Unity or Discord

 

“Now may the God, who gives endurance and who supplies encouragement, grant that you be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,”

— Romans 15:5

 

My Interpretation of this verse after reading the Greek words is:

“Now May God, who gives you His strength to persevere and who inspires you, give each of you together the same mind, according to Christ Jesus, who made you one in mind (not discordant), with Him through the salvation He gave you.”

 

Notice that God gives His strength to persevere and His inspiration for how to be and live. 

 

Notice, also, Jesus gave the believers salvation and gave them the ability to be of the same mindset, not in opposition. 

 

What did Paul say the Roman Christians were to do? Choose to be of the same mind with other believers. Choose to seek and receive from God the strength to live in unity like Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. Choose to live life as God divinely inspires. Choose to be united/harmonious with the other Christians.  Recognize the three main verbs—choose. 

 

Being in harmony with other people is a matter of your will. Will you choose to be like the Son, Father, and Spirit, to be unified? Will you accept and use the strength God offers His children? Will you choose to live your life as God inspires and guides you? 

 

Jesus chose to follow the will of the Godhead, of which He is a part. He gave up His human will of preservation of self. He chose to follow the divine will of offering Himself as the holy sacrifice needed to redeem people from their sins and the guilt of their sins. He gives believers the power over temptation with His strength.

 

Jesus chose to be united with God. Their love for humanity, though unlovely we are, led them to provide this sacrifice. Jesus willed for each of us to be united with God, to be in harmony with Him. 

 

Do you choose to be in harmony with God?

Will you choose to have the mind of Christ? 

Will you be united with God and other believers in mind and purpose?

 

Consider Philippians 2:5-11:

 

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. For this reason, also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name, which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

Will you choose unity with God or discordant chaos of life and mind?

 

Romans 15:6 gives us the reason we should be in unity. It says, “so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify and praise and honor the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (AMP).

 

You have a choice to make today.

Absolute Goodness

 

“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

-Romans 8:28

 

We, who have responded to God’s call on our hearts and have believed in Jesus and have the promised hope of our future resurrection, know that God makes all things work together for good. That “good” is not what we know in and from this world. It is pure, undiluted goodness that comes from the character of God. 

 

We Christians know, because we have God’s gracious promise of salvation and resurrection, that God makes all things work together for the absolute good of His children, who He calls to Himself for His good and grand purpose—the purpose of salvation, telling others about the gospel of His love, and discipling them.

 

God’s goodness does not hinge upon what we do. Goodness, by definition, comes from God’s character. God is absolutely good and does only good. When people believe in Jesus for salvation, they receive God’s goodness expressing His love through salvation, which is redemption from the stain and guilt of their sin. Nothing in the world is good except what He has redeemed for Himself. 

 

God’s calling to us (His creation) is all about His plan and love. We are sinful people who are stuck in the mire of a fallen world. Without God’s calling us, we would be blind and deaf to Him. We would be without hope now and for eternity. Our hearts, minds, and spirits would despair and languish. We cannot and did not give ourselves ultimate hope because we cannot see beyond this day and moment what actually will be. But God can and does. 

 

So because we know God only does good and only His absolute purpose prevails, we can understand, know, trust, and hope with absolute certainty that as we daily walk with Him on this earth, He makes all things work together toward that good for His children, those who love Him and are called for His purpose of salvation and eternity with Him. We can know the truth of what Paul wrote further in Romans 8.

 

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 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 8:35-39, CSB)

 

Nothing stops God’s goodness or good plan.  Once you believe in Jesus, you are permanently part of His goodness and good plan. You are called His, not Satan’s. What’s your part in this plan as God’s called people? Have faith. Have hope. Grow in your faith. Tell other people about Jesus and God’s love. Help them grow closer to God and more like Christ.

 

Don’t lose hope. God works all things together for His purpose for the good of those who love Him and are called His. 

 

Are you called God’s child? What keeps you from His goodness and love?

Have Hope

 

 

“And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.”

— Romans 8:11

 

Notice the dependent clause at the beginning of this sentence, “If the Spirit lives in you.” This statement doesn’t say, “if the Spirit can raise Jesus from death.” That happened; it’s a certainty. It says if you have believed in Jesus as your Savior, only then can you know without doubt the Spirit lives in you. 

 

With this understanding, let’s read that clause again, “And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus lives in you.” The Spirit of God raised Jesus and, since you believe in Jesus, you have been saved by Him. So, His Spirit lives in you. 

 

That dependent clause sets the stage for the truth Paul taught to the Christians of Rome in verse 11. He wrote, ““He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.” Just as the Spirit brought back to life Jesus’ mortal body—and thereafter Jesus lives His divine provenance of eternal life since He is Deity—He will give that same life, eternal life, to you. 

 

Remember, the gift of eternal life is not given to everyone. It is given by the Spirit who resides in everyone who has believed in Jesus and has been saved from the judgment his/her sins deserved—eternal separation from God, eternal death. 

