What is your picture of God?

• Is He an angry God who demands justice? Is He just waiting for you to mess up so He can punish you?
• Does your God play favorites? Then you’re doomed because you just can’t compete with the teacher’s pet.
• Do you need to earn salvation by doing good works that God keeps track of on a scoresheet?
• Does the God you know keep His promises? What is your responsibility?

⁵ But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. ⁶ He will judge everyone according to what they have done. ⁷ He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. ⁸ But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. ⁹ There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. ¹⁰ But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. ¹¹ For God does not show favoritism.

Romans 2:5-11, NLT

Today’s information shows us direct correlations: if this, then that, at this time. WHAT WE THINK AND DO leads to CONSEQUENCES at a certain time WHEN JUDGMENT IS REVEALED. I think this information will be best recorded on a flow chart where one thing leads directly to another.

God’s words for us: I re-read these verses at least five times this week. After reading it as evening devotions, my mind went in so many different directions that sleep was slow in coming. In the past, I’ve thought of this section as pretty straight forward, but I missed so many subtle challenges that God showed me in these words. What does Paul’s letter reveal to you–what has God put in front of you this week?

As you will see tomorrow, it was hard for me to speak a theme, to tell you one thing that I heard from God. But when it came to Doodle Time, it was easy.

See you tomorrow. Let me know where you landed.