A letter from me to you inspired by Paul’s letter to the Romans
Hi there to everyone reading this, My name’s Helen and I’m a follower of Jesus. That’s pretty much all you need to know about me. I’m on a lifelong journey to work out what...
Monthly Archive: May 2018
From me to you Part 13: peace, grace and love be yours
CONTEXT: Paul’s plans never went according to plan. The Book of Acts describes Paul’s travels from country to country as he’s detained by the authorities, faces shipwreck, stays months in one place, moves on to...
From me to you Part 12: live your faith your way
CONTEXT: Paul was writing this letter to the believers in Rome, a mix of Jewish and Gentile believers. He’d heard about the disagreements amongst believers on how to do faith. The Jewish Christians still held...
From me to you Part 11: a right attitude to politics
CONTEXT: Rome was a tough place to live for Christians in the first century AD. The Jewish Christians had come from a long Jewish tradition that believed that the Jewish nation was the chosen people...
From me to you Part 10: it’s all about love – that’s why we’re here
CONTEXT: ‘Therefore…’ That’s the first word of Romans 12. That word in itself is all about context. You don’t start a document with the word ‘therefore’. ‘Therefore’ here means ‘in the light of all that...
From me to you Part 9: it’s weird how some turn to God and others do not
CONTEXT: Paul is deeply committed to his people. He’s always been a devout Jew, committed to upholding the values and traditions of the Jewish faith. His involvement in persecuting Christians as a young man stemmed...
From me to you Part 8: God’s Spirit is at work
CONTEXT: When Jesus was preparing his followers for his death, he talked to them about the promised Holy Spirit. He would not always be with them physically, but they would never be alone. God would...
From me to you Part 7: so not the person I wish to be
CONTEXT: The Jewish Christians would have known the importance of the law. The Law as given to Moses in Exodus when God was establishing a Jewish nation was the Law that the Jews continued to...
From me to you Part 6: choose life
CONTEXT: Paul was a Jew. He didn’t stop being a Jew when he discovered new life in Jesus. His new understanding of how to live in relationship with God was not a new religion: it...
From me to you Part 5: Peace and grace and hope be yours
CONTEXT: Paul knew plenty about suffering for his faith. Before he himself had to face opposition and persecution for being a follower of Jesus, he was directly involved in persecuting Christians. He stood by and...