 

So, in reading this verse again, “For you who believe in Jesus for salvation, the Spirit, who lives in you, raised Jesus back to life and will also give you eternal life with God.” Don’t doubt this. Your belief in Jesus with your heart, mind, soul, and strength has given you, through Jesus’ Spirit living in you, that promise and hope to hold onto; you will most definitely live with God forever. 

 

That starting dependent clause is your clause. You are dependent on Jesus. Your life is dependent. Remain depending on Him. Keep believing in Jesus. 

 

So take heart; your situation isn’t so bad. It and future hard times can never take you from God’s hands. Your hope is secured in Jesus. The Spirit who raised Jesus lives in you and will raise you to live into eternity with Him. Have hope. Keep strong in your faith. Jesus is coming back for you.

Hope Beyond Reason

 

 

“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

-Romans 15:4 NASB

 

This instruction came from the written teaching of God through His appointed men and women that are included in the Bible. This instruction was and should still be the teaching of Christian doctrine that extends to lifestyle application. 

 

Applying what God says in the Bible as learned from Him through the reading and studying of the Bible and listening to sound teaching and preaching on it keeps a Christian steady in his or her loyalty to faith and godliness, even when going through the biggest trials of life. Applying Christian doctrine from the Bible provides comfort and encouragement because of God calling and speaking peace to the believers through His Spirit dwelling in them. This steadfastness of faith and encouragement, both gifts given by the Spirit, provide hope during trials and reminds us of our ultimate and unchanging hope of being children of God through salvation. 

 

This hope goes beyond human understanding and surpasses any trial or tribulation of the believer. It is greater than the laws of nature and beyond human rationale. It is holding on to what is sure. 

 

When a large hole is in the hull of a ship and hope sways to despair, believers can continue to hold onto God at that moment and for the future. They can receive encouragement and perseverance so they don’t lose hope. Even when our lives seem to have a gaping hole and is foundering, we have hope that God has a plan for that moment, a plan of imminent and ultimate rescue because we are His children. God still carries us in His hands. He never leaves or forsakes us. So have hope. Have faith. God is with you; His Spirit dwells in you. Trust Him.

Your Acceptable Sacrifice

 

“Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

Romans 12:1 BSB

 

Fellow believers, because of the mercy and grace God gave you from His love and because it cleansed you, offer your consecrated (set apart by and for God) bodies as living sacrifices—ones revived, cleansed, and given of your free will because of your love of God. 

 

Your offering of this sacrifice is holy (because God consecrated you when you believed in Jesus for salvation) and pleasing (because you willingly offer your living [not dead] and rejuvenated [by Christ] selves) to God. 

 

Your offering of your redeemed self to God out of love for Him is your spiritual service of worship. 

 

Remember God redeemed you. He consecrated you. Therefore, you can go into His presence. Your offer of yourself to Him is accepted because He cleansed you through Jesus’ redemption of you. God did the work so you could be with Him and so your service and offering would be acceptable to Him. 

 

God asks for nothing greater than your whole being because of your love and obedience of/to Him. That is relationship. That loving obedience is worship. It is spiritual and service to/for God. 

Your worship of God should occur as your response to His loving mercy and forgiveness of you.

 

Give your redeemed self lovingly and in obedience to God for His purposes. Love Him with your redeemed offering of yourself.

No Judgment

 

 

“Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus,”

— Romans 8:1

 

“Now” of this verse seems to be a static point in time, but since God is the author of time and space and is not confined to them, “now” is forevermore for people who have believed in Jesus as God’s Son and the Savior who died for their sins. Each Christian’s “now” of salvation is fulfilled now, but not yet. Not yet because he/she has not died and entered eternity’s door into the presence of God. That “not yet” is the present hope of believers that will be fulfilled. It’s a hope backed by God, the ever-faithful and never-forsaking God. 

 

What is the promise upon which the present and future hope rests? Paul writes that no condemnation will occur to all who believe in Jesus as their Savior. Ultimate condemnation—judgment for sins (wrongdoing)—comes down from ever-holy God to sinful people. This judgment will render unbelievers in Jesus into a  permanent separation from God, a state of torment of endless evil with no good ever to come. This state of being and place is called Hell. See how great is the salvation Jesus died to offer when compared to unending evil with no chance of goodness and mercy.

 

There is now no condemnation for whoever believes in and are in Christ Jesus. 

 

On which side of that great divide between good and evil will you be? If you believe Jesus is God’s Son, who died as the ultimate and final sacrifice for your sins, you are saved and safe from ultimate and tormenting eternal separation from God. If you have not believed in Jesus by the time you die, your future does not hold any hope of goodness, mercy, joy, love, and peace. Your future will entail endless agony at not being able to taste, touch, hear, smell, and see God’s goodness. Your judgement—condemnation—will be sure and secure.

 

What prevents you from believing in Jesus, confessing and repenting of your sins, and asking Him to save you and be your Lord? What part of yourself are you unwilling to give up and, instead, let it lead to your condemnation? Is that really worth being separated from God’s goodness for eternity. Stop now and ask God to show you what separates you from Him. For the sake of your soul, confess, repent, and believe. 

 

Come to know the “now” and “not yet” of the hope of eternal salvation and life with God.

