Nothing Can Separate Us from Him

This week, I hope to finish our study of Romans chapter 8. We have learned a lot from this one chapter of Scripture. We have been reminded that “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We are told that “what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.” We learned that the “Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” We also are reminded that, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us.” We are given testimony of God’s desire to adopt us, Christ’s desire to be a sacrifice for us, and the Spirit’s delight to make us like Him.

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“36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

— Romans 8:36-39 (NASB)

Verse 36 might be a little confusing, yet as we look at it we must admit that we are indeed facing death each and every day, each and every moment. We do not choose this death, but Christ did and He did it, so that we might be victorious.

“We are conquerors: though killed all the day long, yet conquerors. A strange way of conquering, but it was Christ’s way; thus he triumphed over principalities and powers in his cross. It is a surer and a nobler way of conquest by faith and patience than by fire and sword. The enemies have sometimes confessed themselves baffled and overcome by the invincible courage and constancy of the martyrs, who thus overcame the most victorious princes by not loving their lives to the death,”

— Matthew Henry Bible Commentary on Romans 8:36

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“They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.”

— Revelation 12:11 (NASB)

Verse 37 says that we are more than conquerors, and it adds that it is through Him who loved us. You see we are not conquerors on our own. Sure, there are times when we pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, but more often that is how we keep going: keep working, keep loving, keep running, keep caring, keep on keeping on. To truly conquer all the things that the enemy and life throws our way requires someone much more like a super hero than I.

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The beauty of this idea, is that Christ, not only saves and conquers for us, but he loves us. Once again, we are reminded of His love. I think that truly believing God loves us, is very hard for us to do. We often find it much easier to love and forgive others, but when it comes to loving and forgiving ourselves we stumble, fall and sometimes just give up. Aren’t you glad, that our view of ourselves does not limit Christ’s view of us?

Verse 38 and 39 begins with Paul’s confidence in the person of the Christ. If Paul can be confident in Him, should we also share that confidence? Paul says he is “convinced.” From that we can derive that at one point in time, Paul did not share this conviction or confidence. If you are familiar with Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, the Lord Himself changed his name to Paul and convinced him of the truth and solidity of the Gospel and the person of Jesus Christ.

What is Paul convinced of?

“That neither - “

death nor life

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angels nor demons

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the present nor the future

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nor any powers

height nor depth

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nor anything else in all of creation

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Will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We must realize that God’s love is only fulfilled through the sacrifice of His perfect Son. It is that love, the love that we obtain when we call Him Lord, that will keep us forever with Him. Nothing, will be able to separate us from Him and from His love. If you want a real romance story, then this is it. He is the great warrior prince who will never leave you, and if you are taken away and enslaved by the enemy, He will not rest until you are back in His loving arms.

I wanted to share this chapter with you, because it is such an encouraging one to me. I hope you have been encouraged by it as well.

He Intercedes for Us

As we slowly come to the end of Romans chapter 8, I am simply amazed at the amount of “good stuff” in this single chapter of the Bible. God’s Word is, indeed, living, active and sharp. I hope that this chapter has had a deep impact on you, as it has on me. Today we need to look at some questions.

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“33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;
34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ”

— Romans 8:33-35 (NASB)

The questions continue as we look at these verses.

Who will bring a charge against God’s elect?

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We are living in times where the more we talk about not judging and not hating, the more we judge and hate. People are angry, upset, frustrated, sick and tired. It it so easy to want to judge. We fall into this mindset easily as we are normally prone to want to defend ourselves and our actions. However, there is only One who judges with truth and equity.

“And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.”

— Psalm 9:8 (NASB)

God is the one who justifies.

The definition we looked at a few weeks ago for justification reads this way, “to judge, regard, or treat as righteous and worthy of salvation.” This definition is specific to situation where salvation is needed, as in a prisoner’s salvation from the death sentence, or our salvation from eternal damnation. Only God is able to justify. He is the perfect one.

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“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

— Matthew 5:48 (NASB)

Who is the one who condemns?

We often act as though we are judge and jury, that what we say goes and there is no other alternative, but only Jesus who passed through the gates of death, walked into Hell and vaporized the chains of sin, is able to condemn.

Christ Jesus is He who dies, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

It was because of our sin, that His sacrifice was necessary. It doesn’t matter how we try to justify our actions, our words, our thoughts or our yearnings, we are sinners. Each and every one of us. The only way to get out of this bramble of thorny sin infested vines is to give our lives to Him. The reason He makes the difference, is because He rose again. Not only did He rise again, he returned to His place at the right hand of His Father, and ours, and there He intercedes for us. He speaks to His father about us.

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This image of Father and Son conversing over our behalf is an emotional one for me. My dad and brothers did not always see eye to eye. My dad was also not a very affectionate person towards us kids. As we got older, that changed, but growing up it was my mom that took care of us and met our emotional needs. The thought of Jesus the Son and God the Father having these talks over you and I is an amazing concept.

Who will separate us from the love of Christ?

I find it interesting that Paul asks this question, but then follows it with another question.

Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword?

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This is not an answer to the Who will separate us, but a further questioning of the What will separate us. Will tribulation? No! Distress? No! Persecution? No! Famine? No! Nakedness? No! Peril? No! Sword? No! None of these things will separate us from Christ and no person will separate us from His love.

“The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”

— Jeremiah 31:3 (NASB)

I found this song when I was looking for something that would go with the idea that Jesus is interceding for us. It might be a little old fashioned, but the message is clear and the harmony is beautiful. Enjoy!

Next week we will finish up Romans 8. Have a great week everyone.

O The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

After a couple weeks away from Romans 8, I think it is time to get back to it. The last time we looked at this chapter we concentrated on only verse 31. Let’s just take a look back at that verse to get a running start.

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“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

— Romans 8:31 (NASB)

With everything that is going on in our world right now, this verse is so meaningful to me. In a world riddled with hatred for our fellow man, diseased by drugs, crime and violence, and put at risk by viruses that keep mutating and growing, it is good for my soul to know that God is for me. He is for you too. Let’s look at the next verse

“32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? ”

— Romans 8:32 (NASB)

Let’s mull this over by taking this verse a phrase at a time.

He who did not spare His own Son…

The He referred to here is God the Father. His own Son is Jesus Christ. What did He not spare Him from? Death on the cross. If you are a Christ follower, then you understand the gravity of this phrase. God the Father, willingly gave His only son to face, not just death, but a criminal’s death on a cross of wood. There was no dignity or honor in this death, at least not to the Romans or the Jews at the time. This was no death on the battlefield fighting for the freedom of His fellow countrymen, or was it? Let’s look at the next phrase.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

— John 3:16 (NASB)

but, delivered Him over for us all…

I am immediately struck by the phrase, for us all. You see God did this for us. Jesus agreed to this for us. It was a necessity for us. This death, like the deaths of soldiers during the Revolutionary War and the deaths of soldiers during the Civil War, and the deaths of soldiers during WWI, and the deaths of soldiers during WWII, and on, was a life freely given to preserve others from death. These sacrifices were made for the benefit of humanity. Jesus died so that we might have life and have it more abundantly.

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“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

— John 10:10 (NASB)

…how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

Now that He has done such an amazing thing, will He not also give us what we need? He provides for our physical needs, but also our mental, emotional and spiritual needs.

“And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”

— Isaiah 58:11 (NASB)

Isn’t that verse amazing? How many of us are feeling lost, scorched, weary and weak? Yet His living word says He will guide us, satisfy us, and give us strength, and indeed He does. I don’t know how many nights I crawl into bed and think, there is no way, I can get up tomorrow and do this all over again, yet, His mercies are new every morning. Even more beautiful is the progression of this verse. He not only takes us from the dry scorched and weary place we find ourselves in, but He makes us like a vast, beautiful watered garden; like a living spring that will never run dry, as long as we are connected to Him.

He takes us from this:

Image by Greg Montani from Pixabay

To this:

Let me leave you with this music by Selah. Worship. He is worthy!

Turning a Dry Land into Springs of Water

I have been mulling over how to address the issues that are going on in our country for the past week. I would be remiss if I did not post something acknowledging the struggle and difficulty felt by so many of our Black brothers and sisters. You might figure that it is not my responsibility to talk about these things on my blog, because I am a fashion blogger, but I am also a faith blogger and Black people are just as much a part of God’s creation as white, red or yellow people. Certainly, many of you who grew up in the church can remember singing this song when you were a child:

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“Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Red, brown, yellow
Black and white
They are precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children
Of the world

Jesus died for all the children
All the children of the world
Red, brown, yellow
Black and white
They are precious in His sight
Jesus died for all the children
Of the world.

Jesus rose for all the children
All the children of the world
Red, brown, yellow
Black and white
They are precious in His sight
Jesus rose for all the children
Of the world”

— Jesus Loves the Little Children written by Donna Krieger and George F. Root

In the New Testament the Gospels reveal various situations where Jesus was involved with children. He spoke to them, he shared their lunch, he healed them, raised them from the dead and blessed them.

“13 Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them.
14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
15 After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.”

— Matthew 19:13-15 (NASB)

It does not say what the color of their skin was, it just says that they were children.

In another passage we see the emphasis on our equality in Christ.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

— Galatians 3:28 (NASB)

I want to look at two areas of concern when it comes to race relations in our country. The first has to do with two foundational teachings that have come to be accepted as truth by mainstream society.

Teachings

Humanism -

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First let me take a few moments to define this word.

1 - Devotion to the humanities: literary culture.

2 - Devotion to human welfare.

3 - A doctrine, attitude, or way of life centered on human interests or values especially : a philosophy that usually rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual's dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason

For the intent of this post, I am referring to the third definition and more specifically secular humanism.

“Secular humanism is a philosophy or life stance that embraces human reason, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basis of morality and decision making.”

— Wikipedia

Protagoras, a Greek philosopher who lived during the 5th century B.C., is famous for the saying, “Man is the measure of all things.” The obvious problem with that being the answer to the question, who is the man against which all else is measured?

While many believe that humanism elevates humanity, it actually does more to defeat and down grade humanity. Take for instance the issue of slavery, over which our country fought a civli war. Humanistically speaking Black slaves were considered to be less than human and were most often treated as nothing more than chattel. White men and women gave no regard to the fact that Black people could actually achieve self-realization, let alone would they help them attain that. Black slaves were not equal. They had no rights. They were looked down on, abused, misused and most often regarded as possessions to be thrown away if they were not performing up to standard.

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The theory of humanism, places man on the throne, but in order to do that, there must be something for him to rule over. How many of us are guilty of thinking we are better than someone else? I think we all have done this as some point in our lives. You can fill in your own thought bubbles, but here are some examples.

“I’m skinnier than her.”

“I have more money than him.”

“I’m prettier than those girls.”

“I live in a better neighborhood than that family.”

“It’s because they are black that they get into trouble.”

Do you see how easy it is to go down that road; a road Jesus never intended we go? Without God on the throne, we will be king ME. I will look out for number one, because that is the way humanism works.

Evolution -

This second foundational teaching is taught in our schools. If you watch children’s mainstream television shows, cartoons, and video games it is assumed that we evolved from some primordial soup over billions of years and somehow came to be the intelligent, peaceable creatures we are.

Image by My pictures are CC0. When doing composings: from Pixabay

If, indeed, we are so intelligent and evolved as the scientists say we are, then why can we not get along? Perhaps it is because we are buying into a theory (and it is just as much a theory as creation), that is flawed and not only flawed, but one that allows mindsets like racial superiority and entitlement.

If you need an example of someone in history who bought into both humanism and evolution, take a look at Adolph Hitler. Not only did he believe that only one race was superior, he led most of Europe in a wave of terror and killing that still stands today as one of the most horrifying acts against a race (the Jews) ever committed in history. And let’s not forget, Hitler wasn’t only prejudice against Jews, but also blacks and anyone with a handicap.

Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay

Both secular humanism and evolution are missing one very important thing: God. Only God is able to give light where there is darkness. Only He can provide an eternal truth that is neither changed or affected by one man’s desire to put himself and his ideas on the throne. The essence of the words, “God created man in His image,” means that every single one of his human Creation has equal value and worth. The essence of an Almighty being enthroned on high means that we are all accountable to an unchanging standard, HIs standard, not one that someone else made up.

Personal Responsibility -

Now let me bring this down to our level. You and I have something called individual or personal responsibility. Each of us is responsible for how we treat our fellow human beings. If I truly believe that Black lives matter, then I am responsible to not only show that attitude in my own life, but also to encourage those around me to that same belief.

Before we can promote change in the society around us, we must promote change within ourselves. What does that look like and how will that help? Let’s go back to the book inspired by the One who sees us all as His crowning creation. Whereas above I looked at two influences on society as a whole, in this section I want to look at two attitudes that affect us as individuals.

Attitudes

Selfishness -

“1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

— Philippians 2:1-4 (NASB)

If you don’t think selfishness is a major player in the unrest in our country, let me go back to basics. Why do we sin? Why did Eve desire the fruit in the garden, when she was told to not eat of it? She wasn’t thinking about the long term ramifications of her choice. Eve saw and desired.

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“When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. ”

— Genesis 3:6 (NASB)

The evils of racism truly are about selfishness. We think we are better than someone else. We see something we want, so we figure out how we can get it no matter what the cost, not only to ourselves and those around us, but to society as a whole. Think about it, if our society was truly based on the verses in Philippians; if we truly did nothing from selfishness and truly thought others better than ourselves, there would be no disparity among black and white. This scripture is spot on for the situation we are in. We are supposed to care about Black people. We are supposed to regard them as more important than ourselves and look out for their interests and we are to do this just like we do for our own families.

Ignorance -

Ignorance is a lack of understanding, awareness or information. We can be ignorant by choice or by circumstance. Over the last three months there have been times I have chosen to be ignorant about what was going on with the Covid virus. I would get on my computer and not look at the zillions of articles about symptoms, death rates, essential workers and whether to wear or not wear a mask. I just didn’t want to think about it.

Now it is true confessions time. I have done the same thing about Black people. I never really felt that I had to investigate how they were being treated: we live in the United States after all. Wasn’t the Civil War a long time ago? Though I knew their journey was hard, weren’t they living just like me; struggling to keep their families and marriages together, working their jobs, getting their groceries and living a normal life. I am beginning to see that my thoughts were ignorant. Yes, Black people struggle in similar ways I do, but I am learning they also have a dimension I do not. They are black.

I am not going to tell you what you should do to overcome ignorance. I am only going to tell you what I am trying to do. I have worked with some lovely Black women. I have gone to church and raised my girls with some beautiful Black men and women. I have worked with inner city youth through the church we used to attend. Unfortunately, I never really got to know these people in a deep, personal way and that I regret. Perhaps I would have come to realize the paths they walk have an added layer, a complexity that as a white person I will probably never understand, but I need to try.

My goal is to learn and to listen. I need to hear their voices, just like I listen to my grandson when he has a desire or a frustration. I would never just write him off, so why would I simply dismiss the feelings and pain of my Black brothers and sisters? I shouldn’t, not if I really believe the things that Christ taught and said.

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“28 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the [q]foremost of all?”
29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord;
30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.””

— Mark 12:28-31 (NASB)

Only God can bring about real, life long change and I hope that He will begin that work in my own heart today.

“He changes a wilderness into a pool of water And a dry land into springs of water;”

— Psalm 107:35 (NASB)

God is for Me

I want to go back for a minute and review some of what we have learned in Romans chapter 8. From the very first verse we are reminded that if we are in Christ Jesus we are not condemned (8:1). We are told that the law could not do what it was made to do, which was put us in good standing before an almighty God. It is only the Holy Christ who could bring us to this place, where we are no longer condemned (8:2-4). We are reminded that if we walk according to the flesh we will reap destruction and death, but if we walk according to the spirit, His Spirit, we will reap life (8:5-11). Verses 12-17 talk about our position in Christ. We have been adopted as sons and daughters because of what Christ did for us on the cross. Because of this bond, we suffer with Christ as creation suffers in wait for its return to original beauty and perfection. Our sufferings lead to glorification and redemption (8:18-25)

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In the next section of the chapter we learn about our victory in Christ. We learn the blessedness of not being alone in our sufferings and that the Spirit intercedes for us when we don’t know how to pray (8:26-27). We also learn that God causes all things to work together for good. In fact he foreknew, predestined, conformed, called, justified and glorified (8:28-30).

Today we are going to look at one verse:

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

— Romans 8:31 (NASB)

The things that the verse is referring to is everything that came before, thus the reason for the first few paragraphs of review. Matthew Henry states that Paul is speaking “as one amazed.”

“He speaks as one amazed and swallowed up with the contemplation and admiration of it, wondering at the height and depth, and length and breadth, of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.”

— Matthew Henry's Commentary - Romans 8:31

The word delight comes to my mind. We are amazed, but not in a fearful, anxious way. We are amazed and delighted, much like a mother who receives a dandelion bouquet from their child. We see it as a remarkable, precious gift.

Image by Елизавета Кардасева from Pixabay

After the realization and amazement at all that God has done for us, Paul asks the question, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” It is easy to begin listing all the things we may feel are against us: other people, viruses, age, rising prices, our own poor choices and even the unseen enemy whose name is Satan. While it may seem that these things are against us and indeed we daily fight against many enemies both seen and unsee, the fact of the matter is God is for us.

“If God be for us, who can be against us? The ground of the challenge is God’s being for us; in this he sums up all our privileges. This includes all, that God is for us; not only reconciled to us, and so not against us, but in covenant with us, and so engaged for us—all his attributes for us, his promises for us. All that he is, and has, and does, is for his people. He performs all things for them. He is for them, even when he seems to act against them. And, if so, who can be against us, so as to prevail against us, so as to hinder our happiness? Be they ever so great and strong, ever so many, ever so might, ever so malicious, what can they do? While God is for us, and we keep in his love, we may with a holy boldness defy all the powers of darkness. Let Satan do his worst, he is chained; let the world do its worst, it is conquered: principalities and powers are spoiled and disarmed, and triumphed over, in the cross of Christ. Who then dares fight against us, while God himself is fighting for us? And this we say to these things, this is the inference we draw from these premises.”

— Matthew Henry Commentary - Romans 8:31

I love the sentence, “All that He is, and has, and does, is for his people.” There are so many things we do not know about God, but the parts we do know, the parts revealed through His word and the Gospel all point to His great care and concern for His creation. Like a gentle gardener tenderly works his garden, God tends to our lives. Oh yes, the storms will blow. The wind will whip and and swirl around us. The rain will pelt and batter against us, but He is aware of it all and when the sun comes out again, He will come and cut away the damage, nourish our broken souls and enable rebirth and new life to come from it.

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Are you feeling today that everything is against you? God is for you. No matter what your situation is, He is watching over you. Let him tend to your battered heart and create something new.

Called and Glorified

I want to continue looking at our two verses from two weeks ago, Romans 8:29-30. We have been slowly moving through this chapter, mulling over each verse or a few verses at a time. Often when I am writing a post, I think to myself that I can get through a set number of verses, but then when I actually get to typing, I realize there is just too much, and I must cut back. As we saw two weeks ago, verse 29 is packed full of information including words that we don’t often use in our vocabularies. When is the last time you used a sentence with the words predestined or foreknew? I bet it wasn’t just yesterday. I hope that the definitions I gave you in the last post were helpful as we moved through the study.

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Today we are going to focus on verse 30. Let’s take another look at both verses.

“29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

— Romans 8:29-30 (NASB)

Without further ado, let’s jump in to our verse.

…and these whom He predestined…

Two weeks ago we learned that the word predestined means to “decree, determine, appoint or settle beforehand” (Webster’s Online Dictionary). The word these is referring to the people talked about in verse 29. Last week we came to understand that these are the followers of Christ. These are the ones that God drew to Himself and conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus. We also discussed that His knowledge of our choice to accept Him as our Lord, doesn’t not delete our free will. Foreknowledge, predestination and free will work together in a way that our limited minds cannot understand.

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…He also called…

If you recall, the definition of the word called included words like summon, invite, and rouse. I like that idea of “to rouse from sleep,” (Webster’s Online Dictionary). When God calls He is trying to wake us up. He is trying to rouse us from the sleep of darkness. Much like that very curse that Maleficent cast on beautiful Aurora, we were unaware of our need for a Savior until God began to beckon and call, bidding us to rise from our slumber. Just like the young princess, we had to be rescued by a great warrior, one who was willing to sacrifice His life for our well being. It was the prince’s kiss that woke the princess and so too, our Lord’s Holy life touches our hearts with a gentleness and love, to which no other love can compare.

