romans

Romans. you have to read it properly.. in one sitting, like a letter.
i didn't quite do it. got 10 chapters the first morning, then the rest the second morning.

from reading Romans in the past, or reading certain citations,  I got a balanced view of our weakness without Christ and our power in Christ. Some people told me Romans is all about how we are sinners and powerless and stuff. lemme tell you, read it in one sitting, and there is no way you can come to that conclusion. all the quotes from Romans are about that. It's a radical book, stating both the negative and the positive, and is easily misquoted out of context.

the benefit of reading it in one sitting:

• you don't miss/skip anything (duh haha)
• you don't forget as much of the older stuff you read
• the letter makes sense when it's read in order
• Paul's arguments overlap; they truly are systematic!
• main messages and submessages arise! a few of them being:
  -the Gentiles, who did not seek God, were given the Gospel and salvation (just as Isaiah and David had prophesied), which caused Israel/Jews to be envious and angry (as Isaiah and David had prophesied), which in turn will lead Israel back to God (but this time as an obedient people)
  -nothing can separate us from the love of God, which includes the glory, the honor, the power, the spirit of sonship, the guidance/CONTROL of the Spirit, and more
  -God is just and wise - all things are planned and created justly and wisely - so don't talk back to God or ask him 'why did you make me like this?' - recognize His work as holy
  -the law of sin and death is described; living by the Spirit is described; law of sin and death passes away when you are set free by the Spirit of life
  **note: some of these seem like one verse ideas, but that's because they are explicitly stated in a few verses, and then described for many more verses
• you soak things up much better; the text draws you in, as it should; 
• you get used to Paul's language and his style of writing, and you don't get confused by his theological writing as much as you would reading each passage by itself
• you realize that Paul IS summarizing the Gospel in a theological and philosophical manner; he states something, gives examples, and progresses into more intense ideas
• I gained better understanding of some of the prophecies (The completion of prophecies are explained and enunciated throughout 3 or 4 chapters, not just 1)
• it is much more fulfilling to read and understand what the text is saying than to read and try to figure out how to apply it. [read long enough and something WILL apply... and it will apply WELL, unlike the un-convicted applications we try to make up for ourselves].
• you get to fight off more temptations (usually to do something else), and the Word slowly becomes more precious to you

for me, when I first decide that I'm going to read the Bible, I get a huuugeee amount of other things that I could do. Many times, they are things that I would probably never do. It's funny ;P Satan is just scrambling and trying to keep me away from other stuff.
This morning, Satan tried to convince me that I should play video games at 6:30 in the morning, that I should watch a movie, watch some dramas, go back to sleep, go on facebook, check email, watch PORN?!.. LOL. it was just pathetic.. sorry Satan, but you put up a weak fight this morning. half of these things I don't like, and the other half i've decided not to do much of. (hahaha. guess which category porn is in.. tricky, eh? wahaha im just messing with you. 1st category).
 obviously, there seems to be something important that I'm going to learn in the Bible this morning. If I stop reading, then Satan won! he successfully distracted you from finding your gold nugget! uncool.
now, if I keep reading, I can be almost completely sure that what I find is going to be great.

now i might sound like a hypocrite, but I started writing this blog before I finished getting my applications. I decided to read some more stuff, and I got a load of verses that are going to be replaying in my mind for the rest of this summer (while I live with my family... and play games). they're simple, and just writing them out doesn't really give you an understanding of what I just received, but: 'bless those who persecute you', 'live in harmony with one another', 'do not repay anyone evil for evil', do what is right in the eyes of everybody', 'live at peace with everyone'.
they are such elementary verses, even part of the normal moral code, but they hit me hard. why? it's not necessarily because I haven't been doing them, but because I now understand the VALUE of that as well as the EXTENT that these verses apply!

in games, especially shooting games, people kill my character, A LOT. I don't really like it. That turns into me not liking the people that kill my character, which turns into a sort of curse. Showing dislike towards someone when you are supposed to give blessing is at least a semi-curse. For one, you are robbing them of your blessing (which is not a curse), and then, you are going into the negative, showing dislike towards someone (which is obviously beyond neutrality). i say curse.

living in harmony and peace with someone and everyone is valuable. it's less stress, it's more bonding, and it's overall more efficient! this doesn't just mean being neutrally harmonious and peaceful (although our english version of harmony and peace means just that; but only because we are used to being in conflict and war). you have to work towards peace, and if you aren't ACTIVELY working toward peace, you're not going to find it. the reason: b/c peace has to be maintained.
busses are a good example of the EXTENT to which these apply. you can sit near the door, and have a girl or older person sit near the back. you both have a seat, neither of you are at war with one another. you're both comfortable. but taking the back seat is more beneficial for the girl or older person because they don't have to walk as far. this is peace, or harmony, b/c you actively thought of how to make the other person's situation better. the only way to maintain peace is by doing exactly this; by working to make the other person's situation better. the cool thing is that only one person has to do it. one works for peace, the other receives it.
in nations, the lesser always serves the greater. apply this to man and the Bible, and we notice that 'taking the lower position' makes sense. i, the lower, served the girl/older person, the greater, because I esteemed them with my actions of peace.
now, if both parties do this, you end up with a strong peace. this kind of peace doesn't fall away quickly and produces the best fruit. why? because it actively engages other people -- one person initiates in such a pleasant manner that the other person is now ATTRACTED to serving! this is what I'd like to now call quizquiz-discipleship. (why quizquiz? b/c I am trying to make a new word that will get added to the Scrabble dictionary so that I can use it for LOADS of points. we can make it sound french too, pronunciation: qwee-qwee. yeah?)

anyways. thank you Lord for having Paul write your systematic gospel. it is so helpful.