Jolted or Joyful

“Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” John 16:20 [NIV]

Consider your planning for a great trip. You’ve mapped out your route. You’ve saved enough money to pay for it. You’ve even found a wonderful house sitter or dog sitter. After your first day of driving to reach this grand place of which you’ve dreamed, your car has a flat tire. When you go to change the tire, the engine hisses. When you find a mechanic and get to his garage, you learn your car needs a new radiator along with a new tire. One thing after another hits you as you contemplate your plans and what you are going to do. You did not plan on having difficulty and so didn’t save extra money. Now, you must use the rest of the money you saved for your trip to pay for your car repairs. Are your hopes dashed? Do you wonder what you should do, go home or go onward to your destination? How can you ever have joy on this great adventure you planned when it will cost you much more money than you saved? Life is like this. God knew what would happen before you even began your journey. He had a plan for you for that time.

The statement above by Jesus to His disciples in John 16:20 came after He began preparing them for what would happen to them when He fulfilled His purpose on earth. Jesus told them in the first eleven verses of John 16 that people would kill and persecute them thinking they were serving God. He told them these people would do this because they do not know the Father or Him. But, Jesus, because of His love for the disciples and their devotion to Him, warned them about these future dire circumstances to prepare them. After He told them He would go to the One who sent Him, He told them He recognized their grief because of these things He said. Because the disciples believed in Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, He said He would send an Advocate, His Holy Spirit. Jesus sends this Advocate to each person who believes in Him.

Jesus recognized His disciples could not bear anymore teaching about His last days on earth (His departure from them) and about their future persecution and death by people who don’t believe in Him. He told them the Spirit of truth would guide them in all truth. Jesus would not leave them without a guide and teacher, One who teaches what He hears from the Father and who will glorify Christ. This Spirit will tell the disciples what Jesus wants them to know.

Jesus began teaching in John 16 by preparing the disciples. He told them He would depart from them and return to the Father, and people would persecute and kill them because they were His disciples. Yet, Jesus would send an Advocate to teach them, the Spirit of truth Who comes from Him to guide them in all truth. He returned to telling the disciples, they would not see Him and then they would. The disciples questioned what Jesus meant. How can a person be seen then not seen, except by death? Even their understanding of death meant they would not see a person after he or she died. The disciples were confused. Jesus recognized their confusion and sought to give them clarity.

The death Jesus spoke of was His own. At His death, the non-believers would rejoice, while His disciples would mourn. Yet, from the day Jesus rose from the grave, the disciples would rejoice, and the people of the world would be confused. Some people would be angry and consult others in an attempt to understand how this could happen. Jesus told the disciples they would mourn for a little while then rejoice. They would understand that earthly mourning was just for a season, but joy lasts forever because Jesus lives for eternity. He conquered sin and death forever. Mourning and grief are a momentary part of time while joy is eternal for the people who are Jesus’ followers.

For the disciples to understand this better, Jesus used the analogy of a pregnant woman in labor. While the woman labored, her pain was great, and she found it hard to experience joy because of the depth of the pain. Yet, when she held the child in her arms, the joy of his/her birth would overshadow the anguish and pain of labor. Just so, Jesus said, their mourning of His death would be overshadowed by His resurrection, His victory over death forever. Because Jesus conquered sin and death, the disciples could know joy exists forever even when pain, anguish, and trials existed. Those times of pain, anguish, and trial would last for a moment, but the joy of victory over sin and death and the eternal hope it brings would last for eternity.

While the world rejoices at your difficulties and points their fingers at how they bested the one who follows Jesus, you can know your grief for the moment will turn to joy. You can have joy despite and in the midst of whatever your circumstances may be. Though people may persecute you and kill you, Christian, you have a joy that outlasts what humans can do to you.

Let’s take that thought one step further. To love Jesus means absolute (total) devotion to Him and His will. As we pray each day in our time with Him, we ask Him to use us and to make us like Himself. Often this thought comes habitually without really thinking about what the consequences might mean. If we do not truly mean these things and do not seek Him and desire to be completely devoted to Him, circumstances will surprise us. They never surprise God. He knows our heart, our inmost being. (Psalm 139) When we pray this prayer from habit, without depth of heart, we try to make ourselves like Jesus as if Jesus is the pattern or example of supreme goodness. What we need to realize is that we cannot make ourselves like Jesus. True followers of Jesus, believers in Jesus as the Messiah, recognize He makes us into His image through His power and by the guiding and teaching of the Holy Spirit. When we truly mean what we pray, “Make me like You, into Your image for Your service,” we understand Jesus is the One who makes us like Himself. Only when our prayer to be made like Him comes from the depth of our devotion and faithfulness to Him can we preparedly and joyfully face persecution trials, and death.

We cannot make ourselves like Jesus by our power.

Only Jesus can make us like Him by His power.

