Good news for Jews

Re:Verse reading–Romans 9:1-8, Romans 10:1-21 (day one)

“It is not as though God’s word had failed.  For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.”–v 9:6.

It was a puzzle to Paul.  A disappointment from which he never fully recovered.  As a whole, the Jewish nation, called of God, prepared by the Scriptures, rejected Christ!

Disturbing but undeniable.  “He came unto His own and His own received Him not.”  Jewish leadership called for the crucifixion. Paul suffered continued persecution from the same group.  They resisted!

Had God’s promise failed?  Was His word to the Jewish nation made null and void by their unbelief?  As Paul struggled with an answer, He came to a new understanding.  True Israel was not, and never had been, based on physical heritage but on spiritual relationship. God’s family is by faith.

Did the Lord keep His promise to His people?  Yes. (To Gentiles as well)  In Christ, by grace, through faith, eternal life!

Thinking about suffering

Re:Verse reading–Romans 8:18-39 (day seven)

“The whole creation is groaning as in the pains of childbirth”–v 22.

I am thinking about suffering this morning.  Not trying to be morose.  Just honest.

Today is a day of prayer for the persecuted church around the world.  Sometimes these brothers and sisters slip from my consciousness.  Regular people, in every time zone, who declare faith in Christ and become targets of police action and public abuse.  I am thinking about them this morning.

But not only religious suffering.  I am thinking about children who are hungry and abused. About marriages torn apart.  About mental illness and physical illness.

Debbie Downer?  No.  Just trying to hear what the Bible says.  The whole creation groans. If you listen, you can hear it, too.

What outcome does God have in mind for the world?  What end will make this beautiful/cruel world worth it?

I am thinking about suffering this morning.  And also about glory.

Intercession

Re:Verse reading–Romans 8:18-39 (day six)

Paul writes something mysterious and incredible to the Romans. He writes, “…the Spirit helps us in our weakness,…the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” Have you ever given that much thought? It is a marvelous one! Now I don’t know all that this verse means, but there are a few things I do know. The Holy Spirit prays for us when we don’t know how to pray. This means, not only does the Holy Spirit know the nitty gritty of our life, but He is actively doing something about it. When we are at a loss, the Holy Spirit is not-He intercedes! That is incredible news!

You know those times when you are done? You can’t endure anymore; you’re spent, and yet you seem to make it through? Well now you know the reason why; the Holy Spirit pulls you through! Maybe you should give Him thanks! It’s okay, go ahead and praise Him for His intercession!

Opinion, Persuasion, Conviction

Re:Verse reading–Romans 8:18-39 (day five)

Within Evangelical Christian Orthodoxy there are all kinds of faith statements and personal points of view. Yet, we leave room to disagree in some cases(opinion), less room for others to disagree with our stronger beliefs and interpretations (persuasion), and no room for disagreement or wavering on certain points (conviction).

Paul makes a “conviction” statement in verse 38. “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 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.”

In your own faith and doctrinal beliefs, which points and issues fall into these categories? Paul certainly had many beliefs that he was unwilling to bend. What are your convictions (non-negotiables)? What hope, strength, and comfort come from them?

Eternal Security

Re:Verse reading–Romans 8:18-39 (day four)

It is one of the greatest passages of hope in the Bible…Romans 8:38-39.  “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.”

Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man.  All things have been created by Him, therefore, there is nothing that is stronger or more powerful than Him.  By faith, Christ has come to dwell in our hearts in the form of the Holy Spirit.  Nothing can take us away from His indwelling.  He will always be with us throughout eternity.  Paul was a man of unshakable confidence in our eternal position in God.  How about us?  Do we live our lives with unshakable confidence that we will always be with God in eternity?

Liberate

Re:Verse reading–Romans 8:18-39 (day three)

“The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay.” God has placed creation at the mercy of man (“subjected it to futility” is how Paul puts it). We are to steward this creation. We have the power to do so, and that power is indeed great. We begin to see how great when we read that all of creation–all of it–is in the throes of decay. That’s our doing. In our sinfulness, we corrupt everything we touch. The sheer scale of the ruin we have visited on this universe–ruin of spirit, body, society, nature–is staggering. But God has given a hope-filled promise concerning all of creation–that he will liberate it as he makes all things new. Do you treat spirit, body, society, and nature as if you are now part of God’s liberation?

P=J

Re:Verse reading–Romans 8:18-39 (day two)

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” vs. 18

I was a Cross Country runner in high school. I loved it, particularly in the Fall when the hills around my hometown were ablaze with color. When I ran I came up with a formula that kept me motivated. P=J (Pain=Jingle) I knew that if I pushed myself, if I trained well and listened to my coach’s instructions it was likely that I would medal in each race. That medal would be proudly displayed on my letter jacket and jingle among the other medals. Silly? Yes. Effective? Also, yes.

Even when I didn’t know what I needed to do to improve as a runner, I could trust my coach to challenge me in the areas that needed improvement. The Holy Spirit does the same thing. Consider verse 26 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that our words cannot express.”

Whatever challenge or trial we are currently enduring, we can rest assured that the glory that is to come will be worth every sacrifice. His glory is bigger than any pain we might endure.

Labor pains

Re:Verse reading–Romans 8:18-39 (day one)

“The whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth”–v 22.

As a male, I will need to be careful and humble as I speak of this reality.  I do not, and will never, understand the cost that a woman pays to give birth.  I watched Holly do it.  I was proud of her.  I prayed for her.  But, I can never fully understand the experience.

In the same way, Paul compares the sorrow and stress of the present world to the pains of childbirth.  Excruciating at times.  More painful than we expected, and lasting far longer.  We want to give up or go back, but we can’t.

As a woman suffers pain for the sake of the baby who will be born in the process, Jesus taught believers to look forward to the world that will come.  Something wonderful is being born!  Worth even the suffering of the present moment.

Much obliged

Re:Verse reading–Romans 8:1-17 (day seven) 

“Therefore, brothers, we are under obligation. . .for all who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God.”  v 12, 14.

It is not what we expect.  The Scripture, in other places, communicates Spiritual life as an INVITATION.  An offer.  A king gives a party for his son and sends servants out to invite people to come. (Matthew 22)

Paul looks at it from a different perspective.  As an OBLIGATION.  Same word that he used of himself in Romans 1:14.  “I am under obligation.”  As a recipient of grace, how could he refuse to give it to others?

He says the same of us.  Christ died and rose and sent the promised Holy Spirit!  Those who are joined to Him by faith are, thereby, OBLIGATED to live and walk in that gift.

“How dare you benefit from Christ and owe him nothing in return!”, says Paul.  Not an offer.  Not an option.  It is our OBLIGATION.

Once a Slave

Re:Verse reading–Romans 8:1-17 (day six)

Experts say that there are more slaves in the world today than there were in the 18th and 19th centuries. Human trafficking, modern day slavery, is the fastest growing nefarious business in the world, second only to drugs. It would be hard to imagine the feelings a once-slave might experience after being rescued. Probably feelings of great relief and new found joy, mixed with fear and post-traumatic stress, would be very real and present.

if you are a follower of Jesus, you were once a slave; rescued from the bondage of sin and death. And yet we still can experience the shadow of our former slavery bearing down on our present life; we can even succumb to it, immobilized by fear and insecurity. Paul reminds us in Romans 8 that we don’t have to live in fear of our former way of life because now we are declared sons and daughters of God. As members of God’s family we have free access to come to Him when we experience our own spiritual PTSD. We can cry out “Abba Father!”