Category Archives: Romans

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A God Created In Our Image

Holy or Happy—What Will It Be?

UNSHAKEABLE: The kind of God we want may not be the kind of God we need. In truth, we need a God who is kind when we need kindness, and stern when we need sternness. As a child of the Loving Father who disciplines out of love, and as a disciple who is committed to the way of Jesus, perhaps today is a good day to recommit to both the kindness AND the sternness of God.

I want a God who is more committed to my holiness than my happiness, because I will never truly be happy, not in this life or the life to come, until I get the holiness thing right. —Ray Noah

Unshakeable Living // Romans 11:22

Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God.

American culture isn’t too thrilled with this verse! We don’t want a God who is stern; we want a God who is only kind — all the time. We want a God who is more like an easygoing grandfather than a strong father. We want nurture not discipline. We prefer love without truth if the truth is going to hurt. We want a God who makes us feel good and who will guarantee our comfort and success.

This kinder, gentler theology has even invaded the church. A lot of people now go to church not to be engaged by truth, but to get a certain feeling—the warm fuzzies. That’s why a lot of people evaluate their church experience or even they choose their church based on if it will make them feel good.

I suppose what we really want is a God created in our image!

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to follow a God like that. I want a God who will give me a dose of tough love when I need it. I want a God who knows what is right for me because I certainly don’t always know what is right for me. I want a God who is my loving Father, which means that he will sometimes discipline me out of love. I want a God who is more committed to my holiness than my happiness, because I will never truly be happy, not in this life or the life to come, until I get the holiness thing right.

The writer of Hebrews talked about this when he wrote,

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Heb 12:7-11)

That’s the God I want, and need. I want a God who is kind when I need kindness, and stern when I need sternness.

A God who will give me both is a God who really loves me!

Get Rooted: The kind of God we want may not be the kind of God we need. In truth, we need a God who is kind when we need kindness, and stern when we need sternness. As a child of the Loving Father who disciplines out of love, and as a disciple who is committed to the way of Jesus, perhaps today is a good day to recommit to both the kindness and the sternness of God.

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You Are Not The Only One

Satan’s Weapon of Choice: Isolation

UNSHAKEABLE: Isolation is one of the chief tools of the Enemy to discourage God’s people. And if he can cause discouragement by tricking them into thinking they are all alone, he can more easily defeat them. Too many of God’s people live defeated lives precisely because “the roaring lion” has isolated them from the herd where they are more easily devoured by discouragement, doubt, and depression. Don’t let Satan use the “solitary confinement” method on you!

Don’t let Satan use the “solitary confinement” method on you. Stay connected to God by staying connect to God’s people! —Ray Noah

Unshakeable Living // Romans 11:4

I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.

Isolation is one of the chief tools of the Enemy to discourage God’s people. And if he can cause discouragement by tricking them into thinking they are all alone, he can more easily defeat them. Too many of God’s people live defeated lives precisely because “the roaring lion” has isolated them from the herd where they are more easily devoured by discouragement, doubt, and depression. (1 Peter 5:8; cf., Elijah’s bout with depression in 1 Kings 19)

I know, only in hindsight, unfortunately, that Satan has occasionally used that age-old method on me—and with some success. You’d think after a few times of the old lion isolating me from the herd, I’d wise up to his ways. But time after time, he comes at me with the same strategy, and before I know it, I’m feeling like the Old Testament prophet, Elijah (Rom 11:3, cf. 1 Kings 19:10,14),

Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me.

He’s probably used the “solitary confinement” method on you, too—and all the while, you were totally unaware. You thought you were the only one who was standing for truth in that hostile environment. You were convinced you were the only believer at your work. You were sure you were the only one in the group who didn’t drink, do drugs, or treat sex as casually as a handshake. You thought that no one else struggled with that shameful sin like you did. You believed no one else could relate to your devastating failure—a broken marriage, a child who walked away from God, getting fired from your job, making what turned out to be a foolish investment, giving in yet again to that addictive behavior.

Well guess what? You’re not alone. Whether you are standing for your faith or struggling with sin or dealing with a devastation, you are in good company. We are all fellow strugglers. But here’s the deal: We are also overcomers. And there are a lot of us; God has made sure to keep plenty of us in reserve: “I have reserved for myself…” (Rom 11:4)

Think of that: Thousands of us, all flawed and in many cases feeble, but “more than conquerors.” In fact, that is our primary identity—more than strugglers, and we are more than conquerors. (Romans 8:37) And at the end of the day, we will overcome the Enemy by the word of our testimony and by the blood of the Lamb! (Revelation 12:11)

So be encouraged and refuse to let the devil lead you into a box canyon of isolation. Share your struggles with a trusted friend. Stay connected with a small group. Don’t lose the vital link between your faith and Christian fellowship. And just remember, “those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (2 Kings 6:16)

You don’t have to stand alone any longer. Jesus did that for you when he hung on the cross all by himself. Because of his isolation, you are now an inseparable part of God’s family, and you are inseparable from God’s love. (Romans 8:35, 38-39)

So hang in there—you are more than a conqueror! So am I!

Get Rooted: Are you connected? That is, do you have a group of Christians—it doesn’t have to be large; perhaps as small as three or four or as large as ten to fifteen—with whom you are doing life? Do you have a rhythm of regular get-togethers with them for fellowship, encouragement, discussion of God’s truth, accountability, and prayer? If not, begin to seek out a small group opportunity. If that is difficult for you, talk to your spiritual leaders about it and enlist their help.

Friend, this is absolutely critical to living an unshakeable life in uncertain times.

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A Longhorn Sermon Or A Word From God?

Preach Away — Both With Your Life And Your Words

UNSHAKEABLE: We live in a culture where far too many churches have downplayed the preaching of the Word. People don’t like to be preached at, so preaching is reduced to “sharing,” messages are more like motivational pep talks, and the preacher becomes a self-improvement guru. In truth, what passes as a message in many churches amounts to nothing more than a “longhorn” sermon — a point here, a point there, and a lot of bull in between. But the preaching of the Word must never lose its primacy in the local church’s ministry. Why? Preaching is the primary vehicle for the development of disciples and for the formation of faith necessary for spiritual seekers to find Christ. The Word of God must be taught clearly, thoroughly, accurately, interestingly, relevantly, passionately, and consistently, or the church has failed in its mission.

God’s Word must be taught clearly, thoroughly, accurately, interestingly, relevantly, passionately, and consistently, or the church has failed in its mission. —Ray Noah

Unshakeable Living // Romans 10:14-15

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.

Okay, this may sound a little self-serving since I am one, but I just want to echo what Paul is saying: Up with preachers! The Christian message requires them! The building of faith requires them! The evangelization of the world requires them!

You go, preacher!

Did you notice that the Gospel formula, if you will, goes something like this: Salvation requires belief; belief requires the communicated Word; the communicated Word requires a preacher; and the preacher requires a divine call? Therefore, in the Christian equation, preaching must be kept preeminent! It is the God-ordained tool for building faith:

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. (Rom 10:17)

We live in a culture where far too many churches have downplayed the preaching of the Word. People don’t like to be preached at, so preaching is reduced to “sharing,” messages are more like motivational pep talks, and the preacher becomes a self-improvement guru. In truth, what passes as a message in many churches amounts to nothing more than a “longhorn” sermon — a point here, a point there, and a lot of bull in between.

Not only is the sermon reduced to a lesser role but in the place of preaching, music, drama, and cool media presentations have taken preeminence. Don’t get me wrong — I love good music, and I believe churches ought to have the best fine arts approach to worship and evangelism possible. Too many churches turn off spiritual seekers because the song selection is out-of-date, the style belongs in the dark ages, and the skill of the musicians would be better served as an implement of torture in the hands of CIA agents at Gitmo. As it relates to the drama ministry, the adage that “no drama is better than bad drama” has been ignored. There needs to be a commitment to excellence befitting the King of Kings regarding the worship arts of a church. And I thank God that I belong to a fellowship with that kind of commitment.

But the preaching of God’s Word must never lose its primacy in the local church’s ministry. Churches must be committed to it and must demand the same kind of skill that I’ve just suggested of the church’s fine arts. Why? Because preaching is the primary vehicle for the development of disciples and for the formation of faith necessary for spiritual seekers to find Christ. The Word of God must be taught clearly, thoroughly, accurately, interestingly, relevantly, passionately, and consistently, or the church has failed in its mission.

Richard Baxter, the Puritan preacher, once remarked, “I preach as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men.” Your preacher must be fully aware that when he or she preaches, eternity literally hangs in the balance. I would recommend that you copy that down on a 5 x 7 card and tape it to the pulpit in full view so that when your pastor steps behind “the sacred desk,” he or she is reminded of their role and senses your supportive expectation that they are carrying out the central activity of the gathered community of faith: the preaching of the Word of God!

Oh, one more thing. Your preacher may be the one assigned to declare God’s truth to your congregation from the pulpit, but you, too, have been called to preach the Good News. You are a preacher, and the world God has placed you in is your parish.

So preach away — both with your life and your words.

Get Rooted: Re-read Romans 10:1-21. Memorize Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” For Your Consideration: Read these verses, as well as the immediate context (Romans 10:5:13) from several different translations (I would recommend the NIV, The Message, and the New Living Translation). Why are these verses such a centerpiece of the Christian message? How does your own view of salvation line up with what Paul has written? Do you think your Christian friends have a good grasp on what it takes to be saved, and if not, how can you engage them in a spiritual conversation about this matter?

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Of Filthy Rags And Transformed Hearts

Salvation is by Grace and by Grace Alone

UNSHAKEABLE: Our righteousness — and let’s be clear, we do have to be righteous to be acceptable to God — comes from Christ alone. You see, God sent his Son to die on the cross — hanging there as our sin — to pay the just punishment for sin that we deserved. Our only hope is that Jesus became sin — our sin — and in so doing, he likewise became our righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says it beautifully, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” How dishonoring to God’s grace and Christ’s atonement when we, therefore, try to save ourselves by our acts of righteousness and our efforts at moral perfection.

2023-03-24 Of Filthy Rags and Transformed Heaerts

Unshakeable Living // Romans 10:9-10

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

You cannot be saved by your good works — no matter how hard you try, your “good” is not good enough for the perfectly holy and completely righteous God who alone grants salvation out of his grace and mercy.

Nor can you be saved by your moral perfection — no matter how moral or how perfect you are. As the Old Testament prophet Isaiah points out, your righteousness is about as good as a “snot rag.” (Isa 64:6). I have actually cleaned that up a bit, because the Hebrew words for filthy rags, ukabeged ehdim, literally means, “like as rags of menstruation.” (NIV Study Bible Notes)

Sorry if that disgusts you, but it’s Scripture — so blame Isaiah. The point is, both our acts of righteousness and the quality of righteousness that we hope they produce are disgusting to God. So if you are disgusted by Isaiah’s language, think of how God is repulsed by our efforts to get him to save us.

Then what hope is there for our salvation? Well, no hope resides within us. None whatsoever. Ephesians 2:1 says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” All a dead person can do is lay there and be dead, let alone try to be righteous before God.