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…and these whom He called…

The ones who are called are those that have risen out of the dark sleep. Many are roused from their slumber, but not all actually get up and get out of bed. During this pandemic, I have found it very hard to get out of bed in the morning. I don’t want to get up and face the world that we are currently living in. If I chose to stay in bed, I would waste away, no longer wanting to eat, or drink or be a part of humanity. The same is true when we are called by the God of the universe. If we do not wake, we will never know the depth of the beauty of the world around us and of a relationship with Him. Perhaps you are wondering, why bother getting up.

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…He also justified…

We get up because He justified us. Jesus, whose mercy is new every morning, was Himself, the surety for our salvation. It is because He justified us that we are able to have a relationship with this all powerful, magnificent being. Christ and His blood make us holy and because of that we are able to approach the throne of grace without trepidation.

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“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

— Hebrews 4:6 (NASB)

This verse tells us we can draw near to the throne with confidence. We can do that because of what Christ did on the cross. Jesus made us righteous. He made us worthy of salvation.

…and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

What does it mean for us to be glorified? The verse says that “these”, meaning us, as we are the ones He called and justified, He is going to glorify. Let’s go back to the definition of glorified: to make glorious by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration: to cause to be or seem to be better than the actual condition. I want to look at this definition in two ways as both are applicable to the fact that He glorifies us.

The first half of the definition is talking about honoring someone. We do honor people in many ways, but how does God honor us? We know that honor, and praise are words applied to Jesus and His Father. In fact, Jesus’ desire when He walked this earth was to honor and glorify His Father.

“Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

— John 12:28 (NASB)

“Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You,”

— John 17:1 (NASB)

“Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

— John 17:5 (NASB)

In a similar way a child might desire to honor their parent on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, or a soldier might honor his commander and his country by living by a code of conduct becoming a soldier, and by being willing to give his life. We also honor those who have gone before us by putting up memorials and by setting aside days, like Memorial Day to remember the sacrifices that were made for our freedom.

Image by Mark Thomas from Pixabay

The Bible also says that God will honor us. What exactly does that look like? Let’s look at a few verses

“If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”

— John 12:26 (NASB)

“He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.”

— Psalm 91:15 (NASB)

God can honor whom He choses to honor and part of that may have something to do with our standing in Christ.

The second part of the definition refers to the idea that to glorify someone causes them to be, or seem to be better than their actual condition. Isn’t this true of us? The reality is, Christ has caused us to be better than our actual condition. What was our condition? We were sinners, sleeping in the darkness. There is nothing about our condition that gives us the ability to be holy and pure as God is holy and pure. However, when we become Christ followers, our situation changes. His blood makes us holy. He has glorified us, making us capable of being called the children of God. One day we will be glorified with new bodies and we will walk in the presence of the Holy God. That will certainly be an honor for us.

I hope these verses have once again encouraged you in your relationship with Christ. He loves you and wants to make Himself known to you.

Until next time, keep laughing and keep looking up!

Conformed Brethren

I will be the first to acknowledge I am no Bible scholar. While I did graduate with a diploma from a Bible school (Moody Bible Institute) back in 1987 and have been the facilitator and recipient in many Bible studies over the years, of late I realize how very little I know about the words that God inspired men to write in His holy scriptures. Yes there are things that are pretty straight forward and easy to understand, but there are also many passages that leave us feeling dumber than a box of bricks. Today’s two verses from Romans chapter 8 are just those. Before I begin looking at them and mulling them over, I want you to know, I do not know, nor understand everything in the mind of God. Yes, I do have His Spirit, and His Spirit gives me much understanding, but I believe, until I am actually standing before Him in a glorified state, there will still be many mysteries too deep to plumb regarding this Almighty One we call God. Which is as it should be.

Image by Dean Moriarty from Pixabay

“29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

— Romans 8:29-30 (NASB)

I want to handle these verses in a different way. I would like to define each of the terms before we actually approach trying to understand what it says. There are so many words in these two verses and I think we can easily get distracted or off track if we don’t know what each of the words means. I am going to give you a simple Webster’s Online Dictionary definition to start with and then if need be add more defining as we go along.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Foreknew - to have previous knowledge of: know beforehand especially by paranormal means or by revelation

Predestined - to destine, decree, determine, appoint, or settle beforehand

Conformed - to give the same shape, outline, or contour to : bring into harmony or accord

Image - exact likeness: a visual representation of something

Firstborn - first brought forth

Brethren - plural of brother: used chiefly in formal or solemn address or in referring to the members of a profession, society, or religious denomination

Called - to summon to a particular activity, employment, or office: to invite or command to meet: to rouse from sleep or summon to get up

Justified - (Used justify for definitions) to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable: to qualify (oneself) as a surety: to judge, regard, or treat as righteous and worthy of salvation

Glorified - to make glorious by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration: to cause to be or seem to be better than the actual condition

That is a lot of words and definitions. Now lets take each phrase and learn from it.

For those whom He foreknew…

The He mentioned in this verse is referring to God. Those whom He foreknew refers to all of us. An Almighty being, who created us is not limited by time, or space. Words that describe God like omnipotent mean He is all powerful. Omnipresent means He is everywhere present. Omniscient means He knows everything. Indeed, He knew us before we were a seed in our mothers’ wombs.

“13 For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.”

— Psalms 139:13-16 (NASB)

…He also predestined…

Many people get hung up on this word. There are those who believe the idea that God’s foreknowledge predetermines who will be saved and who will not, leaving out the idea of free will. There are others who believe so strongly in a free will that they can even lose their salvation. I am not going to get into a long, confusing debate on Calvinism vs. Arminianism. My belief is foreknowledge, predestination and free will all work together in a beautiful dance of sovereign love and salvation. God does know who will choose Him, but His decree is that all should come to repentance, not just those who won the lottery. In other words. His desire is that all be saved, but free will allows humanity to make a choice.

…to become conformed…

Image by Ana Krach from Pixabay

It is God’s desire that every single one of us conform, or take on the shape of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. He decreed, or predestined that all of His created humanity do this, but that decree does not negate our ability to make the choice. Even the potter knows there are various types of clay and various types of vessels made from that clay. We are not all the same, but our responsibility is to be moldable in His hands.

…to the image of of His son…

The image to which we are to conform is that of Jesus Christ. We are not told to conform to the image of a famous football player or rock star. It is not suggested that we take on the image of a government leader or some other famous politician or philanthropist. God’s settlement beforehand was that we come into harmony with the Son.

Photo Rebecca Trumbull

“12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.”

— 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NASB)

When we come face to face with Christ we will fully know what our image is meant to be.

…so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren…

Jesus, who died and rose again for us, began a religious order now known by the name Christian or Christ Ones or Christ followers. He was the firstborn, meaning He was the first to rise again. When we accept Him as our Lord, we then become a part of His family or His order, if you like. We become a part of the many brethren. Obviously, those of us who are Christ followers know that this is no mere religious order. It is a relationship with a mighty, just and holy being.

I am going to finish these verses next week as we look at the second portion of this piece of Scripture. There is so much to digest and I want to be sure to take it slowly. I hope you are enjoying this look at Romans chapter 8. Until next week, keep laughing and keep looking up!

His Purpose, My Benefit

Most of us go through life thinking we have some semblance of control over what is going on around us, but I am sure if we didn’t realize it before, we now realize we really don’t have control over anything other than ourselves. We may not even have much control over that, to our dismay. Let’s face it, we don’t control the weather, the traffic, the price of gas or groceries, or the reaction of the drivers in front or in back of us. As we have learned in the last few months we can’t control a virus like COVID-19, at least not yet. While it is true we have found cures, vaccines and preventatives for many diseases in the past, we do not have control over what disease will pop up in the future and wreak havoc on our world, just like COVID is doing now. Wouldn’t it be nice if life and our world came with a reset button? Just flip the switch and everything will be like new.

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. ”

— Romans 8:28 (NASB)

The verse we are looking at today is a more well known verse in the Christian community. Even people who make no claim to Christ as their Savior understand that even bad things have a purpose and can bring about a greater good. Look at a natural disaster like a forest fire. The fire, while devastating in its initial claim on natural life, also serves as a catalyst for rebirth and growth. Some of you may know that certain pine cones only open to release their seeds during times of great heat, like that of a fire.

Image by Henryk Niestrój from Pixabay

Let’s take a closer look at the truth found in this single verse.

And we know…

It says that we know. Our knowing had to come from somewhere. Where did it come from? The knowledge talked about in this verse is knowledge given by God, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We do not find this knowledge in a book, other than the Word of God and we will not find this knowledge in the most scholarly universities. We gain this knowledge as we sit in His presence.

“Cease striving and know that I am God;”

— Psalm 46:10(a) (NASB)

…that God…

I am choosing to give this two word phrase a place of its own because of the importance of this Being who is present. God is here. He is active. He is not just sitting around, He’s involved. His presence is with us through every trial, difficulty and trouble. You and I are never alone, when God is near.

“The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”

— Zephaniah 3:17 (NASB)

Image by Yuri_B from Pixabay

…causes…

God is the one at work here. He is a God of action. His movements are not known to us, but they are done for us. This is not to blame God for all the terrible things that happen. There is the matter of sin and free will. However, God is able to take all of it, the good and the bad and move it, creating a new thing entirely.

“for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

— Philippians 2:13 (NASB)

…all things…

Let me clarify this for you. The word all, means everything. There is not one thing that God is not aware of or involved in. The good, the bad and the ugly are all things, things that He is able to change into something else.

“I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me.”

— Psalm 57:2 (NASB)

…to work together for good…

All these things that God is aware of and involved in; these things He is causing to work together for good. Like the raging flame blows its heat consuming the tree that bears the cone, is needed by that very same cone to reseed the forest, so too God uses the heat of the flames of difficulty to work for our good.

You might be wondering at this point, what is the good that He is working out, if our loved ones are gone and our jobs are forfeit? What is the good when our marriages crumble and our children walk away from all they’ve been taught? The good is His good. He uses those flames and that heat to bring new birth to our souls, if we but let Him do it.

“28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.””

— Matthew 11:28-30 (NASB)

…to those who love God…

This then becomes the most important question. Do we love Him? As Jesus asked Peter by the sea of Galilee, “Do you love me?” If we truly love Him, our lives will be consumed with His will and His good. We will see that He alone knows what is best and what is best is walking with Him, abiding with Him and tending His sheep.

“He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”
Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”
And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.”

