Slices
Prepare
‘Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever’ (Psalm 107:1). Think of ten things to thank God for, and then do it!
Bible passage
God’s wrath against sinful humanity
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is for ever praised. Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worth while to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practise them.
Explore
It seems that we human beings, apart from God, are ill-equipped to run our own lives.
Despite all the evidence (v 20) we choose to ditch God and follow our own desires (v 21). That ruinous decision works out in misplaced worship (vs 23,25), sexual deviance (vs 26,27) and relational and, ultimately, societal breakdown (vs 29–31). Giving in to our desires gives no guarantee of holiness or happiness: quite the reverse.
Three times we are told that God’s displeasure (his ‘wrath’, v 18) with this situation is expressed by allowing humans to make their own decisions and reap the consequences (vs 24,26,28). Like the loving father in the Prodigal Son story, God allows his wilful children to wander off and do their own thing.
Thankfully, his decision to allow people to go their own way is not his last word. His last word is the sending of his Son to deal with this human mess (1:1–17). The good news is that the grieving father longs to receive lost children home – and has done everything necessary to make their return possible.
Respond
Who do you know who has ‘wandered off’? Pray for those prodigals to return home and consider sending them a message to let them know you’re thinking of them.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Exodus 9,10; Matthew 21
Pray for Scripture Union
Sadly, the threats to our systems and data are real and it becomes ever more difficult to protect ourselves. Prayers It’s a core part of the Digital Solution Team’s work that they make new and existing systems as secure as possible. Pray that the team will remain vigilant and focused.
