And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28A lot of folks misread that. It's not 'all things are good'. Because they aren't. Some events and circumstances are devastating, crushing, life-altering. To deny that is disingenuous at best. At its worst, it destroys our faith and warps our view of God, sometimes even to the point we no longer serve Him.
In Genesis, we read the story of Joseph, a teenager who was guilty of nothing more than being a brat. He was sold into slavery by his own brothers, then falsely accused of sexual assault and imprisoned for thirteen years. Thirteen. Years.
His response echoes the idea behind Romans 8:28. He says, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive." (Genesis 50:20 NAS)
He doesn't whitewash his brothers' intent or that it was personal, but he says God wove those strands together in a way that redeemed them. Since sin first entered the world, God has chosen to redeem it rather than destroy it. He is redeeming my sins and failures as sure as He redeemed my soul. And He's redeeming the wrongs committed against me.
Well-meaning folks will use this verse intending to encourage us in difficult times, but instead it becomes a false barometer. If we don't agree that whatever "it" is is good, our faith, our love for God or even our salvation itself is brought under suspicion. That's unfair. It doesn't show a lack of faith if we mourn and grieve when bad things happen. It shows we have a tender heart that longs for the day when all tears are wiped away, but yet remains bound to a fallen world. It is a cry for the day when God will avenge all those wrongs, while realizing we're bound to endure them for now.
I pray for God's strength and comfort on us all as He weaves.
I rarely take a good picture. At least in my judgment. (And I'm not fishing for compliments. I bet you're the same way.) As soon as I see the photo, I immediately notice a weird half-smile, or an unflattering fold here and there, or my hair wasn't right, or my eyes were droopy… There's an endless list. 
) When he looks at the same photo, he uses eyes of love and grace. 
If you're not a basketball fan, there were a lot of games this weekend, and even more in the coming weeks. Monday, I saw that one of the coaches was giving away his signed lanyard from the tournament his team played in over the weekend. His name and college team appeared on the badge and in large letters at the bottom, it read "all access" with the dates and event name.
Romans is one of the cornerstones of the New Testament. In it, Paul lays out the key doctrines of Christianity in a logical progression. It's hardly a dry dissertation, though. Martin Luther touched off the Protestant Reformation when he grasped what Paul had written. The truths even make Paul stop and praise God. (See 11:33-36).jpg)
Introducing a study of Romans, I asked my study group: