The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Romans 8:31-39 (day two)

 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. vv. 38-39

Ok, once more for the kid in the back…NOTHING can separate us from the love of God. Read it again, and again, and again. Do you struggle with this truth? Perhaps you feel as though there is a limit to God’s patience. Maybe you feel such guilt, shame, or fear which limits your understanding of God’s compassion. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Paul is writing this to an audience that needed to hear this reassurance. If these words are written in scripture, you can bet it is because they needed to be heard, and still need to be heard. We struggle against this never-ending love because we don’t have that capacity in our own hearts, and we are being convinced that God uses the same yardstick as we do. That is a lie straight from the deceiver. God’s ways are not your ways. He does not measure as we measure. Look at that list that Paul gives us in this passage. There are some pretty weighty forces, but none are stronger than the love of God. Take a deep breath, and let the love of your eternal father bring you peace.

Re:Verse passage – Romans 6:1-14  (day seven)

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Romans 6:1-2

“I can commit this sin because God will forgive me anyways.” Whether someone willfully thinks this or not, this tends to be the way sin is approached by many in the church. If we are honest, we have probably been down this train of thought too. What makes this so much worse than involuntary sins or sins of omission is that there is a blatant abuse of the grace of God. Knowingly taking advantage of what God will do for you is an abuse of His grace and power. However, it is not without consequence:

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. Hebrews 10:26

Though I do not believe this passage is saying that we will lose our salvation when we deliberately sin one time, I do believe it shows us that there is a weight on this decision to choose sin after having received the knowledge of the truth. Grace is dangerous. We can live in tension by abusing its power, or we can lean on the Holy Spirit to help us live in freedom by receiving the power of grace and extending it to others.

Re:Verse passage – Romans 6:1-14  (day six)

“The truth will set you free.” —Jesus, John 8:32

Freedom is at the heart of Paul’s hope for the churches in Rome: freedom from sin’s oppressive rule and freedom to walk in new life with God.

That is why Paul uses the imagery of baptism. As we are lowered beneath the water, we identify with Jesus’ death and burial. As we rise, we identify with his resurrection and new life. Baptism tells the truth about us: our former master no longer owns us, and our old life no longer defines us. We now belong to Jesus.

This freedom has both a present and a future reality. We await the day when God will raise us bodily from the dead, just as he raised Jesus. Yet Christ’s resurrection life has already begun within us through the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s call is to live now into what we will one day fully become: people liberated from sin, alive to God, and restored to the life for which God created us.

In Christ, freedom is both our present calling and our promised future.

Re:Verse passage – Romans 6:1-14  (day five)

As a believer, do I ever get to do what I want?  Maybe that means my wants and desires are the same selfish and morally destructive preferences and priorities that are indicative of sin and rebellion. My rules. My wisdom. Maybe that means I am declaring myself righteous. Then, NO. Notice the “logic” (or rationalization) in 6:1 – I can still act and think like I want to (pre-salvation) because that will bring even more grace from God to me. Makes God seem like a genie at our disposal. We become the sovereign.

But, if in this new life (verse 4) of having been justified and made righteous, my thoughts, desires, preferences, and priorities are transformed into the same ones that Jesus had, and that I choose them in order to glorify God (declare Him to be the sovereign), then the answer changes to Yes. That’s the work of grace. We are free to live like that- to live united with Christ and to live free from sin and “do what we (now) want to do” (what we were created and designed to do- trust, obey, serve, follow, and glorify Him).

Re:Verse passage – Romans 6:1-14  (day four)

Death no longer has any power over us. Of course, we will all experience death one day. But because of Christ’s death and resurrection, death no longer has the final word. This means something for our eternal life, in that we know an eternity spent in the presence of God awaits us when we experience bodily death on earth.

It also means something for our life now, that the reality of death, sin, and decay no longer have the final word even in our current days. Christ’s death broke the power of sin once and for all. We are “dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.” The sin that seems to have its claws stuck in you doesn’t have the final word, Jesus does. The propensity you have toward pride, anger, lust, fill-in-the-blank does not determine your identity, Jesus does. Your worst day doesn’t define you any more than your best day, Jesus does. While we surely continue to dig up and throw out the sin in our lives, our current stage in that process does not define us. Because of Christ, the power of sin and death no longer have control over us. Our identity is caught up in the grace and mercy of Jesus. This gives us hope for our days now and for eternity.

Re:Verse passage – Romans 6:1-14  (day three)

¹¹So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. (NLT)

There is a finality here to what Paul is saying about sin in our lives. As Aaron said yesterday, we will always confront our bent nature, but the power of sin over us is broken through Jesus Christ. This encourages me and comforts me to know that the same power that defeated sin and death already lives in me! This should change our outlook on sin and Satan. Rather than being timid and fearful about our enemy, the devil, prowling around to devour, we can be strong and courageous knowing that the power of the Holy Spirit is living in us and makes us alive to God through Jesus.

So, while we fight temptation and our bent nature, we can know that “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)” God reminds us through Paul that there is no ground for the power of sin over us once we become His children. Be encouraged, today, to stand in the power of Jesus and be used as an instrument of His grace!

Re:Verse passage – Romans 6:1-14 (day two)

 but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. v. 13b

We are prone to sin. Let’s get that clear from the beginning. Paul however makes it clear we were dead, but are now alive. How much are we focusing on living a resurrected life? As adopted children and heirs to the kingdom, how does this change your outlook and mission? Don’t misunderstand me, we must always confront our bent nature; but we must act in the power of the Spirit to live with purpose. How can this mindset change your understanding of your calling? Jesus’ resurrected life was filled with purpose and power, and we should live as though it was meant for us as well. Present your whole self as an instrument of righteousness and get to work.

Re:Verse passage – Romans 5:1-8 (day seven)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

At our High School Beach Retreat this weekend, our theme was “Who is Jesus?” I asked a  question that I believe we should all answer, “When was the last time you were genuinely curious about who Jesus is?”  Curiosity creates wonder. To become more like Jesus we need to become more curious about who He is, and in turn, that will create a sense of wonder in our heart. Watch this:

All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. John 1:3

who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Phil 2:6-7

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. Mark 10:45

The Creator of us loves us so much that He came down to us so that He could serve us in order that He might raise us up. Jesus loves us so much that He reached down into our darkness to pull us up into His light. Jesus loves me, this I know!