— John 21:17 (NASB)

Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay

…to those who are called according to His purpose.

What is this purpose we are called to? To be like Christ.

“15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;
16 because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.””

— 1 Peter 1:15-16 (NASB)

But not only that, it is our purpose to glorify Him.

“6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”

— 1 Peter 1:6-9 (NASB)

In addition it is our purpose to be obedient.

“16 Rejoice always;
17 pray without ceasing;
18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

— 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NASB)

God’s purpose is our benefit. To make us more like Christ, to honor and glorify Him is the greatest benefit we can receive.

My Prayers, His Groanings

We are going to dive back into Romans chapter 8. This next section of the chapter is labeled “Our Victory in Christ.” I’m thinking this is something we all need to hear right now, especially in the midst of our current situation. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I know I am daily struggling with the flesh; feeling extremely tired, discouraged and unmotivated.

Image by Phil Burrows from Pixabay

I found an article that I would like to share that makes a lot of sense. The main point of the article is that we are all grieving. We often think that grief is only something felt when someone dies, but the reality is that every change we go through can proffer some sort of grief, even the good changes. The last few months have been fraught with changes. Many have lost their jobs. All of us have lost the normal routines we had of children going to school and taking ourselves to work or to college. We can’t go shopping or thrifting, to movies or sporting events. We can’t even get together with our families and friends. Every Sunday, churches stand empty. We can’t even go to the grocery store without wondering if we will too will become another statistic. All these changes have put each one of us into a place of grief. For more details read this article by Robert Weiss, PhD, MSW titled, COVID-19 and the Grief Process.

Let’s take a look at the next two verses of Romans 8.

“26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

— Romans 8:26-27 (NASB)

In the same way…

We have to pause for a moment and ask ourselves what this phrase is referring to. Looking at Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary gives some insight. He says that this refers to the previous privileges Christians were given, that of being an heir or being adopted by God and that of being redeemed by God. What follows are several more privileges we have.

…the Spirit also helps our weaknesses…

Image by Ryan McGuire from Pixabay

Obviously we have many weaknesses. As I spoke of in the preceding paragraphs, we are dealing with our flesh and this idea of grief on a regular basis. These particular verses are referring to our weaknesses in prayer. Who, as a Christ follower, doesn’t struggle with prayer? Whether it is actually doing it at all, or doing it regularly, or spending very much time doing it, we all struggle to have a regular, consistent prayer life. From these verses, it would appear that even a pillar of the faith like Paul struggled with prayer. What is this weakness we struggle with?

…for we do not know how to pray as we should…

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Do you have this problem? I sure do. I can’t tell you how often I feel like I need to pray, but then, when I actually start praying I am at a loss for words. I don’t know how to pray for certain situations, or people, not for a lack of understanding, but for a lack of vocabulary. How do I tell God I want this person I love so much to come to Him? I don’t even know where to begin or how to pray, except to acknowledge they need Him. In our current circumstances of course we want to pray for the safety of family and friends; for health care workers and other essential people like the clerks at the grocery stores, but where do we even begin.

My spouse has this prayer that we now laugh about, but in reality it makes a lot of sense. When we were going through an especially difficult time with our younger daughter we would pray together. While I would launch into several minutes of beseeching the Lord and praying scripture, my husband would just pray, “Clean up in Aisle 7, Lord!” It was his true, heart felt prayer and probably just as meaningful to God as my own wordy prayer.

The point is, we often don’t know how to pray, but this is the beautiful part; we don’t have to.

…but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings to deep for words…

Image by Wolfgang Brauner from Pixabay

This is an amazing truth. If we are in Christ, and we have His Spirit in us, He is praying for us. I don’t know how that makes you feel, but it is an overwhelming idea to me. This almighty, all powerful being, who created us from the dust of the earth prays for us. But, that is not all. He prays for us with such depth of feeling that it turns into actual groanings, rather than words.

…and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is…

Image by James Chan from Pixabay

Who is the one who searches our hearts? God, the Father. He is the one searching to see what our desires are and where are prayers are coming from. He also is the one who knows what the mind of the Spirit is. It is the Spirit who is sorting out our prayers. He is the one who filters our requests showing what is in accordance with God’s will and what is from our will. He is like the farmer on the threshing floor, winnowing the grain to separate the wheat from the chaff. The Father trusts the Spirit, knowing that His mind is in accord with His own.

…because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

We need to face reality here. Our prayers are not always pure. We are not always operating with God’s interests in mind. I know that many of my prayers have been wrought out of my own selfish desire to not have trouble or difficulties in my life. I also know that I often pray that others, the objects of my prayers, will not suffer too much, because I also don’t want to suffer. The problem with that is, I may not be praying for God’s will in their lives. I might want them to be saved, but I don’t want it to hurt. I might want them to suffer, but not so much that I suffer as well. I believe the Holy Spirit is essential in making our prayers, God worthy.

I am not saying that we have to pray a certain way. As I shared earlier a prayer like, “Clean up in Aisle 7,” is just as pure and viable as the prayer that is filled with scripture and heart felt tears. What I think is important is that we approach prayer with the knowledge the Holy Spirit is going to be involved, so why not just be honest. God can handle our honesty.

The Holy Spirit is going to intercede for us, according to the will of God, not according to our will. While I think it is important to be “real” when we are praying, I also think we need to get to the point where we really do want God’s will more than anything. This is not an easy place to get to, but true, life changing prayer is going to revolve around the statement Jesus made in the Garden of Gethsemane.

“...Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”

— Luke 22:42 (NASB)

My Mind, His Mind

I am taking a break this week from our study of Romans 8, to talk about fear. There is a lot of fear going around right now because of our current circumstances. Knowing there is a sneaky virus out there that could, in fact kill us, is just a bit unnerving. I know many of us are trying to be positive and continue on as if everything is normal, but let’s face it, this is way beyond normal. Not only are there fears over the possibility of contracting COVID19, or someone we know and love getting it, but the economic repercussions are astronomical and I think are going to affect our country for a while.

I know of many people, including our own family who have been affected by the virus economically. Small businesses, like the one my older daughter has are taking a big hit. My younger daughter, who had to make the transition from in class college to all online college, also lost her serving job, which was a big chunk of her income. We are not alone. I know of others, even in health care who have had their hours cut back or have been let go all together, because their specialties are not needed right now. Will everyone have jobs to return to once this is over? Who knows.

What about our country as a whole. We have had it easy for so long and as much as the government says they are going to help with unemployment, stimulus checks and so on, where exactly are they getting all that money from? So many, many questions and we aren’t even past the point yet where we can let our guard down with regards to the actual virus.

So how do we keep from getting overwhelmed? I’d like to share a few things that help me when I am going through tough times. I hope they will help you as well.

Image by Ebowalker from Pixabay 

1 - Feel the fear.

God gave us emotions and they are all good, since He is the one who created them. Fear, anger, joy, sadness, all have their place in our lives for us to be healthy individuals. When my father passed away fourteen years ago, I had to go through the grieving process. The best thing to do when encountering emotions we don’t like is allow yourself to feel them. I have used this analogy on the blog before, but think of emotions in terms of a blanket. When you start feeling an emotion like sadness or fear or anger, take that blanket and wrap yourself up in it. Allow yourself to feel afraid, sad or angry. Do this for a few minutes. If it helps, take an actual blanket and wrap yourself up in it. After a few minutes, take the blanket off, fold the blanket up, and move on to the next thing. Think of folding the blanket as if you are packing that fear or sadness away. You can always take it out again later, but allowing yourself to feel it, experience it and then pack it away, helps you to process more volatile emotions in small bits.

Image by Susanne Pälmer from Pixabay 

2 - Exercise.

I have noticed a lot more people out walking since the start of Ohio’s shelter in place order. Moms, dads and kids are all out walking trails at the park or just walking the neighborhood. This is so good for us. It not only serves the purpose of getting our heart rates up, it allows us to breath fresh air and get out of the house. I know for many of us, this time of year can be tricky because of the weather. We have rain, gray overcast skies and wind more often than sun and that can make getting out for a walk much more difficult. If that is the case try doing some indoor exercises as a family. Play a vigorous game of Simon Says or follow the leader all through the house.

Image by Kerstin Riemer from Pixabay

3 - Schedule alone time.

With social distancing in place, this might seem strange, but hello, we are now at home all the time with our kids or with our spouses. If that doesn’t drive you crazy, nothing will. It is especially important if you are an introvert or someone who needs a regular routine. My husband thinks that being home means I am available to talk to, look at something on YouTube or hang out with whenever he wants. That makes it a little difficult for this introvert and writer. I spent the last two days trying to get two writing pieces finished as I had a deadline. I got the job done, but it is definitely harder without a routine.

Mom’s you need that alone time, whether it is to take a long bath, read your Bible or watch a show on Netflix. If dad is home, ask him to hang with the kids so you can have some sanity time.

Image by Peggy Choucair from Pixabay 

4 - Make memories.

A friend of my daughter’s and mine has been using this time to schedule special events with her kids. She has been sharing her ideas on Facebook and it looks like they are having a blast. She even turned the house into a Cruise ship, complete with boarding passes, dining assignments, entertainment and of course fun foods. What you do with your family during this time has the potential for very good memories, even if it is something as simple as a game night.

Image by Uwe Jacobs from Pixabay 

5 - Fill your mind from the right fountain.

Reading article after article about the virus, our economic situation and so on is not good for you. There are plenty of other good things to fill your mind with. Music, books, fun shows, all can keep your spirits up and keep you centered on the positive. Being thankful is a must during this time as well.

I’d like to leave you with an old hymn. I remember singing this song in my classes when I was at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL. Most classes started with a song and a prayer. I had one particular teacher who loved this song and had us sing it quite often. When I came across it the other night, I realized just how perfect it is for our current situation. Enjoy!

May the Mind of Christ My Savior (Lyrics by Katie Barclay Wilkinson, Music A. Cyril Gould)

1

May the mind of Christ my Savior
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and pow’r controlling
  All I do and say.

2

May the Word of Christ dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
  Only through His pow’r.

3

May the peace of Christ my Savior
Rule my life in every thing,
That I may be calm to comfort
  Sick and sorrowing.

4

May the love of Jesus fill me,
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing,
  This is victory.

5

May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
  As I onward go.

6

May His beauty rest upon me
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
  Seeing only Him.