God is not surprised by the depth of humanity’s sinfulness and rebellion against Him. He is not surprised people will persecute His followers and kill them. Jesus told His disciples this in John 16. He told His disciples and tells us today through the Bible and His Holy Spirit that we can have joy during life’s hard times. Why? Because Jesus overwhelmingly conquered sin and death. He lives forevermore. Humanity threw its best to defeat Him; they crucified Jesus. Yet, God’s best is greater than humanity’s best. He has power over all things, life and death. Because Jesus is victorious, we can be victorious and have joy while walking with Jesus through difficult times. Imagine having joy while grieving, and relief while being homeless or jobless. Imagine knowing without doubt something greater exists than this life and nothing in your present moment will have eternal significance. God is powerful, loving, and great. He is not surprised by what happens. He is greater than anything that occurs in your life and in the world. God loves you.

Consider what the psalmist said in Psalm 139 after stating to what depths God knew him. He said in verses seven through twelve,

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You. (Psalm 139:7-12 [NIV])

Whether we try to hide from God or evil tries to hide us from God, God is greater. Even in those supposedly hidden places and in darkness, God’s hand will guide you and support you. Nothing can separate you from God. Paul spoke about this victory from evil for us in Romans 8:36-39. He wrote,

Just as it is written “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things, we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [NASB]

Hard times will come. People will hurt us. Some people may kill Christians. We recognize these things are true. They are part of human history, our present time, and humanity’s future, but we don’t have to linger and quiver in our minds and lament. Because Jesus is our Lord and by His power, He changes us and makes us more like Himself daily, we have hope beyond this current difficult time. This moment will not last, but eternal life with God in His kingdom will last forever. We are more than conquerors, more than victors, and nothing can separate us from the love of God. Yes, pain will come and is with us now, but we have an eternal, unquenchable joy found only through Jesus Christ. For now, we may have grief, but we can hold onto the joy Jesus gives to each of His followers. We will see Jesus; we believe right now and at the times we face difficulties, always, He is with us. Nothing and no one can take this joy from us.

Jesus gives us eternal, unquenchable joy.

Consider that great adventure you planned, and the expensive car repairs you didn’t plan for on the way to your destination. Will you allow the difficulty to steal your joy about the adventure? Will you seek God and His will, walking in the power He will give you for this situation? God has a plan. That plan includes His love for you and your spiritual growth. What will you do, focus on the problem or on God, who knows what is happening and has a plan to walk with you through the difficulty? These problems are fleeting, but God is eternal and your salvation through Him is eternal. Let the joy He gives you be greater than the burden of the problems. One is eternal and the other momentary.

Problems are fleeting, but God and His salvation to you are eternal.

What grief or what difficulty has come upon you and is causing you to lose sight of Jesus. Are you working through your difficulties with just a human perspective? Keep your eyes and heart on Jesus. Keep looking at Him. His joy, the joy He gives to you, is greater and longer lasting than your grief and pain. Let your momentary difficulties bring glory to Jesus Christ. The song writer, Helen Howarth, reminds us of this in her hymn called Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.

O soul, are you weary and troubled?

No light in the darkness you see?

There’s light for a look at the Savior,

And life more abundant and free.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.

(https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/645)

Let your momentary difficulties bring glory to Jesus Christ.

Dear Father, so often I get caught up in my troubles and I lose sight of you as I try to figure out why the problem has happened and what I can do to get out of it. Lord, forgive me for living in my own strength. Forgive me for losing perspective and seeing life from an earthly standpoint. Forgive me for not seeking You, looking to You, and allowing You to be the conqueror of my situation. Lord, truly, I am to be made like You by Your power, not my own. I don’t want to make myself in Your pattern, but for You to make me like You. Help me to grow, to be more devoted to You, and to love You with my whole being. Help me to trust You completely and have the joy You give because You are the Conqueror. This current difficulty is a moment in time, but Your power and joy are eternal. Thank you for loving me, for saving me, and for giving me hope and joy amidst pain, trials, and death. Amen.

THE PAIN!

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. For the anxious longing of creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 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. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he already sees? But, if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. 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, 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 8:18-27 [NASB])

Those things that cause us pain now, pain in our hearts, minds, and/or bodies, are only a small blip in time. Yes, they hurt like nobody’s business, but when we get the mind of Christ, then we get His perspective. This present pain is for a little while, and so we understand we can have hope; we do have hope. Our hope rests in Jesus Christ as our resurrected Savior who gives us eternal life. We recall this hope as His Spirit lives in us and reminds us this present time is just a small dust-mote-size of time in the expanse of time and eternity. Not only does the Spirit remind us and so encourages us, He also prays for us when we are so tired, so sick, so bereft, so despairing that we do not know how to pray anymore. The Spirit prays exactly what needs to be prayed because He prays the heart of God for our lives. God has our best interests in His heart and so the Spirit prays for the best thing for us. What does that mean? The Spirit prays we grow closer to the Lord and bring God glory. When was the last time you were sick, and you prayed, “Not my will, God, but Yours be done even if that means I will not get well as soon as I would like”?

