Incredible One-Liners

Recently, I have re- read the book of Romans. What an incredible book of the Bible with tons of amazing “one-liners” that offers guidance on walking day-to-day on our spiritual journeys. Today, I want to share ten of my favorite Romans one-liners. I would love to hear what some of your favorites are.

· Discover beauty in everyone. Romans 12:17
· Fix your attention on God – you’ll be changed from the inside out. Romans 12:2
· The generous gift of his life - you are who you are through this gift. Romans 1:4-5
· Abraham was first named “father” and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do. Romans 4:17
· They actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. Romans 9:30
· Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Romans 12:14
· Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Romans 12:11
· If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help. Romans 14:4
· In kindness God takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into radical life change. Romans 2:4
· Our lives get in step with God by letting him set the pace. Romans 3:27-28

Smoke Screens

On August 17, 1921, a new smoke screen was demonstrated at Camp Meade for the members of the Reserve Officers’ Training Camp. This smoke screen was said to be denser and more impenetrable than any other smoke screen invented at that time. That day, as the smoke candles were lit, dense white clouds were seen instead of black ones. Not only were these white clouds said to produce smoke in greater quantities than any other smoke candle but Major Atkisson, from the Edgewood Arsenal, stated that the smoke screen was absolutely harmless to the person that walked through it.

The Bible talks about a different kind of smoke screen in Romans chapter 2. Although this smoke screen, called judgmental criticism, isn’t always quite as harmless as the one demonstrated on that day in 1921, it often does have the same effect of diverting attention.

The Bible tells us in Romans 2:2 that, “Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors. But God isn’t so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what you’ve done.”

The dictionary defines a smoke screen as “a mass of dense artificial smoke used to provide cover.” Interesting; provide cover. I wonder how often, without even realizing it, we try to cover ourselves with the artificial smoke of criticizing others.

TRANSFORMATION

The motor home has allowed us to put all the conveniences of home on wheels. A camper no longer needs to contend with sleeping in a sleeping bag, cooking over a fire, or hauling water from a stream. Now he can park a fully equipped home on a cement slab in the midst of a few pine trees and hook up to a water line, a sewer line and electricity. One motor home I saw recently had a satellite dish attached on top. No more bother with dirt, no more smoke from the fire, no more drudgery of walking to the stream. Now it is possible to go camping and never have to go outside. We buy a motor home with the hope of seeing new places, of getting out into the world. Yet we deck it out with the same furnishings as in our living room. Thus nothing really changes. We may drive to a new place, set ourselves in new surrounding, but the newness goes unnoticed, for we've only carried along our old setting.

The adventure of new life in Christ begins when the comfortable patterns of the old life are left behind.

David Roher