Day 12: Matthew 23-24; Romans 4-6

Follow teachings on Moses but don't follow them. Let God tell you what to do. Only one Life-Leader for you and that is Christ. Want to stand out? Step down. Be a servant.

You refuse to enter God's Kingdom and set up roadblocks for others. Hopeless. Arrogant stupidity. A promise is a promise. You tithe on every nickel and dime, but on the meat of God's law, things like fairness, compassion, commitment, to take it or leave it. Must do the basics! Hopeless, hopeless, hopeless! Hypocrite. Supreme insult. Phony. Fake. I am a hypocrite, even though I desire not to be.

Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Routine history. No sign of the end. Stuff will happen. No comparison to the end. Stay with it...to the end.

Monster of desecration.

Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. The exact day and hour? No one knows but the Father. We'll know nothing about it ahead of time.

God comes to us. That's God's character. God arrives, shows up, knocks. God more often comes in the ordinary--in our pain, our doubt, our families, our work.

Romans 4-6

God story, not an Abraham story. Gift. Declaration of righteousness made before circumcision. Set right by God and with God. Trust, not contract. Holy promise, not a business deal. Fulfillment of God's promise depends entirely on trusting God and God's way.

Enter through faith what God has always wanted to do for us. "Peace with God: active life of being a participant in God's work in God's creation." Having it all together with God.

Christ arrives. Doesn't wait for us to get ready. Christ arrives.

Consequences of Adam's sin vs. consequences of Christ's righteousness. Who wins? Death-dealing sin or life-giving gift? 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? On whom do you focus? Sin vs. grace. Which wins?

Enter new life. Don't just keep on sinning. Enter the country of grace. God does everything and we do nothing. New life of holiness follows justification--sin contradicts who we are, affecting our everyday life, but not our eternal life.

Don't let sin tell you what to do. A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more and more of life on the way. Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus our Master.