That is a very hard prayer to pray for a human. For that reason Jesus gave each of His believers, every Christian, His Spirit. There are things that are too hard for our mortal, earth-bound minds to pray. Paul said this when he said, “For creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” At the moment of salvation, when we confess Jesus as our Lord, we are set free from the power of sin and death. Yet, we are continually being sanctified, made holy as Christ is holy. Jesus set us free from sin and death, but still we must grow to be more like Christ and less like our old selves. This is how we have the glory of the children of God; we begin being more changed and having more and more the mind of Christ as Paul said in Philippians 2. Our hope is to become closer to God in heart, mind, and spirit so that nothing can cause us to do anything except praise God and bring Him glory. Being in God’s presence is our hope now while we live on in our mortal bodies and our hope for the future when God resurrects us to new life with Him.

These are our greatest hopes. Yes, we hope to be well. We hope to obtain a job and be able to buy food for our families. We hope to get into college so we can have a good life as an adult. We hope so many things, but most of them are just for this earthly plain. Yet, if we hope for what we do not see, God and eternity with Him, then we persevere and wait eagerly. Hope creates perseverance in us. This perseverance makes us stronger. These things now that afflict us, we remember with hope and eager expectation, are just small road-bumps in our earthly lives. Since God knows how many hairs are on our head at any point in our lives, He knows and cares about every speed-bump we hit. Since God loved us enough to send Jesus to die for us on the cross, He loves us enough to be with us, give us hope, and send His Spirit to live in us to pray in the exact way that most helps us. When we don’t know how to pray, the Spirit prays for us. He prays according to the will of God, the One who loves us more than we can ever think or imagine, the One who knows best what needs to be done in that moment of our life, in every moment of our life.

Those things that cause us pain now “are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Think upon the glory of God, the glory that reminds us of His intense love for us. Then remember God sent His Spirit to pray for us because we don’t know exactly how to pray. We are so overwhelmed with our pain and problem, that the exactness of how to pray eludes us. We can rest assured the best prayers to God are being made for us by the Spirit and we can trust, because of God’s great love for us, that those requests the Spirit makes for us, are the best prayer requests for us. We have hope and can hold on to hope with perseverance and eagerness because God knows, God hears, and God loves you. God is greater than your pain. Rest in His hands. Seek His heart. Hold on to hope in Him because He is mighty and will walk with you through your pain. God has the best plan for this time in your life; trust Him. Grow more Christlike and enjoy the freedom of the glory as the child of God.

When we acknowledge God has a perfect plan for meeting our needs and when we rely on Him with perseverance, eagerness, and hope, we can say what Paul said in Romans 8:28-30.

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. 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; and these who He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. [NASB]

When we persevere, rely on, and hold on to our hope in God, then we will be like Christ, who was glorified. This honor can only be given by God and He gives it to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Glorification is connected to the justification each believer receives from Jesus. Keep loving God. Keep answering His call for His purpose. Keep hoping knowing that God will not disappoint you because you are loved and justified. And you will be glorified in the last days.

You will have pain, but you have

the hope of glory to which to look forward.

Lord, I think I know what I need now, and I am praying it, but that situation does not seem to be getting better. I’m at the end of my rope. Today, I read Your word in Romans 8 and realize I’ve been demanding what I think I need and not letting Your Spirit intercede for me. I’ve seen my situation and have lost perspective of You. I have allowed my troubles to consume me and decrease my perspective that You are almighty and all-knowing. Nothing that affects me can lessen Your power or escape Your knowledge. Lord, please hear me; listen to the words I can’t seem to find that expresses my despair and anguish in my situation. Lord, hear the prayers of Your Spirit and intervene in my life and situation where You know is best. I’ve given up and realize You alone know the best way to remedy this. You, Lord, are worthy to be praised now because I realize You have the answer for me now; that gives me hope. You have given me hope for my eternal future. By You, I exist. Through Your Son, I am saved and have eternal life. Thank you for reminding me of the hope You’ve given me. Help me to persevere and grow stronger and more like You. Thank you for what You’ve done, what You are doing, and what You will do. May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Choosing to Face the Storms

Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak! (Matthew 26:41 [NLT])

Think about boating on Lake Erie or the Mediterranean Sea. The day begins with sun, calm seas, and a small breeze. You and a friend decide it’s  a beautiful day to take the sailboat out on the water. You raise the sails to get out of port. As you laze on deck with sails furled in the middle of the lake or sea, a wind arises that makes your boat rock furiously from starboard to port. Unfurling the sails will only cause you to catch too much wind and make your boat toss and turn at the storm’s mercy. A large ocean-going vessel comes to your starboard offering ropes to moor your boat to the ship’s sheltering side away from the wind. What should you do? Accept the offer or take your chances to ride out the storm?

Jesus knew about storms. He knew what caused humanity to stumble, when we face temptations and act upon them. These temptations when acted upon lead to sin. Each person alive has sinned. It’s part of the curse when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of which God told them not to eat. Jesus knew from where sin came. He addressed it immediately after his baptism by John in the Jordan River.

As Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on Him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and You bring Me great joy.” The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness where He was tempted by Satan for forty days. (Mark 1:10-13a [NLT])

Jesus understood humanity had great difficulty facing temptations. He faced temptations immediately after John baptized Him. Jesus faced temptations like any human does throughout His life. At any point in His three-year ministry, He could have said He wasn’t the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Christ, or the Messiah, then the Jewish religious leaders wouldn’t have challenged Him daily. Jesus could have said He was just a man whom God called to be a prophet. That’s what the people thought He must be.

Jesus faced the temptation to back down from the challenges presented by the people and the challenges presented by Satan. He willingly walked the path set before Him. Why? So, sin would be defeated and Jesus would have victory over death-eternal death, which is separation from God. Jesus faced and overcame temptation so that as sinless man, He could give power over temptation and sin to every person who believes in Him as their Savior and Lord. In the desert, Jesus was hungry. It would have been wonderful to enjoy a full stomach and so turn the stone into bread. But He didn’t do it. It would have been a relief if the angels of God’s kingdom carried Him from the heights while Satan tempted by Him. But He didn’t ask for their help.

Jesus faced the temptations to sin as a man and as the Son of God so He could give strength to people and enable them to overcome temptations without sinning. Our temptations do not differ from anyone else’s temptations. The foremost thought we have is to put our own selves first instead of seeking God and His will.  Paul said this in 1 Corinthians 10:13. He said, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.” [NLT] When you face  temptations, God is there ready to help you overcome them. In overcoming temptations, you must battle them, not ignore them. These battles strengthen you if you rely on the strength of God to get through the temptation and not to sin. If you rely on your own strength, you do not grow, but become prideful, another sin. This is key to overcoming power. We must rely on God to overcome by going through the struggle against temptation. Only God is all-powerful and all-knowing. Only He knows how to get through and become stronger.

Jesus chose to go through temptations instead of avoiding them. Avoiding them would not have made Him the conqueror. Facing temptations and overcoming them makes conquerors of people who believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus’ choice to face temptation, stand up to it, and overcome it, gives His followers His power to do the same thing. Consider what Paul wrote in Romans 8:31b-39.

If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own? No one-for God Himself has given us right standing with Himself. Who then will condemn us? No one-for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened to death? (As Scriptures say, “For Your sake, we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, Who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below-indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. [NLT]

Jesus, because of His and the Father’s great love for us, came to earth to live as a man, to face temptation just as a man, and to overcome temptation because He is God. He died and rose to life again to provide us, each believer in Him as Lord and Savior, the ability not to sin and not to face eternal death. Jesus did not turn away from temptation but chose to go through it to prove He is the Son of God. By this, He gives us power to overcome and grow through our times of temptation. No wonder Jesus challenged His inner circle of Peter, James, and John when He repeatedly found them asleep as He was praying for strength to face, battle, and overcome His biggest challenge, the challenge to save our souls and make a way for us to be righteous and be in a relationship with God. With these words, these three disciples heard Jesus’ challenge, and He recognized their weakness. “Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” (Matthew 26:41 [NLT]) These three men wanted to be faithful disciples of Jesus, but they were unable to face the temptation to sleep instead of keeping watch-praying.

We can overcome temptations and weaknesses and become stronger because of it. Jesus said that strength comes from God through prayer. Acknowledge your weakness. Ask God for His strength to walk with you through the temptation and to grow you as you walk with Him through it. Then pray with thanksgiving, praising God for the strength He gave you and the growth He caused because you walked with Him instead of falling asleep or walking in your own strength at the time of trial.

Consider the sail boat tossed furiously by the sudden storm. Consider yourself in that storm-tossed boat when a large steady ocean-going vessel offers you mooring ropes by which to secure your boat to the calmer side of that ship. Jesus is like that large ship. He provides His strength for you to hold on to while facing your temptations, your storms. With His strength and guidance, you can get through the storm and to your destination with less injury than if you faced the storm by yourself. You will be able to face another day and be wiser because of it. After having gone through that storm with Jesus, you will be able to help someone else face their temptations. Those temptations have made you more than a conqueror. You have become a stronger Christian in your prayer, thought, and physical life.

We are more than conquerors.

How?

Through Christ Jesus, who loves us.

Only with Jesus will we get through a temptation, conquer it, and become more than we were before the temptation. We are more than conquerors because of Jesus.

Lord, I have faced temptations. I have failed at times, too. I hate going through hard times. You, Lord, chose to face temptations because of Your love for me. I don’t understand why anyone would choose to do that, but You did it anyway. You loved me before You even knew me. Lord, I am undeserving of Your love. Make me more like You. Forgive me of my sins and wanting to live life my way. Help me not to shrug away battles and temptations because I am afraid, but to seek You by prayer and walk with You through them. Help me grow to be more like You, for You, Lord, are almighty. You are all-knowing. You chose to come to the world to die for my and other people’s sins because You love us. Thank you, Lord. Make me more like You. Mold me into Your image for Your purposes and glory. Amen.

God Causes Good

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 [NASB]

Let me begin with a studied paraphrasing of this famous passage. We know because we see and hear God, acknowledge what He says, and act upon what He says that God causes good to come from things He causes to work together. God is the Originator of this good and thus the Definer of good. Good comes from God’s being. He is the one Who causes good to be and to happen in thought, action, and word to each person who loves God, a love of God that becomes part of the heart of the person and leads to active obedience of God’s commands, His will, not just simply admitting God exists, for evil Satan admits God’s existence. These people who love God with their whole being so they live out their love to Him in obedience to His commands are those whom He called to receive salvation, just like He calls all people to come to Him, and these are the ones He calls to His service. These are the people who love God with their whole being; they hear God from His throne, recognize His voice, acknowledge it, accept His purpose for their lives, and live out their lives in obedience to His call, His purpose. These called people – called for salvation and for service to Him – are the ones for whom all things work together because of God causing them for the good of His children, the ones who love Him with their heart, mind, soul, and strength.

We each must decide for ourselves if we are the people about whom Paul wrote in this passage. Are we each a person who loves God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength? Are we actively loving God in thought, word, and action? Do we truly know God so we see and perceive Him, acknowledge and admit to His love, call, and purpose, and then act upon His calling?

Now we get to the hard stuff. Do we forget God is great and causes good to occur for us who love Him with our whole being or do we become beaten down by our struggles? As Christians active in this world, we will have struggles. We will fall down with beatings. We will have temptations. But God…God causes all things to work together for good…for us who love Him with our whole being and are living according to His purpose for our lives.

God is good! God causes good. He is the source of good and nothing can stop it from happening. When God calls you, He also causes good for you. You are not alone with no good thing and only struggles. Look up. Look around. Look inside your spirit, heart, and mind. Perceive God and His good for you. He called you to salvation. God calls you to eternal life. He calls you to this time and for this purpose. God has not left you. The Lord went before you and provided salvation for you. He is with you and provides hope and strength for you because of His love for you. God goes ahead of you to prepare a place for you in His kingdom.

Don’t forget! God causes all things to work for good for you, the one who loves Him totally, the one called according to His purposes. God’s good is all around you. Look. God is there now. Call out. Reach out. Grasp Him and hold on tight. If God is for you – and HE IS – then nothing can go against you. Nothing can defeat you because God has been before you, is with you now, and has gone ahead of you. Paul said in Romans 8:38b, “If God is for us, who is against us.” In all our struggles, trials, troubles, and temptations, we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us!! (vs. 37) That is God’s good to us. He works all things for our good. To paraphrase Paul, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord!” (Romans 8:39)

God is almighty, and He works all things together for our good, we who have accepted His call of salvation, who love Him with our whole being, and who serve Him according to His purpose. God’s good is all around you. His good triumphs over evil. Since God is for you, nothing can defeat you.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. See His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 [NLT]

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that overcomes the world – our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

1 John 5:3-4 [NASB]

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us.”

2 Corinthians 5:20 [ESV]

Lord, God, so often I take my eyes off you, then I stumble, or my faith grows weak as I live in the middle of the battle. Forgive me for not seeing You and for not seeing Your good for me. Forgive me for forgetting you are the conqueror and so we, too, conquer. Help me keep my eyes on You and to tell others about You no matter what I face. Help me to always remember Your promises and love for me so I can stand strong not matter what comes against me. Nothing I will face is greater than You, Lord. Lord, You are almighty and You have all understanding and wisdom needed to face today, and tomorrow, and a thousand tomorrows more. Help me to always remember to abide in You, to stay deeply devoted to You, and not lean on my own understanding. True wisdom is reverence of You, God. You alone are God. Amen.

Uncircumcision and the Law

Introduction

As we consider Romans 2:25-29, we must look back at Romans 2:17-24. The first word in verse twenty-five, “for,” makes us look back to those verses to understand what Paul said in the final five verses.

Paul told the Jews in verses seventeen through twenty-three they had the name “Jew” because of God’s calling them to be His people, not because of something they had done or were. He told them they bore the name “Jew,” relied upon and boasted in God, knew His will, and approved the things that are essential because of receiving instruction in the Law. Paul challenged the Jews when he said they were confident they were guides to the blind, a light to those in darkness, correctors of the foolish, and teachers of the immature because they had the knowledge of the Law and the truth. These Jews had inflated egos because of their knowledge and circumcision.

Paul challenged the Jews in verses twenty-one through twenty-three. He said, 

You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? [NASB]

Paul used rhetorical questions in these verses. Rhetorical questions are a teaching tool used to make a person dig deeper than surface level to search for the true answer. In these verses, Paul challenged them on their sins. By doing this, He pointed out they were no better than the Gentiles and pagans. The Jews who boasted in their circumcision and being called Jews were not better than other people because they broke their covenant with God by sinning against Him.

Paul ended this section with the glaring statement to the Jews in verse twenty-four. He said, “For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” Why? The Gentiles saw the self-righteous Jews were no better than themselves. The Jews sinned just like the Gentiles, so why should the Gentiles honor and follow the God of the Jews? Ouch! This is a pointed charge!

Circumcision’s Value

With this reminder from verses seventeen through twenty-four, let’s learn what Paul continued to say to the Jews in verse twenty-five. He said, “For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law, but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.” Wow, did you understand that? Paul told them outright the Jews who sinned were just like the uncircumcised people. They were unclean heathens, too. The Jews who sinned were no better than the Gentiles and pagans. They prided themselves on being good. The Jews had the Law, God chose them, they kept the letter of the law, mostly, and they were circumcised. How much more Jewish could you get, right? Paul said, “Wrong!” The Jews’ circumcision of their foreskin was not beneficial to them.