No, our righteousness — and let’s be clear, we do have to be righteous to be acceptable to God — comes from Christ alone. You see, God sent his Son to die on the cross — hanging there as our sin — in order to pay the just punishment for sin that we deserved. Our only hope is that Jesus became sin — our sin — and in so doing, he likewise became our righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says it beautifully,

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

How dishonoring to God’s grace and Christ’s atonement when we, therefore, try to save ourselves by our acts of righteousness and our efforts at moral perfection. The sooner we realize that the sooner we will, like Paul in Philippians 3:8-9, “consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them [our best efforts] rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”

It is only through the power of Christ’s resurrection and our death to self (Phil 3:10-11) that our heart — the core of who we are, that which represents every fiber of our existence — will get transformed. And it is out of a transformed heart, and only that, that our tongue can confess Jesus is Lord.

Then, and only then, are we saved.

So relax about trying to be righteous and morally perfect! Jesus did it for you. God accepts Christ’s efforts on your behalf as good enough, so you don’t have to be good enough. All you must do is accept it, believe it, and conform your life to it!

Get Rooted: Memorize Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” For Your Consideration: read these verses, as well as the immediate context (Romans 10:5-13) from several different translations (I would recommend the NIV, The Message, and the New Living Translation). Why are these verses such a centerpiece of the Christian message? How does your own view of salvation line up with what Paul has written? Do you think your Christian friends have a good grasp on what it takes to be saved, and if not, how can you engage them in a spiritual conversation about this matter?

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The World’s Most Difficult Person

Watch Out For Misplaced Zeal and Unquestionable Sincerity

UNSHAKEABLE: The world is full of sincerely wrong people. And in some cases, they make the world a very dangerous place. If you doubt that, look at any radical bent on having his or her way — a suicide bomber, an anti-abortion assassin, a jealous spouse ready to commit murder-suicide. Each of those people is convinced their cause is righteous and is ready to go to extreme measures to ensure that it’s “my way or the highway.” Of course, most sincerely wrong people you and I know are not a physical threat to anyone, but they certainly can be dangerous to the emotional and spiritual health of those they influence. They are especially dangerous when it comes to faith. And that danger most often takes the form of a theology that adds works of righteousness to salvation by grace through faith. Keep a watchful eye on them!

Who is the world's most difficult person?

Unshakeable Living // Romans 10:2

For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.

Who is the most difficult — and dangerous — person in the world? Is it not the one who is convinced they are really right when they are really wrong?

Do you know anyone like that? I do — I have friends who would have to rank as some of the sincerest people on the planet — sincere in their faith, convinced in their doctrine, determined in their witness — but being sure and sincere are not the hallmarks of accuracy. In fact, the louder and more aggressive the sincerity, the greater the likelihood their sincerity is misplaced and wrongheaded.

The world is full of sincerely wrong people. And in some cases, they make the world a very dangerous place. If you doubt that, look at any radical bent on having his or her way — a suicide bomber, an anti-abortion assassin, a jealous spouse ready to commit murder-suicide. Each of those people is convinced their cause is righteous and is ready to go to extreme measures to ensure that it’s “my way or the highway.”

Of course, most sincerely wrong people you and I know are not a physical threat to anyone, but they certainly can be dangerous to the emotional and spiritual health of those they influence. They are especially dangerous when it comes to faith. And that danger most often takes the form of a theology that is different from what Paul is specifically teaching in this chapter about what it takes to be saved.

While Paul is very clear that salvation is by faith, through belief in the heart and confession with the mouth, these sincere spiritual zealots tend to choke over that equation when you articulate it to them. Just reading the first half of the last sentence sends them into orbit—and not in a good way. They can’t resist adding “plus works” (articulated in a more sophisticated and convincing form, of course) to what Paul has said. But they are missing the whole point he is trying to make in Romans 10:5-6,

For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven’ (to bring Christ down to earth). And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” In fact, it says, ‘The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” (The Message)

Did you catch that? “It is on your lips and in your heart.” In other words, the faith that produces salvation is not a result of any human effort but comes from believing in the core of your being — your heart — and confessing with that which reveals your truest belief as well as the overflow of your heart — your tongue (Luke 6:45). When the heart is transformed by the work of God’s Spirit, and the mouth speaks what the heart has experienced, there you find evidence that true salvation has occurred. For, as the Bible plainly reveals and absolutely guarantees, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” (Rom 10:11) Why? For this simple reason: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom 10:13)

If you are going to be a spiritual zealot, get zealous over that! In that, you can be sincerely right!

