more reliable than the sun coming up in the morning or the changing of the seasons. I am reminded of the words Paul wrote to Titus, reminding him of Your faithfulness.

I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began. – Titus 1:1-2 NLT

Your plan is far from finished. Your will concerning the people of Israel is not yet complete. They remain hardhearted and incapable of accepting the truth concerning Jesus as their Messiah and Savior. But the day is coming when You will give them new hearts and a new capacity to see the error of their ways and return to a right relationship with You through faith alone in Christ alone, because You are faithful. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

The Improbable But Providential Plan of God

May 27, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹¹So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. ¹²Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!

¹³Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry ¹⁴in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. ¹⁵For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? ¹⁶If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. – Romans 11:11-16 ESV

At one time, the Jewish people had been the apple of God’s eye, His chosen possession, and the sole recipients of His favor. He even sovereignly ordained for His Son and their Messiah to be born as one of them, a descendant of Abraham and David. But as the apostle John noted, when Jesus came, His own rejected Him.

He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. – John 1:11-12 NLT

Using himself as an illustration, Paul noted that there had been a small remnant of Jews who accepted Jesus as their Messiah and Savior. However, most Jews had chosen to reject Him, refusing to acknowledge Him as God’s chosen deliverer and unwilling to admit their need for a Savior to rescue them from their sins.

We see this scenario illustrated by Jesus Himself in His parable about the two sons. In Chapter 15 of his gospel, Luke records a parable Jesus told about a rich man who had two sons. One day, the younger of the two brothers came to his father and demanded his inheritance. Graciously, his father gave the son what he asked for, and immediately, the younger son “packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living” (Luke 15:13 NLT).

In time, the son found himself living in abject poverty, trying to make ends meet by taking a lowly job feeding swine. But ultimately, the young man came to his senses and recognized the gravity of what he had done.

.“..he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant”’” – Luke 15:17-19 NLT

Upon his return home, he received an unexpected welcome. His father ran to him with open arms, embraced him, and welcomed him back with joy. His return was met with joy, love, and forgiveness, with his father responding, “We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found” (Luke 15:23-24 NLT). There was no anger, recriminations, or retribution.

But, in contrast, his brother responded with jealousy and anger, refusing to join in the festivities. When his father begged him to join the celebration, the older son angrily responded, “All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!” (Luke 15:29-30 NLT).

His response revealed his self-righteous attitude and his jealousy at seeing his rebellious younger brother receive unmerited forgiveness and mercy. Yet, his father assured him, “Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!” (Luke 15:31-32 NLT).

In His story, Jesus does not disclose what happened to the older brother. But it seems clear that the older son was meant to represent those Jews who were determined to place their hope in their own self-righteousness. They saw themselves as sinless and therefore, in no need of a Savior. The older brother responded with jealousy and indignation, the same reaction Paul refers to in his letter to the Romans. In this case, Paul explains that the Jews’ rejection of Jesus was necessary so that God could extend His offer of salvation to the Gentiles.

They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. – Romans 11:11 NLT

For generations, the Jews had embraced their designation as God’s chosen people and believed themselves to be blessed because they were descendants of Abraham. They belonged to God, and He belonged to them. They viewed themselves as privileged and protected because of their unique relationship with God. But when Jesus came, He called them to repent.

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” – Matthew 4:17 ESV

But what did Jesus mean by His call to repentance? What were they to repent of? The God’s Word® Translation renders verse 17 this way: From then on, Jesus began to tell people, “Turn to God and change the way you think and act, because the kingdom of heaven is near!”

In Greek, the word “repent” is metanoeō, and it means “to change one’s mind.” Jesus was demanding that they change their minds about God and how they viewed Him. They had long since lost their fear of God and their awe of His holiness. Jesus was also calling them to change their view of sin and their hope of achieving self-righteousness. They saw themselves as in no need of a Savior because they thought they were right with God because of their ethnic identity as descendants of Abraham. After all, they were heirs of the promises God had made to their patriarch. But Jesus said of them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor–sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” (Mark 2:17 NLT).

So when the “healthy” Jews rejected Jesus and demanded His death on the cross, God took His message of redemption to the Gentiles. And, as Paul noted, some Jews, himself included, embraced the good news of Jesus Christ as well. But the real objective behind God’s embracing of repentant Gentiles was to make His people jealous. Even Paul disclosed that his ministry to the Gentiles had an ulterior motive.

God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. – Romans 11:13-14 NLT

Later in this chapter, Paul will explain how this God-produced jealousy among His chosen people will turn out in the end. As usual, God has a plan and a purpose behind all that He does. His efforts are never in vain. Which led Paul to exclaim, “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!” (Romans 11:33 NLT).

Father, Paul was right. Your decisions and ways are impossible for us to understand. I cannot even begin to fathom why You do the things You do. And who am I, a mere man, to question how You rule over the world You made? Yet, in our pride and arrogance, we humans are always quick to point out what we believe to be the flaws in Your logic and actions. Some things don’t make sense to us. Our finite minds can’t grasp the significance of Your sovereign will and the providential nature of Your plans for mankind. To us, the death of Jesus seems so unnecessary. The Jews’ rejection of Him comes across as inexplicable and illogical. But You were not surprised or caught off guard because it was all part of Your divine plan. Their failure to accept their own Savior made the gospel available to the Gentiles. And, as Paul points out, the inclusion of the Gentiles was always intended to produce a godly jealousy among Your chosen people. One day, it will serve as a wakeup call for those who refused to admit their need for a Savior. Your chosen people will recognize Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah and their only hope for being restored to a right relationship with You. As Paul points out, “if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree” (Romans 11:23 NLT). I don’t fully understand it, but I rejoice in it. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

The Chosen

May 18, 2026May 18, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁸So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

¹⁹You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” ²⁰But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” ²¹Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? ²²What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, ²³in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— ²⁴even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? ²⁵As indeed he says in Hosea,

“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
²⁶“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’” – Romans 9:18-26 ESV

In this section of Chapter 9, Paul continues to defend God’s sovereign prerogative to show mercy based on His will, not on any merits or worthiness of men. Paul has already declared that all men are under God’s divine wrath and subject to His holy judgment, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 ESV) and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23 NLT).

Sinful humanity is deserving of God’s righteous judgment of death, and yet, Paul reminds us that God continues to show mercy to some. Again, not because they deserve it, but simply because God, in His mercy and grace, decides to do so. And Paul knew that this merciful and gracious action of God would be misconstrued and misunderstood by some as unjust and unfair. Paul was fully aware of those in his audience who would question why God refuses to show mercy to everyone. Paul knew how their minds worked because he had probably struggled with the same question. He had likely pondered how God could find fault with Esau if God chose Jacob over Esau based on nothing more than His own will. As infants in Rebekah’s womb, neither son had done anything to earn God’s mercy and grace.

God chose Jacob, “though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls” (Romans 9:11 ESV).

But at this point in his relationship with God, Paul knew better than to question the sovereign will of God, which is why he warned his readers, “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’” (Romans 9:20 ESV). Paul was using the Old Testament Scriptures to argue his point, quoting from the prophet Isaiah.

“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator.
    Does a clay pot argue with its maker?
Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying,
    ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’
Does the pot exclaim,
    ‘How clumsy can you be?’ – Isaiah 45:9 NLT

This is all about God’s sovereign will. Yet, we have made man the center of our universe with everything revolving around us. We see ourselves as the pinnacle of creation and focus all our attention on our ability to accomplish great good, while always recognizing our capacity to commit all kinds of evil. We live in a merit-based society where the good we do gets rewarded, while the bad we do gets punished. And we expect God to judge us in the same way. But, thus far, Paul’s whole point has been to stress that salvation is based on faith alone. His thesis statement for his letter is found in the opening chapter.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” –Romans 1:16-17 ESV

From God’s divine perspective, all men are guilty and stand before Him worthy of His judgment and wrath. And yet, He chooses to show mercy on some. While we may see this as somehow unfair, Paul would have us consider God’s divine prerogative as the Creator of the universe.

When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. – Romans 9:21-22 NLT

Can God, the Creator, not do what He wants to do with what He has made? Is He not free to show mercy on whomever He wants to show mercy? Paul is inviting us to see things from a different perspective. He is asking us to remove man from the center of our universe and put God back where He belongs. The fact is, all mankind is deserving of God’s judgment. Even Israel, God’s chosen nation, could not live in obedience to His law or remain faithful to Him. And while God would have been fully just in destroying them for their rebellion and unfaithfulness, He poured out His mercy on them. He could have exhibited His wrath and revealed His power in destructive judgment, but instead He repeatedly displayed patience.

…he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory. – Romans 9:22-23 NLT

God had a plan, and He had promised Abraham that He would keep it. He would send His Son as the Messiah of the Jews and the Savior of the Gentiles. God was going to show mercy, allowing some to come to a saving knowledge of His Son, not on the basis of their own righteousness or human merit, but on their faith in His mercy as expressed in His Son’s sacrificial death on the cross.

God sent His Son to the Jews first, but most of them refused Him. And yet, there were some among the Jews who did believe. And there were Gentiles who placed their faith in Christ as their Savior. God showed His mercy on some, even though all deserved His wrath. He chose to forgive some, all in fulfillment of the prophecy found in the book of Hosea.

“I will show love
to those I called ‘Not loved.’
And to those I called ‘Not my people,’
I will say, ‘Now you are my people.’
And they will reply, ‘You are our God!’” – Hosea 2:23 NLT

Our problem is that we focus on God’s wrath and miss the unbelievable nature of His mercy. The fact that God shows mercy to anyone should amaze and astound us. None of us deserves His unmerited favor. As the prophet Isaiah puts it, “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind” (Isaiah 64:6 NLT).

It is only when we come to fully comprehend our guiltiness and the fact that we deserved God’s wrath, and yet, we were shown His mercy, that we can fully appreciate the magnitude of the gift we have received.

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,
yonder on Calvary’s mount out-poured,
there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin.

– “Marvelous Grace of Our Loving Lord,” Julia H. Johnston (1910)

Father, Your grace is greater than all our sin, and, without it, we would have no hope. Yet, in Your love and mercy, You have chosen to extend Your unmerited favor to some. None deserved it, yet some received it, due to nothing more than Your goodness and grace. In our finite form, we have a difficult time understanding how all this works. It comes across as arbitrary and unjust. But Your ways are not our ways and, because You are righteous, holy, and without sin, everything You do is right and just. You make no mistakes and are never guilty of doing anything that is contrary to Your righteous character. We may not understand it. We may even question it. But we can never accuse You of doing evil. As Moses wrote in his song of praise to You, You are the Rock; Your deeds are perfect. Everything You do is just and fair. You are a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright You are (Deuteronomy 32:4 NLT). Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

The Lie That Leads To Death

April 6, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

²⁴Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. – Romans 1:24-25 ESV

This whole section of Romans 1 is concerned with the truth versus the lie. In these verses, Paul states that man has “exchanged the truth of God for a lie,” or literally, “the lie”. To understand this passage, we need to define what Paul meant by these two terms. What is the truth of God, and what is it that unrighteous man has suppressed (vs 18)?

Through His creation, God has revealed His eternal power and divine nature to man, so they are without excuse. Nature virtually screams the truth regarding the existence of God. The very fact that men have ended up worshiping the creation rather than the Creator reveals that man recognizes the existence of a powerful source outside of himself, but has chosen to exchange “worshiping the glorious, ever-living God” to worship “idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.” (Romans 1:23 NLT). The truth to which Paul refers in this opening chapter is the reality of God’s existence.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. – Romans 1:19 ESV

Because man has rejected the truth regarding God’s existence, it is virtually impossible for him to accept the need for a Savior sent from God for his salvation. Ignorance of or disbelief in God’s existence ultimately leads to a refusal to accept any kind of divine standard for moral conduct; morality becomes highly subjective and relativistic. Each man ends up doing what is right in his own eyes. As a result, they begin to believe “the lie,” either rejecting that God exists at all or replacing the truth about God with something or someone else.

Rather than honoring God as the sovereign Lord of the universe and giving Him thanks for all that He has done for them, they turn their attention elsewhere, relying on their own wisdom to explain their existence and to determine their conduct.