Waiting with Eagerness

Last week we looked at how many of the tragedies that are happening in the world are part of the creation of God groaning as it waits for the return to glory. Not only is it waiting for its return to glory, but for ours as well. Imagine what it must have been like when the earth had just been created. Try to see in your imagination how clear the air was. Have you ever been up in the mountains where it seemed that the air was so fresh and clean? Have you ever noticed in the spring or fall how absolutely blue the sky is? Try imagining what it must have looked like to the eyes of the first man and woman. We are so very limited by our senses and our knowledge. That’s why I believe God gave us an imagination.

Image by udumbara from Pixabay

Today, I want to look at the next three verses from Romans 8.

“23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”

— Romans 8:23-25 (NASB)

Paul just got done talking about creation’s turmoil as it waits eagerly for a realization of what it was truly meant to be. Now he speaks to our own groaning.

And not only this, but also we ourselves…

The first phrase of this verse refers back to the previous verses. Paul is saying, not only is the creation struggling and groaning like a woman giving birth, but also we ourselves. Why, if we have accepted Jesus as our Savior would we not be exempt from this tension? Let’s move on.

Having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves…

What does it mean that we have the first fruits of the Spirit? The Day of Pentecost was the day that the first believers received the Holy Spirit. From that point on, each of us who believe in Jesus as our Savior receive His spirit. The first fruit according to Matthew Henry’s Bible commentary is grace.

“Grace is the first-fruits of glory, it is glory begun. ”

— Matthew Henry's Bible Commentary on Romans 8:23-25

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

The first fruits of an arbor are a cluster of grapes. The grapes themselves are sweet and good to eat, but it is not until they are made into wine, that a person can fully drink. God’s grace is only the beginning. That grace gives us what we need to live, but we will not know it fully realized until we come into glory. It is this desire for what is to come, this reuniting with our Lord, our Savior, that causes us to groan inwardly.

“Present receivings and comforts are consistent with a great many groans; not as the pangs of one dying, but as the throes of a woman in travail—groans that are symptoms of life, not of death. ”

— Matthew Henry's Bible Commentary on Romans 8:23-25

I really love that idea. These feelings we have of not being complete; of not fitting in to this world; of desiring something greater and more; these are not bad feelings, but those which motivate us to continue to live and to live an abundant life in the power of Jesus Christ. It is those feelings that draw us closer to our Lord.

…waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body…

We will not know the fully complete adoption until we pass out of these mortal confines. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12 -

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known”

— I Corinthians 13:12 (NASB)

The idea of no more tears, illness, pain or death is beyond our imagination because we are limited by our flesh, but in the Spirit we can know that this will be the case. We wait with eagerness for this flesh to be left behind so that our spirits can fully connect with His.

For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes in what he already sees?

The hope that is mentioned in this verse has to do with the future; the future and the redemption of our bodies. When we come to Christ, our spirit is redeemed by what Christ has done on the cross and the grace, His grace, that is extended to us. When we die, or when Christ comes again this hope that we cannot see will be fully realized. We will be with Him and we will have new bodies.

Hope by definition cannot be in something that already has taken place. Hope is set on something, some outcome that is yet to happen. I have this plaque hanging in my kitchen and think it summarizes the idea of hope well.

But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

Once again we see the word eagerly describing the word wait. This is how we are to wait for our adoption. This is how the earth waits for its return to glory. This is how we are to wait for the redemption of our bodies. The word eager, according to Webster’s Online Dictionary means, “Marked by enthusiastic, impatient desire or interest.” Are you waiting for your Lord with eagerness?

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;”

— Philippians 3:20 (NASB)

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;”

— Philippians 3:20 (NASB)

Creation Groans

When we start delving into today’s portion of scripture, I think you will agree with me that it is quite apropos. Without further delay, let’s look at Romans 8:18-22.

“18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now”

— Romans 8:18-22 (NASB)

I’d like to start with verse 22 and then look at what comes before. The following are a few images I took from Pixabay, which is a website that offers free stock photos for anybody who needs a picture for a blog or other internet posting. Verse 22 says that creations groans and suffers the pains of childbirth. Why is this so?

Terrorist Attacks

Image by JL G from Pixabay

The first picture is a made up image, but the second is the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in NYC in September of 2011.

Natural disasters

Image by David Mark from Pixabay

Image by WikiImages from Pixabay

The first image is the aftermath of the Oklahoma tornados in 2019. The second photo is what is left after a tsunami devastated a costal town.

Wars

Image by Welcome to all and thank you for your visit ! ツ from Pixabay

Image by Jordy Meow from Pixabay

The first is an old stock photo from the end of WWII; the second part of the devastation in Nagasaki, Japan after the nuclear bomb.

Disease

Image by Terri Sharp from Pixabay

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Obviously, these last two are fairly current. We all are feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have died. Many are ill. Most are feeling the fear that accompanies something of this nature. Our world is groaning under the burden of sin; the burden of hatred, tragedy, war and disease.

Let’s go back to verse 18 and take it apart.

…for I consider…

The idea to consider something means to think about it; mull it over; let it sit in your brain for a spell.

…that the sufferings of this present time…

This phrase is just as pertinent today as it was when Paul wrote this letter to the church at Rome. For them it was the suffering of persecution, but it really doesn’t matter what sort of suffering you are going through. Whatever it is, it is happening right now.

…are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

We can feel pretty strongly about the sufferings we go through. There are times suffering seems impossible to bear. There are people who give up, taking their own lives and often the lives of others around them, because they cannot bear the suffering. Take that feeling and multiply it tenfold. You don’t even begin to be able to compare it to the glory that is yet to be revealed to us.

“The sufferings are small and short, and concern the body only; but the glory is rich and great, and concerns the soul, and is eternal.”

— Matthew Henry's Bible commentary on Romans 8:18

You might be thinking, who cares about what is to come? The struggle is here and now, and hoping for some vague glory in the future doesn’t do any good to ease the suffering I am going through right now. That is where you are wrong. Placing our belief in a risen Savior makes all the difference in the world.

Remember what we learned over the last few weeks? We are children of God. We are His heirs. We have His Spirit communicating with our spirits. Remember, the last part of verse 17 last week said that if we suffer with Him, we will also be glorified with Him.

Let’s move on to verse 19.

For the anxious longing of creation…

What do you think creation is anxiously longing for? Why is creation anxiously longing? To understand this we must revisit the idea that God created. The first two chapters of the Bible tell the story of creation. It was at this event the partnership of the three-in-one God-head spoke and breathed the world into existence. If you are a creative type like me, you know when you invest yourself in a creative effort it takes a part of you. Creation was a part of God’s creative being. However, in chapter three of Genesis we see the creation that God intended was marred by sin. Ever since sin entered the world, creation has been longing for a return to the beauty and purity it was once intended to have.

…waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.

This event will come about when we are reunited with Jesus; when those who are living are taken up and those who are dead rise to meet him in the air. After Christ returns we will be revealed in His glory to be His children and heirs. Whatever your opinion about pre, mid or post tribulation rapture, there will come a time when we will be reunited with Christ.

The rest of today’s passage further solidifies the idea that creation was subject to futility, not because it wanted to be, but because God made it so. Why couldn’t God have spared creation and just subjected the ones who sinned, Adam and Eve (humanity) to the resulting disparity? I believe as much as He loved His creation, He loved His humanity more. He created mankind in His image, not the creation. The creation was a result of His creative breath, but humanity was His crowning jewel. To have thrown them out of the garden into a world in which they could not thrive or even survive would have been to have ended the creative effort too soon. Instead, he gave mankind a fallen creation, to work the hardened soil, that mimicked their hardened heart.

Even so, if we look around, we can see, creation groans and suffers, but it also, at least occasionally whispers, sings, shouts and claps its hands in praise of the God of glory.

Image by bertvthul from Pixabay

Image by Larisa Koshkina from Pixabay

Image by Tomasz Marciniak from Pixabay

Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay

Image by Andreas Breitling from Pixabay

Image by Domenic Hoffmann from Pixabay

Image by skeeze from Pixabay

Have a great Wednesday, everyone. Keep looking up.

From Suffering to Glory

We’ve been walking through Romans chapter 8 at a turtle’s pace. I think going through a passage of Scripture, or a single verse at a slow pace, can really help us to learn, understand and make the knowledge God wants to impart to us, so much more impactful, than if we race through, like the hare, in the infamous race.

Image by Capri23auto from Pixabay

Last week we only got through verse 16 of the chapter, but it was time well spent. We learned the Spirit of God, speaks to our spirit, a part of us God the Father created us with for the purpose of having communion with Him. If we have not given our lives over to Christ, the spirit God created us with will not thrive and grow, and will definitely not be able to know the things of God.

Let’s delve into verse 17.

“ 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

— Romans 8:17 (NASB)

Last week we learned the Spirit of God testifies with our spirit we are children of God. This week we go the next step.

…and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…

We are not just children of God, we are heirs. What does it mean to be an heir? Let’s take a look at how Webster’s Online Dictionary defines heir.

1 - one who receives property from an ancestor : one who is entitled to inherit property

2 - one who inherits or is entitled to succeed to a hereditary rank, title, or office

3 - one who receives or is entitled to receive something other than property from a parent or predecessor

All three of these definitions give us insight to our position in Christ as God’s children. Because we have taken on the name of Christ and been washed in His blood, we are now entitled to everything that He makes available to His own Son. We have access to His power, His authority and His perfection. In reality we are extremely limited by our flesh and by the darkness that surrounds us on this earth, but I honestly believe if we had the faith of a mustard seed, like Christ talks about in the gospels, we would be able to do amazing things.

Image by GOKALP ISCAN from Pixabay

It is important to remember that much of what goes on in the Christian life is in the spiritual realm. We can see the results of prayer in this earthly realm, but that doesn’t mean if we don’t see results that nothing is happening. It is possible when we are praying in His Spirit we are fighting battles and giants much bigger anything we can imagine. Believe me, I can imagine some pretty big stuff. Ha, ha. So when I say we have access to power, we do not become like Superman and have the ability to fly. Christ didn’t fly when He was a man, although He could have. What we do have, is the power of Christ to bring down strongholds and forces of darkness.

Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

— Ephesians 6:12 (NASB)

Not only do we have access to Christ’s power, perfection and authority, we are heirs to an eternal kingdom. We really are children of the King. You are a princess and no matter your opinion on Disney, a princess you are and you might as well accept the fact.

Image by Helmut H. Kroiss from Pixabay

…if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him…

What exactly does it mean to “suffer with Him.” We have not been scourged, beaten or nailed to a tree, so how is it that we suffer with Christ? When Paul wrote this to the believers in Rome it was during a time in which the early church was beginning to endure persecution and suffering. In the same way, today, many churches and believers all over the world deal with persecution and struggle for the sake of Christ. Even in our own country we are beginning to feel the pangs of trying to live for and lift up the name of Jesus.

I don’t know about you, but there are times, when I really feel as though our invisible enemy, who is very real in the spiritual realm, is after me and my family. I am sure many of you have felt that same pressure or oppression from the enemy. Whether, he is actively involved in the things we struggle with or numbers of his minions are, I am sure there are times we are being toyed with. God will not allow Satan to kill us, but there are times He allows that influx of enemy fire, both for our own growth and for the glory of His kingdom. This is part of the suffering we go through. Even His own Son, Jesus was lead into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1).

Image by AD_Images from Pixabay

What is the point of all this suffering and struggle? “…that we may also be glorified with HIm.” When Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to sit at the Father’s right hand, He was glorified. In the same way, when we die, our bodies will decay, but our spirits in union with His Spirit will ascend into heaven, where we will be with Him forever. It would be lovely if we had the glory here in this life, but that is not the goal. The goal is to honor and glorify Him, then when we are done, He will glorify us, bringing us home and giving us a place at His table as His children and heirs.

I hope you enjoyed delving into Romans 8:17 today. Be sure to check back next week for a look at the next few verses. Thanks so much for following along.

Have a great day.



Spirit to Spirit

As we move along in our study of Romans 8, I hope that you are being encouraged to keep fighting the fight and running the race. It is very easy for us to let life knock us down, often to the point of not wanting to get back up. We often feel alone in our struggle, but today’s verses reassure us, we are not alone.

Image by DarkWorkX from Pixabay

“16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

— Romans 8:16-17 (NASB)

We are taking this slowly as there is no reason to rush. There is too much information in this one chapter alone, to just fly through. We must savor each bite, delighting in the flavor and deliciousness of the words of God that He imparted to us through His servant Paul. To not do so would be to leave behind that scrumptious chocolate cake served to us for dessert.

Image by Kevin Petit from Pixabay

Let’s take a few bites.

The Spirit Himself

I like that this verse begins like this. We just got the message that we have been adopted. That adoption happened because we chose to place our faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Because we made that choice we are now able to call God, Abba! Father! We are now allowed into the inner circle with the triune God head. We are now convinced of the intimacy we have with the Father and the Son, but what about the Spirit? This verse confirms that we are now intimate with Him as well. The Spirit isn’t sending someone else to do the job, He is doing it Himself. What is the job He is doing?

Testifies

We all have probably seen enough police shows or read enough murder mysteries to know, in order to put the bad guy behind bars, someone has to testify or give evidence against him. In addition, if we are applying for a job or trying to do something that requires character references, we want someone on our side who will testify to our strengths and why we are fit for the job or the new venture.

It is the Holy Spirit’s job to testify. He is the witness on our behalf and on behalf of the Son. He is the one who gives the evidence of our choice to follow Christ. He also gives evidence to us of the authenticity of Christ’s claim to be our Savior. How does He do this?

…with our spirit…

This truly is a spiritual thing. The testimony of the Holy Spirit is to our spirit. God created us with a physical body, a mind, a soul and a spirit. It is this spirit, that when nurtured and fed, will hear and understand the things of God. I have heard many stories of missionaries who have gone to native villages in countries all over the world where someone in that village was praying, or desiring to know God. This comes about because of the spirit God put within each of us. It is that spirit that is meant to fellowship with His Spirit. I believe that our spirit will shrivel up if it does not come into contact with the Holy Spirit of God. Sure we may still have “spirit” meaning more like a will to live or fight or win, etc. But the spirit that God created us with is meant to know His Spirit.

“We pursue God because, and only because, he has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit.”

— A.W.Tozer - Fellowship of the Burning Heart

When we believe in Jesus the Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit. In other words His Spirit and our spirit become one. We now have the ability to know things of God, not merely head knowledge, but true heart knowledge. Our spirit and His Spirit become a united entity. Knowing this, it suddenly makes sense that when we sin, we grieve the Spirit of God. When we choose to live by the flesh we quench His Spirit in us, like a pail of cold ice water thrown on a flame. We are meant to burn with the Spirit of God. This is no milk toast relationship, meant to pander to our little feelings of pride or self-righteousness; this is a burning flame meant to consume us.

“To have found God and still to pursue him is the soul’s paradox of love, scorned indeed by the too easily satisfied religionist, but justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart.”

— A.W. Tozer - Fellowship of the Burning Heart

…that we are children of God,

The Holy Spirit of God, then, testifies to our spirit that we are children of God. Without His Spirit in us we do not have assurance of this familial link. It is only the Spirit that speaks to our spirit, letting us know that we are, indeed, His most beloved children.

Image by lumix2004 from Pixabay

I feel the need to save verse 17 for next week. I hope you don’t mind. Savor each morsel. Think about what these words and phrases mean for you as a Christ follower. Leave me a comment on what you came up with as you think this verse over. I’d love to hear from you.

Have a wonderful day.

Are You Adopted?

We are in a study of Roman’s chapter 8. The book of Romans is filled with so much of what we, as Christ followers, would call the foundational truths of our faith. It is in the book of Romans that we learn that all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). We also learn that the cost of sin is death (Romans 6:23). In Romans 5:8 we are reminded that God loved us and provided the payment for sin through His son, Jesus Christ. Finally we learned that if we confess Jesus as Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead we will be saved (Romans 10:9-10). One other verse, Romans 10:13 is often included in this Roman Road to Salvation, because it shows the inclusivity of the gospel. “For whosoever calls on the name of the Lord, shall be saved.”

Image by Dolcevia from Pixabay

The above verses spell out the gospel in a nut shell. Romans is not just the defining thesis on salvation, but it clearly conveys our standing and our struggle if we make that decision to follow Christ. If only life were a bed of fragrant roses after we accepted Christ as our Savior, but it is not. Life is a daily struggle with the flesh, not only our own, but with the ramifications of others’ struggles. Life is hard and often tromps on our minds, spirits and hearts like the first smashing waves of a tsunami on the coast line. All too often we are swept away in that wave, not knowing if we will ever reach the surface again to breath, let alone to be safe and dry.

Image by Roland Mey from Pixabay

It is with that picture in mind that we come to today’s verses from Romans 8.

“14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

— Romans 8:14-17 (NASB)

These verses deserve time to mull them over. My goal is to get through all of them in this post, but if it takes a second post, that is due to the importance of understanding these identity confirming verses to followers of the one we call Jesus.

Over the last few weeks we have identified two ways of walking: in the flesh, or in the Spirit. We have looked at three questions we need to answer: What realm are you in? Sin or righteousness? and Living or Dead? We have also been confronted with the idea that we are under no obligation to the flesh and, in fact, it is because of our flesh that we will see death. However, if we choose to live in the Spirit we will live. Today’s verses are perhaps four of the most profound verses in the Holy Scriptures. Let’s look at them piece by piece.

If we are lead by God, we are sons of God.

Wait! What? I am a son of God? Whoa! If I have accepted the truths of those salvation verses I shared above, I am seeking Him and choosing to live in the Spirit, I am a son, or in my case, daughter, of God. I…absolutely…love…that! If you, like me, regularly struggle with feeling like you are worth something and constantly battle feelings of inadequacy, these verses are for you. You and I are daughters of the King of Kings. How cool is that?

We are not slaves.

Did you get that? Say that to yourself three times with the emphasis on the bolded word or phrase.

“I am not a slave!”

“I am not a slave!”

“I am not a slave!”

That five word phrase identifies three things. It identifies who…that’s you and me. It identifies a state of being…am not and it identifies what…a slave.

Most of us have had enough history classes to understand the terrible consequences of slavery. Our country went to war within its own borders, at least in part, over slavery. The idea that slavery leads to a spirit of fear is obvious. No man or woman should be enslaved and telling ourselves that it is no longer an issue in our world is like being an ostrich with our heads buried deeply in a sand dune. Did you know that ostriches don’t actually bury their heads in the sand? When they feel threatened they will flop to the ground with their heads and necks stretched out close to the dirt so they blend in. I’m sure there is a spiritual analogy in that picture, but we will save that for another day.

Image by Christer Andreasson from Pixabay

We do not have to fear.

What exactly does Paul mean in verse 15 when he says, “…For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again”? If you have done any reading or study of the Old Testament, then you know there was a underlying current of fear in almost every scenario. These people were given the law and expected by a Holy God to adhere to it. The consequence of disobedience was often death. In addition, the chosen people of God were fearful, not trusting in His purpose and plan, but more often in a state of panic and disbelief. Sounds a lot like us, doesn’t it?

The idea, Paul is trying to get across is, we are not slaves. We do not have to answer to an unjust master, but to a loving, caring Creator, one who calls us His sons and daughters.

We have been adopted.

This is the amazing part. God has adopted us. I have never had the desire to adopt a child, but many people do have that desire. What always amazes me are the people who adopt children with special needs, like autism, crack babies or severe disabilities. What a beautiful example of how God deals with us, with all of our sins and shortcomings. He wants us to be His. Just like a couple adopts a child to give that child the best chance at life and to share the boundless love they have for a family, in the same way, God has adopted us, to share His precious and magnificent promises with us and to give us a more abundant life.

Image by Joel McGInley from Pixabay

We call Him, Abba! Father!

The natural extension of adoption is the identification of the child to the adoptive parents as his parents and the identification of the parents to the child as their child. When the adoption papers are signed, hopefully, the parents now consider that child their own, as if they had given birth to them. There may be a time of adjustment, but hopefully the child, as well, will begin to feel comfortable calling their new parents, mom and dad. If God is willing to call us His sons and daughters, then shouldn’t we feel comfortable calling Him our Father?

Image by faithfinder06 from Pixabay

The term abba is an Aramaic word that both Jesus and Paul used to refer to God. It invokes a personal and intimate knowledge. I really like that idea. Think about the ways we refer to our own dads. I always called my father, dad, but I know others use the terms daddy, pa or pops. It is rare for a child to call their parent father or to call them by their first name. The point Paul is making by using this term is the desire on God’s part that we have an intimate and personal relationship with Him.

