Cycle Accident

So I was at my son's tennis match and he won his singles match.  The plan was to take the cycle over to the shop in Ephrata to get new tires.  We wanted to be back before his doubles match.  I left and was riding down the road.  I could feel my phone ringing in my pocket so I waited to find a good place to pull over.  I didn't want to stop alongside the road.

Just beyond Kmart in Ephrata, I pulled into a parking lot.  Only one vehicle was present, a pick up truck.  I pulled off the road and answered my phone which was ringing again.  It was my wife, she was asking where I was.  I told her I was sitting in a parking lot and all the details when all of a sudden I got hit on my left side.  This truck just hit me.

I jumped off the bike as it fell to the ground and he backed over it, my phone went flying.  I started yelling.  This guy hit me straight against the back of his truck as he was backing up.  I don't think he even looked to see if anyone was there.

My bike has a broken hand brake, a broken left back turn signal, a bent foot brake, a broken winshield, scuffs on the muffler, and more.  I am very upset (angry).

The insurance company says it sounds like it was the other guys fault and his insurance should probably take care of it.  I hope so.

Yes, my leg hurts, but I'm more upset that my bike got hurt and broken all because someone didn't pay attention to what he was doing.

Romans 1

Roman 1: 18-23

Paul says God's wrath is against the ungodly.  For they surely have known God's greatness.  He has not hidden it.  Men knew God but did not glorify God, they were not thankful.  They said they were wise but became fools for they changed the image of God into images made by men.

So here is what I see in these 5 verses.

God has revealed himself to us.  There are some that know or have known about God but choose instead to walk the other way.  They know and see all that God has done for them but refuse to give God thanks and honor for what He has given.  They have trusted in themselves and now worship other things such as other people or animals.

God has revealed Himself to us.  "His invisible attributes are clearly seen" (vs 20)

What are His attributes?

First what is an attribute?

Websters dictionary says:

1 - an inherent characteristic

2 - an object closely associated with or belonging to a specific person

3 - a word ascribing a quality

syn- quality

So what does it say about His attributes? (vs 20)

 "His eternal power and Godhead"

So how is His eternal power clearly seen?

-Prove, beyond a shadow of a doudt, tht God did not make the universe.  He made the heavens and the earth and all that is in between.  We could talk about the "Big Bang Theory" but that is a subject for another time.

How does God prove His Godhead or Divine Nature?

First in His Son dying on the cross.  He also led His children, the Israelites out of Egypt.  It's His love for all of us.  We know it and feel it, just some choose to reject it.

So what has happened to those that have rejected God?

Read vs 24-31

God gave them over to all there lusts of heart.  They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, even though they knew the truth.  They also knew that in the end they will die to themsleves.  They even approve of others who practice as they do.

Romans (Paul) even talks about that God gave them up to vile passions.  (Have you noticed that vile and evil use the same letters?)  Paul describes this as a woman with a woman, and a man with a man. (Homosexuality)  Yes, it was alive and kicking even 2000 years ago.  But what does Paul say about that? (vs 27) "And receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due."

You can decide for yourself what that means.

Paul continues that what they are dong is wrong and they deserve death.  Yet they continue in their sin.

OK, so what about us?

We know these things that were mentioned in vs 29-31 are wrong and yet we do some of them.  Maybe not all but some and some of us approve of others doing the same things we do.

So do we not deserve the wrath of God?  Don't we deserve His punishment of death?  Read the list again, surely you are on there somewhere.

And this is what Paul is saying in that first chapter of Romans, that all of us are desirving of death.  How then, shall we ever get out of this?

Let's look at chapter 2.