As a result of their rejection of Him, God gives them up. That sounds like such a harsh statement, and comes across as some form of divine abandonment. The Greek word is paradidōmi, and it means “to give into the hands (of another)” or “to give over into (one’s) power or use.” In a way, this simply means that God releases them to pursue and believe “the lie.” He allows men to rely on their own wisdom and darkened hearts. In this sense, His wrath is less active than passive. He doesn’t abandon them; He allows them to reap what they sow.

Paul had this idea in mind when he wrote to the believers in Galatia.

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. – Galatians 6:7-8 NLT

Three times in this section of Romans 1, Paul uses the phrase “God gave them up.” In these two verses, he describes God giving man up to impurity. Rejecting the truth regarding God’s existence ultimately leads to a false conclusion that man is the final arbiter of his fate. It is the wisdom of man, divorced from God, that leads to things like genocide, infanticide, abortion, and virtually all forms of sexual sin and perversion. Highly intelligent people can commit and justify extremely immoral acts. Humanism, as a philosophy of life, is destructive. It can be defined as “a variety of ethical theory and practice that emphasizes reason, scientific inquiry, and human fulfillment in the natural world and often rejects the importance of belief in God” (Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition).

Man ends up worshiping and idolizing man. But in the end, all men are inherently selfish and self-centered. Even our best attempts at living altruistic lives end up being self-serving. When you make man the center of your world, it is difficult, if not impossible, to keep from making that world revolve around yourself and your individual wants and desires. You end up doing what is right in your own eyes and find yourself serving the creature rather than the creator. Not only do you dishonor God, but you eventually dishonor your own body, doing things that God never intended or approved and selfishly fulfilling the lusts of your heart. God releases you to reap what you sow and allows you to experience the negative outcomes of your own myopic and narcissistic lifestyle choices.

We see the reality of these verses all around us. We are surrounded by highly educated and intelligent people living godless lives who have made themselves the sole focus of their worship and attention. Mankind has made a habit of rejecting the one true God and coming up with their own version of the truth. They exchange the truth about God’s existence and sovereignty for the lie that He is irrelevant or replaceable, and the lie always leads to destruction.

Paul will outline some serious consequences of living according to the lie. When reading the following verses, it is tempting to focus on a particular sin, but Paul has a much broader view of man’s belief in the lie. He will describe those who reject the truth of God and accept the lie in far-from-flattering terms.

Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. – Romans 1:29-31 NLT

His words should sound familiar because they describe the world we live in. Paul says, “Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done” (Romans 1:28 NLT). And they reaped what they sowed.

A life lived without God is not a pretty picture because buying into the lie comes with serious consequences. Any man who is left to himself and allowed by God to pursue his own way will ultimately live a life marked by godlessness, unrighteousness, and, in the end, death.

Father, Paul was right, the world is filled with people who have believed “the lie.” They can see the evidence of Your existence all around them but they have become blind to the truth. Their hearts are hardened and their minds have been deceived by the enemy’s constant barrage of blatant lies and half-truths. He has convinced them to worship anything other than You and, as a result, they have left to fend for and care for themselves. Thinking themselves to be wise, they have become fools. And yet, in Your love and mercy, You continue to call the lost back to Yourself. As You have done for centuries, You extend grace and mercy to the rebellious and disobedient, offering them the opportunity to accept the free gift of salvation and spiritual restoration made possible through Your Son’s death on the cross. You allow them to pursue their false gods and, yet, You never completely abandon them. The gift is always available. As Paul told the believers in Rome,“The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23 NLT). Thank You for this reminder of Your goodness, grace, patience, kindness, and love. Give me a heart to love the lost like You do and never let me forget that, at one point, I too “exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25 ESV). Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Spiritual Maturity Is Non-Optional and Impossible Without God

January 1, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. ²I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, ³for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? ⁴For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

⁵What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. ⁶I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. ⁷So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁸He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. ⁹For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. – 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 ESV

There is nothing particularly wrong with acting like a child – if you are one. But we all know how awkward it is to be around someone who refuses to act their age. Watching a grown man behave like a teenager is painful and extremely disappointing. It’s obvious to all that something is wrong with his behavior. He has refused to grow up and own up to the responsibilities that come with adulthood, and his immature actions usually end up impacting every area of his life.