I am going to bring this to a close for this week, so that these ideas can sink in. You are valuable. You are a daughter of God. You can call Him, Abba!

See you next week.

How Will You Answer These Questions?

These last several weeks, I have been looking at the 8th chapter of the book of Romans in the New Testament. The book of Romans was written by Paul the Apostle to the Christian believers in the church at Rome. The basic theme of this book is the gospel message, thus when we come to chapter 8 it makes sense that Paul would discuss the battle between the flesh and the Spirit. We cannot accept Christ as our Savior and then expect to go on living just as we were before we made that commitment. The Spirit of Christ in us changes us, if we let Him have His way with us.

Let’s take a look at the next portion of Romans 8:

“9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.
11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”

— Romans 8:9-11 (NIV)

I chose the New International Version of these verses because I like the picture it paints. There are three pictures I want to look at in the form of three questions.

1 - What realm are you in?

I like that the NIV uses the term realm. Since I am a fiction writer, specifically trying to focus on science fiction and fantasy, kings, kingdoms and realms are easy ideas for me to imagine. Paul says that we, if indeed, the Spirit of God lives in us, are not in the realm of the flesh, but in the realm of the Spirit. Why, then, do we spend so much time living, working, striving and worrying in the realm of the flesh?

We worry about money. We fuss over our homes, our clothes and our personal space. We worry about our families, our parents, our kids and our grandkids. We obsess over movies and books. We plan for vacations and save our pennies, just in case the economy crashes. We search for the perfect home, car, job and partner. We do all this, pulling ourselves along by our own bootstraps, willing ourselves to fight, to claw, to overcome and to win. All for what? In the end our flesh decays, just like all the stuff and we all end up in the land fill.

That is the realm of the flesh. This realm is built on a garbage heap of lies, circulated by an enemy unseen, who comes unbidden, crouching outside the door of the home we think is so secure, waiting for the opportunity to pounce and devour. Yet, because we live in the flesh, we do not see him. We do not realize the effect he has had on our lives. We do not even care, because out of sight is out of mind.

But, we are not in the realm of the flesh. We are in the realm of the Spirit. This realm is the realm of light. It is light that only those who know the Son can see, if they are brave enough to look. Often, as we walk in the flesh, in this world, we forget that there is a real spiritual world moving and operating behind the scenes. This is the world, that we, who walk in the Spirit, have access to. It is in this realm that things can be changed: hearts moved to Christ, battles won against the enemy, prayers answered, miracles performed.

There is no doubt, we need to take care of ourselves, our families and our affairs, but when we allow this world and things put out there by the enemy to consume us, then we are living, not in the realm of the Spirit and light, but in the realm of the flesh and darkness

2 - Sin or righteousness?

Image by Chetan Dhongade from Pixabay

We are faced with a choice as we walk through life. Am I going to choose to sin or choose to be righteous? What is sin exactly? Sin is anything that separates us from God. Things like hate, envy, lust, murder, adultery, lying, eating too much, spending outside our means, stealing, cheating, gossiping, etc. are all things that bring darkness into our lives. The Bible says God is light.

“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.”

— I John 1:5 (NASB)

Living in the Spirit means we are fellowshipping with the light of Christ. Our desire should be to be like Him. He was the perfect man.

“You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.”

— I John 3:5 (NASB)

We should strive to be perfect as well. You might say that is not possible. It isn’t possible if we are living in the realm of the flesh and choosing to sin.

“By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.”

— I John 4:17 (NASB)

This verse says that as He is, so also are we in this world. He was perfect and by His Spirit, we are able to be perfect as well. Don’t misunderstand, as Paul said,

“Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”

— Philippians 3:12

Our complete perfection will not happen until we are with Christ, but day by day, as we make the choice for righteousness, we sin less and less.

3 - Living or dead?

Image by Foto-Rabe from Pixabay

If Christ is in us and we are walking in the Spirit, rather than the flesh, we will have life. This doesn’t just apply to the afterlife. Many Christians sit around, mistakenly thinking that life only happens after we are dead. While that is true and we who are in Christ will live for eternity with Him, look at what Jesus said in the gospel of John.

“9 I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

— John 10:9-10 (NASB)

The life that He gave to us, starts the moment we enter through the door of belief in His sacrifice and resurrection from the dead. We don’t have to wait until we get to heaven to have the abundant life.

Does that mean we will never struggle again? Does that mean we will float along with no more storms or difficulties? No way. What we will have is a life that is full of joy amidst sorrow, healing amidst pain and peace amidst chaos. I know, I am living it.

What it really comes down to is one word…Him, Jesus, Lord, Savior, Lover, Friend, Defender….okay, so that is more than one word, but I know, many of you who follow my faith posts, know exactly what I am talking about. You have experienced His peace, love, forgiveness and joy even when your world is rocking like an earthquake of epic proportions.

I leave you with those three questions, based on three little verses in Romans. How are you going to answer them?

Until next time, keep fighting the fight.

Hostile

The word hostile as described by the Webster’s online dictionary means:

of or relating to an enemy,

marked by malevolence: having or showing unfriendly feelings

openly opposed or resisting,

not hospitable; having an intimidating, antagonistic or offensive nature

Image by Kirill Lyadvinsky from Pixabay

“7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

— Romans 8:7-8 (NASB)

Try reading through verse 7 above, but using one of the meanings for the word hostile:

“…the mind set on the flesh is an enemy of God…”

“…the mind set on the flesh is openly opposed to God…”

“…the mind set on the flesh is inhospitable, intimidating, antagonistic or offensive towards God…”

Obviously, God can not be intimidated, but the idea is, a mind set on the flesh is not interested in what God is interested in. If we take a quick look at the world around us, we will see a lot of opposition and antagonism towards God. Let’s look at a few other verses where the word hostile is used.

“21 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,
22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach”

— Colossians 1:21-22 (NASB)

The above two verses follow immediately after the passage discusses our reconciliation through Christ Jesus. Verse 21 says we were “formerly alienated and hostile in mind”. Who were we hostile towards? Towards God. There would be no need for Christ to reconcile us to the Father, if we were not alienated and hostile towards Him. The verse continues saying we were “engaged in evil deeds.” Hostility and evil go hand in hand.

Note, the hostility is connected to the mind. The mind set on the flesh is hostile towards God. The mind set on the flesh is evil. Wow! There is a definitely a correlation between what goes into our mind and how we behave and think. Our minds are a battle ground between what is true and right and what is evil and a lie. Joyce Meyer devoted a whole book to this theme. Here are a few quotes:

“When a person is going through a hard time, his mind wants to give up. Satan knows that if he can defeat us in our mind, he can defeat us in our experience. That’s why it is so important that we not lose heart, grow weary and faint.”

— Joyce Meyer - Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind

“We are not walking in the Word if our thoughts are opposite of what it says. We are not walking in the Word if we are not thinking in the Word.””

— Joyce Meyer - Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind

“If our thoughts are going to affect what we become, then it should certainly be a priority that we think right thoughts.”

— Joyce Meyer - Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind

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Our verses in Romans say that if we are hostile towards God, with our mind set on the flesh we will not subject ourselves to Him and are, in fact, unable to do so. The final outcome is that we cannot please God.

We are definitely in a battle and the battle is for our minds and our hearts. If we set our minds on the flesh; what we can get, feel, see, experience, we will not please God. In fact, we will probably be so absorbed in pleasing ourselves that we will turn away from what is right and true.

“DON’T GIVE UP! When the battle seems endless and you think you’ll never make it, remember that you are reprogramming a very carnal, fleshly, worldly mind to think as God thinks. Impossible? No! Difficult? Yes! But, just think, you have God on your team. I believe He is the best “computer programmer” around. (Your mind is like a computer that has had a lifetime of garbage programmed into it.) God is working on you; at least, He is if you have invited Him to have control of your thoughts. He is reprogramming your mind. Just keep cooperating with Him—and don’t give up!”

— Joyce Meyer - Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind

Next week we will look at the hope we have because we are in Christ Jesus. Until then, keep setting your mind on Him.

How Do You Walk?

This is not going to be a post about exercise, although, when it comes to self-control and discipline, it all ties in. This walk refers to our spiritual lives. When you go out for a walk you can walk in different ways; you can walk at a park on a pave trail, or down the sidewalk in your neighborhood. You can also go off roading and hike a more rugged path strew with rocks, streams and logs. Walking isn’t that difficult for those of us who have two good legs, but it still requires that we place one foot in front of the other.

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“5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, ”

— Romans 8:5-6 (NASB)

Verse 4, which we looked at last week, mentions the word walk. Here are a few other verses that use walk as a way to show our being or not being in Christ.

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

— Galatians 5:16 (NASB)

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

— Galatians 5:25 (NASB)

“in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.”

— Ephesians 2:2 (NASB)

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

— Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)

“for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light”

— Ephesians 5:8 (NASB)

There are numerous verses in the Bible which use the word walk as a way to describe our relationship and standing before God. The very first Psalm uses walk as an active marker for the righteous man.

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!”

— Psalm 1:1 (NASB)

Let’s take a closer look at our Romans 8 verses.

1 - For those who are according to the flesh - we have to make the point here that there is a definite distinction between those who are according to the flesh and those who are according to the Spirit. At some point in time, we all have been, according to the flesh.

2 - Set their minds on the things of the flesh - In other words, flesh begets flesh.

3 - but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit - Spirit begets spirit.

4 - For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace - there is one word I want you to focus on in that verse, set. The word set as defined by Webster’s online dictionary has a number of different definitions, but the one I want to focus on is, “to direct with fixed attention.” We either can fix our attention on the flesh or we can fix or attention on the Spirit. The outcome of setting our mind on the flesh is death. The outcome for setting our minds on the Spirit is life and peace.

Let’s examine this for just a moment. When we talk about death, there is a two fold meaning. If I think about something fleshly, like feeding my stomach for example, I won’t die (unless I eat something really nasty - ha, ha), so what death is Paul talking about? Spiritual death. If we only spend our lives worrying about what to eat, how to make ourselves feel good, how to make more money and so on, we will eventually die, both physically and spiritually.

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The opposite situation occurs when we set our minds on the Spirit. Obviously, we are talking about the Holy Spirit of God, not just some random spirit. If we seek to know Christ and follow Him and really desire what His Spirit desires we will have life and peace. Once again, the life here is referring to Spiritual life, as we will physically die at some point. I also want to point out that Paul added the word peace.

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Don’t we live in an anxiety ridden society? It seems more and more people are taking medication to help keep them from feeling anxious. Once again, let me reiterate mental health is a key component in being a functioning person and sometimes that does mean medication, but since when did it become not okay to feel nervous? When did it become not okay to experience fear, or worry, or discouragement? These are real feelings and emotions that are just as much a part of being human as joy and happiness. No, a person should not have ongoing anxiety, irrational fears or depression and those things should be managed by a professional doctor and phycologist or psychiatrist. But, the Bible says when we set our minds on the Spirit we will have life and peace.

Perhaps part of our problem is that we are not setting our minds on the Spirit. I am specifically speaking to those of us who call ourselves Christ followers. How many of us struggle with anxiety? How many of us daily battle fear, discouragement, anger, lust, jealousy and on and on? How many of us struggle with having discipline and self-control? Can’t we trace most of those feelings to the idea that we are not setting our minds on the Spirit?

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What are you setting your mind on today? Are you, like the woman in the picture above being overwhelmed by everything around you? Fix your focus on Jesus.

“6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things”

— Philippians 4:6-8 (NASB)

I will throw these verses at you over and over and over again, because this is God’s truth. Do not be anxious! I’ll save that study for a different time, but today, make the choice to fix your attention on the Spirit.

Next time, we’ll explore a few more verses from Romans 8. What are your thoughts on these verses today? I always love to have your feedback.

Whiter Than Snow

Last Wednesday, I started to take a look at Romans 8. I’ve been struggling with this idea of discipline and how it seems so many of us want to be more disciplined, but fail to do so. Let’s review Romans 8:1.

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

— Romans 8:1 (NASB)

The first thought I had was, we often fail because we feel defeated before we start. Defeat is often the result of past failure, or at least the feelings of past failures. The idea of condemnation does not always accompany failure, but it is closely tied to it. If it isn’t other voices condemning you, it will be your own. Often people go for years listening to the voice of condemnation over some choice they made in their past they cannot change.

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If we have given our lives to Christ, condemnation is no longer an issue, or at least it shouldn’t be. Jesus, by His death and resurrection, completely washed away all sin and guilt. In choosing Him, we become as white as new fallen snow.

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““Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.””

— Isaiah 1:18 (NASB)

How does condemnation keep us from being our best selves? How does it keep us from having self-control and being disciplined in our creative habits, our relationships and our physical lives?

If we let Satan’s words of condemnation seep into our lives they will devour us. We will become unable to thrive and live life more abundantly as, Jesus would have us live.

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

— 1 Peter 5:8 (NASB)

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Taking the next few verses in Romans 8 will give us a different perspective on the true nature of our power and place in Jesus Christ.

“2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

— Romans 8:2-4 (NASB)

There are several ideas we need to see in these verses.

1 - There is a law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus - Being in Christ sets us free from the law of Moses, it does not set us free from the law of the Spirit, which we will talk more about next week. Being free from the law of Moses or the law of the flesh, does not give us a free pass to do whatever we want. I don’t know how many times I have heard Christians justify certain behaviors because they are no longer under the law, but free in Christ.

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2 - The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death - The law of sin and death is the law that God delivered to Moses and the Israelites after their release from slavery in Egypt. This law, which in its most famous and compact form makes up the Ten Commandments compiles a list of 613 commandments including those infamous ten and includes laws relating to ceremonial rituals, building of the tabernacle and movement of the Ark of the Covenant. This system of laws was never meant to be the end of the story. God knew from before time, Jesus would be the perfect sacrifice doing away with all need for laws pertaining to the flesh for all eternity.

3 - For what the law could not do, weak as it was - As I stated above, the law of the flesh could not make a man pure before God, without going through blood sacrifice, cleansing rituals, remembrances of feasts and celebrations. The law of the flesh was a burdensome thing to try to adhere to.

4 - The Law was weak, because it was done through the flesh - Even in Moses time, the idea of self-control and discipline was fuzzy at best, because it was being done in the flesh.

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In the same way, when we are trying to be disciplined and have self-control in regards to creating new habits or getting rid of bad ones in our lives, we are doing it in our flesh. You might be wondering at this point, how we can do it any other way, than in the flesh, since we are living, flesh covered beings.

5 - God did - Because the Law was weak and could not accomplish what it was supposed to do, which was restore our relationship to God and make us pure, God did. He provided. He made a way.

6 - Sending His own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin - Jesus was born a baby to Mary, a real live flesh and blood child. Just as the Law of Moses required blood sacrifice (animal, not human), so Jesus became that sacrifice for everyone.

7 - He condemned sin in the flesh - This is where the idea of condemnation comes into play. God condemned sin in the flesh by giving the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. Websters online dictionary defines the word condemn in this manner:

“to declare to be reprehensible, wrong, or evil usually after weighing evidence and without reservation”

— Websters Online Dictionary

In other words, sin was declared to be reprehensible, wrong and evil. Because God is perfect and because we are marred by sin, sacrifice is a requirement. Since the way of Moses was imperfect, or at least the people trying to adhere to the laws were imperfect, a better sacrifice had to be made and was made in the Person of Jesus Christ.

8 - The requirement of the law is fulfilled in us when we walk according to the Spirit - I have mentioned before, that when we are in Christ we are connected to Him by the Holy Spirit, so when we choose to walk in the Spirit the sacrifice of Christ becomes real in us. What God sees when He looks at us after we accept Christ as our Savior is a different version, than what He sees before. Just like the sacrifices cleansed the people of Israel, Christ has cleansed us and we appear, as written before, whiter than snow.

Right now, this all might not make a whole lot of sense, as far as how it ties to our ability to stay the course in areas requiring discipline and self-control, but my hope is to make it more obvious over the next few weeks.

For today, the thought to take away is that if you are in Christ you have been cleansed and you are whiter than snow. Have a great evening.

No Condemnation

I’ve been mulling over what I should focus on in my life as a Christian. There are so many areas where I need to improve or, as I talked about last week, have some discipline. The unfortunate reality is, we can talk all we want about making changes, doing better, being better, but if we don’t actually do it, then where are we? We find ourselves like that noisy gong or clanging cymbal mentioned in I Corinthians 13.

“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”

— I Corinthians 13:1 (NASB)

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Right now, I feel as though God is impressing on me, once again, the importance of prayer. A few weeks ago I had a devastating dream about my younger daughter. In the dream she had died, yet I could see her and it was like she was talking to me. She told me she had cancer and she hadn’t wanted anyone to know. She wanted to die alone, so no one would be grieving over her as she died. It was devastating. I woke up and kept reassuring myself, it was only a dream. Unfortunately, the reality is, many young people we know are not following after Christ. They have bought into the lord of this age and the lies he spins. It was from the despair I felt over the aloneness of my girl that I realized we are losing many of our kids, because we have become overwhelmed with life. At least I have.

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I don’t even like to admit this, but I am a failure at prayer. I’m not talking about the daily conversations we have with God; the prayers of thanks, the whispers of panic, the lifting our hands in the air because we don’t know how to pray, prayers. The type of prayer I am talking about is the down on our knees, face in the carpet prayers. I fail at the real spiritual battle prayers. These are the kind of prayers that we need to be praying.

We live in a world where we don’t want to make waves. We talk about kindness, acceptance and love. We want to give and receive acceptance and tolerance. As Christians we have become milk toast; soggy, damp and unappealing. Think about what it is that draws men to Christ. It comes from a heart desperate for meaning and one that recognizes there is a darkness within, wanting to swallow us up, from the inside out. The call of Christ is heard by those who realize there is nothing else, and no one else, who can give life and life more abundantly.

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What then, is it going to take to get me to pray for the people who need His salvation, as desperately as the one who realizes their need to finally give their lives over to Christ?

Over the next few weeks I want to take a look at Romans chapter 8. I feel this ties into, not only the idea of prayer, but the need for discipline discussed last week. I will approach this study in a similar fashion to my Mulling It Over series, as that is what we will be doing as we look more closely at the chapter.

To see the entire text just click on this link to BibleGateway. com, Romans 8 (I will be using the New American Standard version of the text for most of the discussion).

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

— Romans 8:1 (NASB)

Out of the entirety of the Bible, this is perhaps one of my favorite verses. There are many other verses I love, such as John 3:16 - salvation in a nut shell, Philippians 4:6-8 - promises against anxiety, Jeremiah 29:11 - His plans are for my welfare, and many, many others. However, this verse is so declarative about my relationship and place in Christ, that when the gnawing feeling of being “less than” returns, I quote this verse and am immediately reminded of my place in Him.

In order for us to getting a running start at this verse and this passage, we need to back up and take a look at some of the verses in chapter 7.

“14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.
15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.
17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,
23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”

— Romans 7:14-25 (NASB)

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It is as if the Apostle Paul was walking a mile or two in my shoes. Obviously, this is applicable to all of us as human beings. We wage war in our flesh. We want to do what is right or good or even good for us, yet our flesh is unwilling and battles against all that is good. I concur with Paul, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”

Those two verses really sum up how I feel. I want to pray. I want to do what is good. I want to be healthier. I want to eat better. I want to exercise more. I want to be the best wife I can. I want to be the best mom and grandma I can. I want to be the best Christian I can! BUT, I regularly, miserably fail. That leads us to Chapter 8.

I find, what really gets me derailed from successfully having self-control, and being disciplined is the condemnation I feel when I don’t succeed. I messed up, oh well, guess I’ll just eat that bag of chips. It’s too hard to pray, so I guess I won’t even try. Where does that lead? You got it, down a trail of guilt. Guilt often spirals out of control until we no longer even want to do the things that are right or good.

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However, that guilt is not coming from our Lord. Verse 1 of chapter 8 makes that clear. It says there is NO condemnation. Yes, we are convicted by the Holy Spirit when we sin. That voice does not condemn, it reminds and renews. The condemning voice of the enemy discourages and limits. Remember that. Jesus will remind us of what is right and He will give us hope. The enemy will never give us hope. He will always leave us feeling that we lack, and that is precisely why we fail.

We think that we are in this alone. We think that it is in our strength that we are supposed to do all those things that require discipline and self-control, but self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, not something we conjure up out of our own abilities. We fail, because we do not go to Him for the strength and ability to do the things He wants us to do.

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We will dig deeper into Romans 8 next week, but until then, memorize Romans 8:1 and use it like a sword, every time the enemy make you feel hopeless, lacking and like a failure, because if you are in Jesus you are not condemned.