Romans 15

There once was a man who found a genie.
This genie agreed to grant this man 3 wishes but with the catch, whatever you get, your wife gets double.
Now keep in mind man and his wife didn't get along so well regarding money and such.
Wish 1.... The man requested for a car, and so he received a car while his wife received two....
Wish 2.... The man requested for $500,000.00 so received it while his wife received $1,000,000.00
Wish 3.... The man thought long and hard, how could he keep all these things to himself?
And so he lit up like a light bulb and said to the genie...
"Hey... Beat me half to death"


Yes I took the time to write this story.

youre wierd.

Nice spelling, Grace...

Anyway, I'll be off to do my devo then!

Right off the bat, even verses one and two seem to really place something in my own life: 1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.
I guess one of my main issues I go through is pride. And really, (I'm guessing it's the way I've been raised, really), I judge people very often... as harsh as I can get during school when certain things just don't follow in my own direction. And really, this verse tells me to encourage rather than DISCOURAGE... that's what I get out of this. And it's something I'll definitely have to pray.

I'll continue on. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”[a] 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
Christ did not come to Earth just to try and get us into heaven. He came because he wanted to show how much God really loves us - and to prove that God provides SO MUCH beyond what we're so capable of doing. He did it in this way so that we would remember - so that we would remember everything that has been taught. I mean, suffering reveals so much these days. No one would've talked about Egypt until the revolutions started - why? The nation was suffering. It was going under a serious situation with its presidency.
This also tells me that as much as we enjoy reading under the New Testament, the Old Testament should be read just as much, because all of the laws -all of the commandments were in place to teach us and to give us knowledge.

Many other things stood out to me, but for the sake of simplicity, I'll be cutting it down. The last part is what really made me reawakened (if I were to describe it).

17 Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. 18 I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— 19 by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

Paul's dedication was so captivating. His life was just turned around 360 degrees when he encountered Christ. Everything that made him - his knowledge, his racial background, and his pride - was thrown away. He became a new person. He KNEW so much about God - every commandment, every part of the Old Testament, but he never EXPERIENCED God in his life. He dedicates his life so passionately that he'd rather speak from Christ's commandments and nothing more - he was an ongoing, 24 hour 7 day preacher. This shouts to me as a true follower of Christ. And we're Christians, aren't we? Aren't we supposed to follow in Christ's footsteps? This is so much of an encouragement that makes me so happy to read all the time, and grace and peace be to Paul's letters.

That's it then, and I'm off to sleep early!

Keep it up strong, pray for tomorrow, and have an awesome night with devotions!

- Jules (noticing yet, Billy?)

hahahahh juliann
uhhh i did my devo todayy earlierr but i didnt post it!
i dont really wana repost it soooo yeah! ill post for sunday reflection tmr?? haha
see you guys tmr!

Romans 15

5
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with the heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

To me, this means that God is the provider of our life and he is the one who gives us the strength to keep walking in his pathway. God also builds our self esteem and confidence in ourself so that we can continue to live life without shame. He also provided us with the heart and mouth to PRAISE AND GLORIFY God. The heart in which to desire to love and praise God and the mouth to praise and worship him as he deserves it. This is because he is our God and Father almighty and we should continue to walk in his pathway.

my bad julian.

in this chapter, i can see how important it is to love your neighbor!
I think that this commandment is constantly mentioned in many chapters in the bible.
It is such an important rule we need to be aware of, and follow~
Its probably one of the hardest things for a human to do... love every single person in the world, even those you dont like, dont get along with etc..
but God made us so that we ARE capable to LOVE one another!!!!!

see you all tmrw~