Calvary Wolfeboro

“Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.” Stephen Covey’s profound axiom about human nature describes the importance of our thought life. Put another way, intent precedes content. The content of one’s life is the result of the intent of their thoughts. What you think about matters. What you think about a lot matters a lot. And what you are dedicated to with will define you. This is the power of intent. For the Christian there is nothing keeping us from making the intent of our lives God’s pleasure.

We’ve all seen the scene in the cartoons and movies where a character is faced with a decision. In order to help the decision-maker out, two new characters appear. One of them an evil angel or devil and the other a good angel. While possibly sitting on the shoulder of their counselee, they seek to persuade the person to see things their way and make the decision based on their counsel. To a certain extent all people have these two voices in their head. But for the Christian this struggle is much more amplified and real. We have two natures. The nature that we received at our first birth. This is the fallen nature or old nature. And the nature we receive when we are born again. This is our new nature. It is these two natures (also called the flesh and the spirit) that produce a constant struggle in the heart of a follower of Christ. While the struggle is real, so is the possibility for victory. Let’s find out more as we finish up the seventh chapter of Romans.

"You're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed you're gonna have to serve somebody. Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody." The chorus of Bob Dylan's song "Gotta Serve Somebody" describes a profound truth in a subtle way. The truth is that as human beings our only true freedom is to choose who or what we will serve. Pure autonomy(being completely free) is a farce. It's a lie. In Romans 6 Paul simplifies this reality even more by narrowing the options down to two: Sin or Righteousness. Later he will contrast slavery to sin with slavery to God. Described in a more personal way, our two options, as Dylan puts it, are the devil or the Lord. Let's consider what this means for us as Believers and how we can live like the slaves of Christ that we are."

God loves a cheerful giver. Meditate on that statement for any length of time and it should transform your philosophy about giving. There shouldn’t be any scrooges in the Kingdom. “When you give,” Jesus said, “don’t let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.” His assumption is that we would give. It is therefore not the fact of giving that is even Jesus’ focus but the attitude of giving. How far most Americans are in their giving from what God intends. Barna states that Evangelical Christians in America give, on average, 2-3% of their income to the local church. Their study doesn’t reveal this but it’s probably safe to say that anyone who is giving such a small amount to the work of God is not doing it cheerfully. Cheerful giving is generous giving. And It begins with the work of the local church but it doesn’t stop there.

God loves a cheerful giver. Meditate on that statement for any length of time and it should transform your philosophy about giving. There shouldn’t be any scrooges in the Kingdom. “When you give,” Jesus said, “don’t let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.” His assumption is that we would give. It is therefore not the fact of giving that is even Jesus’ focus but the attitude of giving. How far most Americans are in their giving from what God intends. Barna states that Evangelical Christians in America give, on average, 2-3% of their income to the local church. Their study doesn’t reveal this but it’s probably safe to say that anyone who is giving such a small amount to the work of God is not doing it cheerfully. Cheerful giving is generous giving. And It begins with the work of the local church but it doesn’t stop there.

When a monarch butterfly emerges from its crysalis there is no evidence that it once was a caterpillar. Practically speaking, the caterpillar doesn’t exist anymore, it’s gone. Dead is the word that Paul uses to describe the old self that is replaced by the new self in Christ. Dead, in particular, is the “body of sin,” as he calls it. And because the old self is dead, it no longer is under the reign of sin and death. What does this mean for the Believer? Let’s find out as we continue our verse by verse study of the book of Romans.

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. At least it should be. It’s the perfect combination of celebrating Messiah's birth, gathering with brothers and sisters, friends and family, enjoying unusual goodies, and giving and receiving extraordinary gifts. But so often all of what should be so amazing becomes a real bummer. The blessings of Christmas become the burdens of Christmas. This same possibility exists in the Christian life as a whole. Every believer has been saved by Jesus from sin and death and brought into grace and life. But too many saints seem to forget what they have. Like the “real meaning of Christmas,” we forget the “real nature of grace life.” Grace life has replaced sin and death. It’s abundant life, It’s overcoming life, and it’s everlasting life. Let’s make sure we are living it now and looking forward to it forever.

Peace. It's a powerful motivation. People will do almost anything to settle down the worry or anxiety that troubles their hearts. In Romans 5, Paul begins his description of the benefits we have in our justification by pointing to the peace we have with God. A peace, he goes on to write, that is rooted in the love and grace of God. These verses are a much needed guide in our anxiety-consumed church culture where too many fail to lay hold of this critical promise of our salvation.

Romans 3 verses 24 and 25 tell us something central to the gospel. In these verse Paul makes it abundantly clear that humanity is made right with God by the cross of Jesus Christ as a gift to be received by faith. Our part is pretty minimal. We simply receive the gift of God by faith. But how? What does it mean to receive something by faith. What does this faith look like? It's an important question and one that Paul shines some light on in Romans 4. In this chapter we find the example of Abraham. His faith is the model for us. Let's consider what his faith as a model for ours.