ESOCS Devotional 2 September 2024 – An Uneven Exchange
MEMORY VERSE: “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” Romans 1:25 KJV
TEXT: ROMANS 1:1-25
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, 10 making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— 12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
13 Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. 14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. 15 So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
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Everything we do revolves around an exchange. We exchange time for money. We exchange money for goods. We exchange goods for services rendered.
At the end of Romans 1, Paul writes about another exchange we sometimes make: “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised” (Romans 1:25). Paul saw people all around him worshipping their possessions or obsessions, instead of God who gave them those things in the first place.
Trading the Creator for His creation is never an even exchange. It’s hard to believe we would exchange the joy of knowing the Creator of the Universe to worship someone or something He created. But we do. We chase the high of having the latest gadgets, the satisfaction of landing the big deal, or the admiration of other parents, instead of finding our identity in knowing God and being His children.
Proverbs 4:23 warns us to guard our hearts because the heart is where worship starts. We are born with a yearning in our souls. It’s the part of us that wonders why we’re here, what the point of life is, and whether we’re doing it right. We can try to fulfil that yearning by being the best at work, the perfect parent, or the guy with the latest upgrades but we’ll never gain enough accolades or money to make our lives meaningful. Trading the Creator for His creation is never an even exchange.
Jesus left His throne in heaven to sit on the throne of our hearts. Don’t buy the lie that anything less than Him is worthy of our worship.
- What do you spend most of your time doing and thinking about?
- Where do you spend your money?
- How are you using your talent?
- How do you introduce yourself to others?
- Father, help me not to allow something or someone to replace you on the throne of my heart.
Further Reading: 1 Samuel 9:1-10; Proverbs 8:1-17; Matthew 4:23-25
ESOCS Devotional 2 September 2024