In verses twenty-six through twenty-eight, Paul turned the Jews’ world upside down. He said,

So, if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. [NASB]

Paul said if the non-Jew, the Gentile and pagan, kept the Law without even having a covenant with God like the Jews, isn’t that Gentile or pagan really circumcised inwardly, in his or her heart, even though his skin is not? Circumcision was a bragging point for the Jews. It was an outward sign of their covenant with God. The Jews used it as a sign to say they were better than other people. If you weren’t circumcised, God didn’t choose you, is what they said and meant with their lofty-mindedness. The Jews of the time that Paul spoke to thought they were the elite because of being chosen by God and bearing the mark of their covenant with Him. Yet, they chose not to keep their covenant with God.

Paul took this idea one step further. Besides saying the physically uncircumcised who kept the Law really were circumcised (in their hearts), he said they would judge the circumcised, the Jew. “What? How dare they?” the Jews would have thought. “They are filthy pigs, rotten heathens. They could not touch my robe because they are so low,” a Jew might have said. Yet, those who kept God’s Laws, though they were physically uncircumcised, showed they were righteous and obedient to God’s Law. They obeyed the Law of God revealed to them and so were circumcised in their hearts and had a covenant with God, too. Therefore, these Gentiles and pagans who obeyed God’s revealed Law, would judge the circumcised Jews who were disobedient to God’s Law given in their covenant with Him.

Judgment and Rhetoric

Paul continued in this passage with verse twenty-eight. He brought a stinging statement of judgment to these Jews. He said, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.” A Jew is not someone who has circumcised flesh or who routinely goes through the motions to follow God. Genuine circumcision is not of the flesh.

What is genuine circumcision? Paul brought the biting revelation and the final truth to the Jews and his other readers and hearers with verse twenty-nine. With this verse, he reminded everyone who reads and hears this letter of what he taught in verse four. He said in verse twenty-nine, “But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, and not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” The Jews, Paul said, got it wrong. They wanted everyone to see they were Jewish, the chosen people. They boasted about it and judged others because they sinned, all the while they, themselves, sinned, too. Paul taught them circumcision, true circumcision that showed evidence of a covenant with God, is not a cutting of the flesh. True circumcision is a circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit. When a person truly is circumcised by the Spirit of God, the old hardness of heart that comes because of sin and rebellion is cut away to make the person new and moldable by God. This circumcision removes sin and the guilt of sin, so the person can walk in newness of life. The person whose heart is circumcised seeks only to please God by obeying Him and growing closer to Him. He or she does not seek the praise of people by outwardly showing and stating how good he or she is. That is a sin.

Verse twenty-nine takes us back to a fact Paul taught with a rhetorical question in verse four. He asked in this verse, “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” The initial answer to this rhetorical question would be a resounding, “No,” by the Jews. The more considered answer would be, “Yes.” Paul taught that the Laws of God were to lead people to recognize His kindness and love, and to follow Him in righteousness by faith. Remember, “He is a Jew who is one inwardly” by circumcision of the heart by the Spirit, not by the letter (vs 29). God’s kindness should lead you to give your heart to Him. He will circumcise your heart to remove its hardness caused by sin.

Conclusions

Doing right acts for the wrong reasons does not make a person righteous. A wrong reason could be doing good things so people see you doing them. It could be giving great sums of money to a charity so you can take a tax deduction. There’s nothing wrong with doing good things. What is wrong is seeking glory for yourself? Who gave you the ability and desire to do the good things, whether giving time, money, or skills? God. So, He should be the One who gets the glory, not you. Right acts with wrong motives is not righteousness. They are good deeds. Right acts will not make you righteous and clean before the Lord. You cannot earn your way to heaven by doing good deeds. Only righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ the Savior will do that. Paul called this being justified by faith. Read what Paul wrote in Romans 3:21-30.

Now, apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for these is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God, He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. [NASB]

God is the God of all who by faith accept the salvation He offers through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. None of us has anything to boast of in ourselves. We cannot keep the Law 100% of the time because we are sinful. Still, we must remember, God did not create the Law to make us perfect; only Jesus Christ can do that. He created the Law to lead us to Him, to see His kindness and love, and then to follow Him as ones He made righteous by our faith in Jesus. We have every reason to boast of God, to give Him all the glory.

Do you practice moralism, doing right things? This doesn’t prevent your heart from sinning. Being religious is no answer and has no power to keep you from sinning or to remove your sins. It has no power to make you clean and right before God. Does your moralism prevent you or other people from knowing the Lord?

It’s now your time to decide. Are you circumcised in your skin or your heart? Have you accepted God’s salvation through faith? None of us can do enough good works to earn our way into heaven. Only God’s grace and love make it possible. Will you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior today?

God, I am unable to do right all the time. I’m a failure at it. Please forgive me for the wrong things I have done, thought, or said. Please make be clean and right with You. You alone are the only way to salvation and righteousness. I give my heart and life to You, today. Amen.