Week 1 - Saturday

Thanks Be To God

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. (Romans 1:8)

The apostle Paul had a close personal relationship with God. One way we know this is true is because he refers to God, as my God. This is the kind of relationship that God wants to have with all of His children. But a personal relationship like this with God is only possible through Jesus Christ. Only the people who have put their faith in Jesus are God's children, and God is Father only to them. God is not the Father of those who do not believe in Jesus. Satan (the devil) is their father. Some people think that God will accept them because they believe they are a good person. However, no one can have a personal relationship with God because of any good things they have done. Not even the best person can. Even good people still sin at times and until they receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they are still separated from God by their sins. The only person who ever lived a perfect, sinless life was Jesus Christ (2Cor.5:21). That's why His death on the cross, was a good enough sacrifice to pay the penalty for sins of every person who would ever live. The only reason God accepts anyone as one of His children is because of what Jesus Christ has done for them. Receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, is the only way that you can ever have a personal relationship with God.

Paul was always thankful to God for the faith of others, including all the believers who were in Rome. It gave Paul great joy to see evidence of what God was doing in the world by hearing about the faith of others. Rome was not an easy place to be a Christian. The official religion there was emperor worship. The Roman people were taught to believe that their emperors were gods. Rome was a very immoral city as well. Drunkeness, orgies and gluttonous feasting were commonplace. There were Jews in Rome too and many of them hated Christians. But in spite of being surrounded by gross immorality, and under constant persecution for their belief in Christ, the faith of the Roman Christians was well known throughout the world. It was their great faith, which Paul knew came from God, that he was most thankful for. What kind of things are you thankful for? When something good happens to us, we usually find it easy to give thanks to God. But how often do we thank God for the faith that we see in other Christians? This is something that we should not neglect to do. A heart that is thankful, for what God is doing in the lives of other people, demonstrates that we truly do love others and that we love God also. It's one more way that we can give glory to God because it shows that we are aware of, and grateful for, what God is doing in the world.

Readings for today: John 8:42-47; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Eph. 1:15-16; 2 Cor. 4:15