Get Rooted: Memorize Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” For Your Consideration: read these verses, as well as the immediate context (Romans 10:5-13) from several different translations (I would recommend the NIV, The Message, and the New Living Translation). Why are these verses such a centerpiece to the Christian message? How does your own view of salvation line up with what Paul has written? Do you think your Christian friends have a good grasp on what it takes to be saved, and if not, how can you engage them in a spiritual conversation about this matter?

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When God Doesn’t Make Sense

Your Trust In God Will Never Be Put To Shame

UNSHAKEABLE: When we call God into question, the problem is not with God, it is with our understanding. Our vision is clouded by ignorance, or pain, or self-preservation, or selfishness, or some other limiting defect brought about by the sin-altered genetics we carry around. But occasionally, we have a very clear picture of what God is up to and we just don’t like it. It seems unfair, inconsistent with a loving God, and incongruent with his good promises. But God has a purpose in everything he does — things we agree with and things we don’t; things we understand and things we don’t; things we like and things we don’t, and we would do well to stand on the promise that “the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” (Rom 9:33)

God has his reasons, and he doesn’t have to explain himself to us. Even if he did, we probably wouldn’t have the capacity to understand.—Ray Noah

Unshakeable Living // Romans 9:33

The one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.

Have there been times in your life when God hasn’t made sense? It happens to me all the time. Early and often, his purpose seems shaky, his logic flawed, his plan muddled, his goodness questionable — frankly, God just doesn’t make sense.

Guess what? He doesn’t have to. He is God and we are not!

In truth, most of the time when we call God into question, the problem is with our understanding. Our vision is clouded by ignorance, or pain, or self-preservation, or selfishness, or some other limiting defect brought about by the sin-altered genetics we carry around. But occasionally, we have a very clear picture of what God is up to and we just don’t like it. It seems unfair, inconsistent with a loving God, and incongruent with his good promises, a la Romans 9:14-18!

What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

In response to that universal complaint, Paul offers some sage advice that you and I would do well to embrace. It would save us a great deal of angst in trying to figure out what will never be figured out: The mystery of God’s ways (See Romans 11:33-36, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”). Paul’s advice comes in the form of a question:

But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? (Rom 9:20-21)

What is Paul saying? That God is God and you are not! If God wants to make one lump of clay into a “vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans” (The Message rendering of verse 21), who is the clay to argue with the Potter? God has his reasons, and he doesn’t have to explain himself. Even if he did, we probably wouldn’t have the capacity to understand. And if we did, his explanation most likely wouldn’t salve our uneasiness with God’s ways — which, just so you know, primarily arises out of our ongoing wrestling match with trying to settle the issue of godship in our lives.

The bottom line is that God has a purpose in everything he does — things we agree with and things we don’t; things we understand and things we don’t; things we like and things we don’t:

I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth (Rom 9:17)

So if that is the inexorable purpose of God, then here’s what I am going with: trusting God. And what is the promise to those of us who will take that approach, even when — especially when — God doesn’t make sense?

The one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. (Rom 9:33)

Yes — God is God and I am not! And I am okay with that.

Get Rooted: Take a moment to reaffirm your trust in God.

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Big “C” Christianity

Acknowledging Jesus As Lord With Our Lips and By Our Lives Is Required

UNSHAKEABLE: Since Jesus Christ is God, therefore, he has every right to rule over our lives as Lord. We are to obey what he says, do what he commands, serve his purposes through our lives, extend his renown throughout the world, and love him with our whole hearts. That’s what it means to be Christian—big “C”!

In America, our national documents guarantee us the right of religious freedom, to believe what we want — but our national rights don’t guarantee that what we believe will be spiritually right.—Ray Noah

Unshakeable Living // Romans 9:5

Christ is over all, the eternally blessed God.