The same can be said for spiritual immaturity. It’s not that it’s wrong. Every believer starts out as a spiritual infant in Christ. We begin the journey of faith as metaphorical newborns who require what Paul refers to as the “milk” of God’s Word. This is normal, natural, and to be expected. It was Peter who wrote, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation” (1 Peter 2:2 ESV). There is a time in every believer’s life when their spiritual diet must be simple and easily digestible. But as they grow, they must move on to the “meat” of the Word. They are to grow up into salvation, learning to grasp the depth of God’s love, the significance of His grace, their complete dependence upon His strength, and the full weight of His call to holiness. The author of the book of Hebrews had some strong words to say to the recipients of his letter:

You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. – Hebrews 5:12-13 NLT

They were stuck on the basics, the elemental principles of God’s Word. They knew that Jesus was the Son of God and that He had died for their sins. They also understood their complete dependence upon Him for salvation. In placing their faith in Jesus, they believed they would be restored to a right relationship with God the Father. But their knowledge of God’s Word had not gone beyond that point. Their grasp of all that God had done and all that He had in store for them remained limited, and their behavior remained so as well.

Paul gave the Ephesian believers a goal to “be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13 NLT). He expected them to grow in Christ-likeness, becoming increasingly more like Him in their daily conduct. The result of this spiritual growth would be clearly evident.

Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. – Ephesians 4:14-15 NLT

The problem with the believers in Corinth was that their behavior was revealing their spiritual immaturity. They were bickering, boasting, fighting, and fuming over who was more spiritual based on which teacher they followed. Paul exposed the shallow and immature nature of their behavior. “There is jealousy and strife among you,” he wrote, and that was proof that they were “of the flesh and behaving only in a human way” (1 Corinthians 3:3 ESV). They were acting like children, arguing over things that didn’t matter and revealing their lack of understanding of God’s ways.

They were making much of men rather than making much of God. They misunderstood that their spiritual mentors were merely messengers who had been acting on behalf of God. This led Paul to ask, “Who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us” (1 Corinthians 3:5 ESV). They were nothing more than instruments in God’s hands. Their value came from God’s decision to use them to accomplish His will. In a subsequent letter to the Corinthians, Paul reemphasized his understanding of his role as a supporting cast member.

You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. – 2 Corinthians 4:5-7 NLT

Mature believers have a growing awareness that God is the source of all that we enjoy regarding our faith. It was He who called us. It was His Son who died for us. It was His Spirit who opened our eyes so that we could understand the truth of the gospel. It is His Word that provides us with insight into His nature and daily guidance for our journey of faith. And it is God who provides His Church with apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers “to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12 NLT).

Paul reminded the believers in Corinth that he, Cephas, and Apollos were nothing more than “God’s fellow workers” and they were “God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9 ESV). Maturing believers have a growing understanding of and appreciation for God’s work in their lives. Over time, their appreciation for His love and mercy increases as they experience His grace and mercy. They grow in their gratitude for His unfailing forgiveness. They grow in their desire to please Him, not to earn His love, but to express gratitude for His love. They grow in their dependence upon Him. They grow in their desire for Him. They grow in their hunger for His Word. They grow in their trust in His promises. They grow into their salvation. And all this growth shows up in their behavior.

Father, You don’t just expect me to grow, You have provided everything I need to see that it happens. You are the source of everything. You alone have provided the means for my salvation and sanctification, and, one day, You will bring about my future glorification. Your Spirit convicts, comforts, guides, and produces His fruit through me. Through Your Word, You reveal Yourself to me. I owe everything to You., including my capacity to grow up in my salvation. I am completely dependent upon You, and I believe that You will complete what You started in my life. As Paul told the Philippians believers, “God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6 NLT). Keep me focused on Your faithfulness and totally reliant upon Your goodness, grace, mercy, and love. So that I will continue to grow up and stand out for You. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Devotionary

The Bible Made Accessible and Applicable

sovereignty

Conflicted, But Confident

A Profoundly Complex But Perfectly Simple Plan

Our God Reigns

Grace, Gratitude, and Growth

The Wondrous Ways of God

Our Ready, Willing, and Able God

The Improbable But Providential Plan of God

The Chosen

The Lie That Leads To Death

Spiritual Maturity Is Non-Optional and Impossible Without God