<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Romans 1;26-32<br><br><b>26. &nbsp;For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchange natural relations for unnatural,</b><div><b>27. &nbsp;and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due</b><b>&nbsp;penalty for their error.</b></div><div><b>28. &nbsp;And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind&nbsp;and to improper conduct.</b></div><div><b>29. &nbsp;They were filled with all manner of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, they are gossips,</b></div><div><b>30. &nbsp;slanders, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,</b></div><div><b>31. &nbsp;foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.</b></div><div><b>32. &nbsp;Though they know God’s&nbsp;decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them&nbsp;but approve those who practice them.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><span>Chapter One of Romans has for me been one of the saddest and most depressing chapters in the entire Bible. &nbsp;God, through Paul,&nbsp;has set before us&nbsp;a stark and straight forward&nbsp;explanation&nbsp;of concupiscence, the utter and total&nbsp;fallen state of man in his sin-filled&nbsp;depravity, both the cause and the consequence. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Furthermore, in this opening&nbsp;chapter&nbsp;God declares what fallen man, (who is still able by his temporal senses to perceive a part of the glory of God)&nbsp;should do with the evidence of&nbsp;God’s goodness&nbsp;in Creation,&nbsp;</span><span>but has chosen instead to hate Him. &nbsp;Fallen man should still worship God, simply on the basis of the marvels of&nbsp;Creation,&nbsp;our existence in it, and the miracle of physical life capable of fruitfulness, but we don’t.&nbsp;</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>As a race, we before God are&nbsp;doubly and most justly condemned. &nbsp;Still, God is merciful.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Twice in this passage we read, <i>“God gave them up” </i>(v.26 &amp; 28). &nbsp;This is a good thing.</span></div><div><span>In ‘giving mankind up’ to the consequences of their depraved condition, He exposes us to the sufferings of sin and its final fruit, death. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>It is in our&nbsp;well deserved sufferings that we are broken and opened to receive the Gospel, the Good News of God in Christ for our salvation. &nbsp;This is why the tax collectors and the prostitutes flocked to Jesus. &nbsp;They were very broken. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Prayer: Gracious&nbsp;Father, You&nbsp;have not given up on mankind, but in mercy&nbsp;have&nbsp;‘given us up’ to sufferings and&nbsp;death. &nbsp; Into our brokenness, pour</span><span>&nbsp;Your healing and comforting&nbsp;Word and Spirit. A</span><span>nd by them, grant us&nbsp;</span><span>fullness of L</span><span>ife, </span><span>Newness of Life in Christ</span><span>&nbsp;and</span><span>&nbsp;His own&nbsp;</span><span>holiness. In Jesus we pray, Amen.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Love,&nbsp;</span></div><div><span>Dad/Baba/Eric</span></div><div><span>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</span></div><div><span>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Romans 1;26-32

26.  For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchange natural relations for unnatural,27.  and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error.28.  And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct.29.  They were filled with all manner of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, they are gossips,30.  slanders, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,31.  foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.32.  Though they know God’s decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them but approve those who practice them.
Chapter One of Romans has for me been one of the saddest and most depressing chapters in the entire Bible.  God, through Paul, has set before us a stark and straight forward explanation of concupiscence, the utter and total fallen state of man in his sin-filled depravity, both the cause and the consequence.  
Furthermore, in this opening chapter God declares what fallen man, (who is still able by his temporal senses to perceive a part of the glory of God) should do with the evidence of God’s goodness in Creation, but has chosen instead to hate Him.  Fallen man should still worship God, simply on the basis of the marvels of Creation, our existence in it, and the miracle of physical life capable of fruitfulness, but we don’t. 
As a race, we before God are doubly and most justly condemned.  Still, God is merciful.
Twice in this passage we read, “God gave them up” (v.26 & 28).  This is a good thing.In ‘giving mankind up’ to the consequences of their depraved condition, He exposes us to the sufferings of sin and its final fruit, death.  
It is in our well deserved sufferings that we are broken and opened to receive the Gospel, the Good News of God in Christ for our salvation.  This is why the tax collectors and the prostitutes flocked to Jesus.  They were very broken.  
Prayer: Gracious Father, You have not given up on mankind, but in mercy have ‘given us up’ to sufferings and death.   Into our brokenness, pour Your healing and comforting Word and Spirit. And by them, grant us fullness of Life, Newness of Life in Christ and His own holiness. In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love, Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”











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