On a fairly regular basis, surveys are released to the public revealing the current state of spirituality of American “christians.” No, “christian” is not a typo. I have used the lowercase “c” deliberately.

A 2008 survey, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life,

“The fact that most Americans are not exclusive or dogmatic about their religion is a fascinating finding,” said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum. “Most people will be surprised that a majority of adherents in nearly all religious traditions, including a majority of evangelical Protestants, say that there isn’t just one way to salvation or to interpret the teachings of their own faith.” (https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/about/news-room/press-releases-and-statements/2008/06/23/new-report-from-the-pew-forum-on-religion-public-life-finds-religion-in-us-is-nondogmatic-diverse-and-politically-relevant)

That can either be taken as a positive sign of growing religious tolerance or more likely, that a high percentage of evangelical Americans dismiss or don’t know the fundamental teachings of their own faiths

In America, our national documents guarantee us the right of religious freedom, to believe what we want — but our national rights don’t guarantee that what we believe will be spiritually right.

People who claim Christianity as their faith have the right to believe that there are many ways to salvation and eternal life, but at least they ought to be intellectually honest enough to admit that their opinion is neither what the Bible teaches nor even what Jesus claimed about himself. It is not even close.

A lot of people may say they follow Jesus Christ, but they are not truly following the way Jesus called them to follow: “If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily.” (Mat 16:24) Likewise, he said, “if you love me, you will do what I say.” (John 14:15) Furthermore, he made the astounding claim in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Sounds pretty intolerant, exclusive, and narrow-minded, wouldn’t you say?

Clearly, from Jesus’ own teaching and from the teaching of Scripture, only those who have fully surrendered their lives to his Lordship are truly Christian.

A great majority of those who say they follow Jesus are simply self-deceived or misled — or both. Their “christianity” is perhaps a cultural one and not a spiritual Christianity. Some believe themselves to be “christian” by virtue of being born in America or having been raised by parents who took them to a Christian church twice a year — Christmas and Easter. But going to church or being born to a Christian family or growing up in a “christian” culture doesn’t make you a Christian any more than stepping onto a dance floor makes you Fred Astaire or Ginger Rogers.

A great majority of those who claim Evangelical faith might even be sincere. But sincerity is not an indicator of truth. There are a lot a sincere people in the world, but they are sincerely wrong.

Being a Christian means recognizing that Jesus himself claimed to be God. Not just a god, or one of God’s offspring; not just a good moral teacher or an influential spiritual director. No, Jesus is, was, and forevermore shall be God. In fact, that’s what got him crucified — his claim to Godship. We are called to recognize, accept and surrender to him as God.

That’s what it means to be Christian — big “C”!

Since he is God, therefore, he has every right to rule over our lives as Lord. We are to obey what he says, do what he commands, serve his purposes through our lives, extend his renown throughout the world, and love him with our whole hearts.

That’s what it means to be Christian — big “C”!

And he is to receive praise from our lips and from our lives. Everything we think, say, and do is to bring glory and honor to him. Our whole existence, our everyday, walking around lives, are to be an offering of praise that brings eternal glory to Jesus Christ.

That’s what it means to be Christian — big “C”!

That’s the kind of Christian I want to be!

Get Rooted: Read Romans 9:1-33. Memorize Romans 9:33, “As it is written: ‘See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For Your Consideration: Ponder the difference between “Big C” and “Small c” Christianity — and honestly evaluate your own faith? Obviously, God desires us to be fully on board with our Christian faith. In reality, maybe you are not 100% there. On a scale of 1to 10, with 10 being “fully devoted to God,” rate yourself in the following areas—and then ask yourself how you can take strategic growth steps toward full devotion: 1) My Moral Life, 2) My Relationships, 3) My Finances, 4) My Service to God, 5) My Personal and Daily Relationship with Jesus Christ