"Who Will Deliver Me?

" week 5 in a study with the book of Romans Romans 9: 30-33; Romans 10: 1-4, 9-21 9:30What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 9:31but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 9:32Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 9:33As it is written: See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame. 10:1Brothers and sisters, my hearts desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 10:2For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 10:3Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to Gods righteousness. 10:4Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. 10:9If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10:10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justied, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 10:11As Scripture says, Anyone who believes in him will never be put

to shame. 10:12For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 10:13for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 10:14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 10:15And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! 10:16But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message? 10:17Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. 10:18But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. 10:19Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding. 10:20And Isaiah boldly says, I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me. 10:21But concerning Israel he says, All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.

Commentary *Remember that the New Testament is a translation of Greek, and so at very best we are reading a translation of a possible translation. *Paul's rst language was Aramaic, and also Hebrew. He was born in Tarsus (modern Turkey) and therefore a Roman citizen. He likely also spoke Latin, but he wanted to reach the Greek speaking (Gentile) world - so he communicated in Greek. *Paul was speaking to some who understood Judaism and some who did not. He uses the understanding most of them had of the Jewish faith as a monotheistic faith. (They had only one God.) *Paul often "justied" the conversion of Jews as well as Gentiles by offering a model for the way the Christian faith is a continuation and fulllment of the Hebrew faith and tradition. *While Paul was enthusiastic about conversion - he also offers a model of being "grafted" together - so he recognizes the unique qualities of both branches of faith. *Paul was often at odds with Jewish leaders (remember, he used to be one!) and some of his rhetoric may have been defensively motivated. *The Holy Scriptures were never meant to be pulled apart and used as a means of violence, oppression, or intolerance! *A close look at this part of Romans reveals Paul's desire to communicate that the Hebrew people were already connected through faith (as Abraham had to begin) - so his idea of the "Law" was more likely a response to the way the faith had been misused by religious authorities who created more and more rules. *This letter emphasizes the similarity between all people of faith, and the way we all evolve as people of faith. (verse 12) *He makes the point that there have always been people who disbelieved or did not have faith - and who relied upon the Law or

rather rules as a means of religion. *Groups who aspire to hurt of hate others are clearly violating the Bible and our Christian faith. There were never any incidents in the Bible where Christians were encouraged to use any force, physical or psychological, to grow the faith. *Paul notes that Jews have sought to follow God, but in Christ all are given salvation through faith - not because they have to work so hard. *Paul notes that salvation is a matter of the heart - to individually give your heart to God - to believe in this message of Grace that was brought by Jesus - and to share love and good news. (That doesn't sound like hate, does it?) *Other faiths seek and follow God - and we are all connected through that desire. Paul offers Christ as the evolution of any faith to the point of abundant Grace - and FREEDOM. (Not tyranny.) *No one gets to be the judge and jury of anyone - we are called to embrace all people. *Within the Church, there are rules for behavior that help us to encourage and love one another - again, they are rules that prevent harm, not cause it. *Paul suggests that the Word is not easy to understand that that is one of the great missions of the Christian Church - to offer this Grace and Freedom. *Any human organization is vulnerable to abuse - so we need to constantly return to this foundational theology - the beliefs Jesus taught us - so that all people can experience this Joy and Freedom.

Notes: When youre feeling down, what do you do to feel better? The most commonly used strategies for dealing with stress are those that activate the brains reward system: eating, drinking, shopping, watching television, surng the Web, and playing video games. But the promise of reward does not always mean that we will feel good. The things we turn to for relief end up turning on us. The most commonly used strategies were also rated as highly ineffective. As we explore the effects of stress, anxiety, and guilt on self-control, well see that feeling bad leads to "giving in". Frightening cigarette warnings can make smokers crave a cigarette, economic crises can make people shop, and the nightly news can make you fat. If we want to avoid such stress-induced willpower failures, well need to nd a way to feel better that doesnt require turning to temptation. The brain, it turns out, is especially susceptible to temptation when were feeling bad. (When smokers imagine a trip to the dentist, they experience off-the-chart cravings for a cigarette.) Your brain isnt just motivated to protect your life it wants to protect your mood, too. You end up craving whatever substance or activity your brain associates with the promise of reward. That means that when youre under stress, any temptations you run into will be even more tempting. The promise of reward combined with the promise of relief can lead to illogical behavior. For example, binge-eaters who feel ashamed of their weight turn to what else? more food to x their feelings. Anxiety, fear, terror create immediate needs to do something to counter our feelings of powerlessness. We will reach for our security blankets, whatever makes us feel safe, powerful, or comforted. A 2009 study found that death warnings trigger stress and fear in

smokers. Unfortunately, this anxiety then triggers smokers default stress-relief strategy: smoking. Oops. One of the biggest threats to willpower worldwide: the what-the-he** effect" which describes a cycle of indulgence, regret, and greater indulgence. Like dieters who feel so bad about any lapse that instead of minimizing the harm they say, What the he**, I might as well eat. Psychologically, self forgiveness is one of the biggest challenges! To many people, self-forgiveness sounds like excuse-making that will only lead to greater self-indulgence. If you think that the key to greater willpower is being harder on yourself, you are not alone. But you are wrong. Self-criticism is associated with less motivation and worse self-control. Self-compassion, especially in the face of stress and failure, is associated with more motivation and better self-control. But it is NOT natural. (Self compassion is not the same as selshness.) Sometimes, being overwhelmed by guilt, anxiety, and stress, we turn to the one thing that really does feel good: resolving to change. Vowing to change lls us with hope. We love to imagine how making the change will transform our lives, and we fantasize about it. Unfortunately, unrealistic optimism may make us feel good in the moment, but it sets us up to feel worse later because actually making a change can be hard, and the initial rewards are rarely as good as our fantasies. Failing to meet our expectations triggers the same old guilt, and give up. This is the false hope syndrome. As a strategy for change, it fails. False hope syndrome masquerades as self-control. We need to believe that change is possible; without hope, wed resign ourselves to the way things are. But we must avoid using the promise of change to x our feelings, not to x our behaviors.

WEEK 5 Willpower challenge 1: 1. What works? What strategies do you have to delay your behavior that really work? Find some. 2. What frightens you? Even if it isn't conscious, any fear will trigger stress relief needs. Take a break from the news for a while and from negative stories on the internet. Unless you can change a situation, why are you worried about it? 3. Examine how you have done in the past few weeks. What has been hard and when did that occur? Did you expect things to be easier? Willpower challenge 2: 1. Recognize that self-compassion is not natural - and is not the same as selshness. 2. What strategies do you have for failure (now or in any area of life?) 3. Do you avoid recognition of mistakes or disappointments? 4. What if you were your own friend - how would you look at the mistakes of a beloved friend? Go easier on yourself! 5. Expect setbacks! You will never get it all right. Willpower challenge 3: 1. Re-examine your goals. Are they realistic? What do you expect to change? Spend time in prayer and reection about this. 2. Continue meditation and extend the time. Remain mindful at points throughout the day. (Before each meal, stop and focus on what you are doing right now. Don't get lost in thoughts.)

Who Will Deliver Me? Will Power, Wont Power, Want Power

July 12:

I will! I won't! I want! Were you born to resist cheesecake? Too Tired? Why our will is like a muscle. Goody! Why being "good" can make us bad. Your Brain Can Lie? Why we mistake want for happiness. I Don't Care! How feeling down leads to giving up. Selling the Future Instant gratication - Now! Infected? Why willpower is contagious. The End of Our Rope! The limits of resistance and beyond.

July 19:

July 26:

August 2:

August 9:

August 16:

August 23:

August 30: