Quest for Hope
Living By Faith 2-23-16
Romans 1:16-20
Yesterday, we praised God for answering our prayers; our hope in His loving care continues to grow as we receive His life through faith. Today, in our quest for hope we will focus on the power of living by faith. The Apostle Paul will be our guide this morning…
Romans 1:16-20 “I am not ashamed of the Good News, because it is the power God uses to save everyone who believes—to save the Jews first, and then to save non-Jews. The Good News shows how God makes people right with himself—that it begins and ends with faith. As the Scripture says, ‘But those who are right with God will live by faith.’ God’s anger is shown from heaven against all the evil and wrong things people do. By their own evil lives they hide the truth. God shows his anger because some knowledge of him has been made clear to them. Yes, God has shown himself to them. There are things about him that people cannot see—his eternal power and all the things that make him God. But since the beginning of the world those things have been easy to understand by what God has made. So people have no excuse for the bad things they do.”
Nothing ministers God’s presence to my soul like a beautiful sunrise. As I stand and watch the sunrise, the core of my being rises up within me and fills me with the power to conquer another day in Christ. I love the rising sun; I love the risen Son! When I watch the sun rise and set day after day, I marvel at the amazing power of God. I smile from ear to ear! Because of my faith in Jesus, the Spirit of this precious and powerful Creator lives within me. God has made himself known to humanity by creation. God is the Creator of all things. Creation is ordered by the Word of the Lord. This ordered creation is to cause humanity to flourish physically, emotionally, and spiritually as we live by faith in Love (God).
In our passage, the Apostle Paul reminds us of a deep problem we face in relationship with God; His anger is poured out against sin. God addresses sin, because there is no excuse for not recognizing there is a creative and loving God as the Source of all things. But the Good News is we can live each day, with hope, by placing our faith in God. “It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Listen like the celestial creation to the Word of the Lord who keeps it in order; Listen to your Creator and He will keep your life in order, too. Rewards await you.
Prayer: Creator God, thank you for the beauty of creation that reveals your powerful and creative handiwork; I recognize your order and know you have lovingly placed me within it. As you keep the sun rising every morning, continue to keep my life rising in your grace and power. As your creation is a blessing to me; help me to be a blessing to your creation. Holy Spirit, cause me to always turn my life and worship toward the Creator of all things. In Jesus’ name. Amen.