Category: Romans

Posted on

If, Ands or But

Sometimes I get up and know that the Lord is speaking right to me. This is one of those mornings and I’m going to let you come along and listen in. This is a point He has driven home to me many, many times and He knew I needed to hear it once again.

BUT GOD…who is rich in mercy and love – anytime things seemed stacked against me, I remember this, BUT GOD! How can I not come out a winner when I know that no matter what happens there’s a BUT GOD in the plan.

“But God is rich in mercy, and he loved us very much. 5 We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God’s grace.) 6 Yes, it is because we are a part of Christ Jesus that God raised us from death and seated us together with him in the heavenly places. 7 God did this so that his kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show for all time to come the amazing richness of his grace. 8 I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God.” Ephesians 2:4-8 ERV

There isn’t a problem too big or a reward so great that they aren’t solved or enriched with BUT GOD. The enemy of every Christian is satan and he sends many challenges and problems to discourage and destroy. BUT GOD… Then there are also rewards and opportunities that look too good to pass up BUT GOD will show me if they are traps to get me off course or if they are really opportunities He is sending to bless me.

The old saying; No if’s, and’s or but’s about it, was used to drive home a point that something was solid or unchangeable; BUT GOD. God is the miracle worker and nothing is impossible with Him.

“All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. 24 But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.” Romans 3:23-24 CEV

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was barren, with no form of life; it was under a roaring ocean covered with darkness. But the Spirit of God was moving over the water.” Genesis 1:1-2 CEV

From the very beginning God has been here creating, establishing, forming and planning an abundant life for me. He will establish each day and set me on the right path because He is rich in mercy and love.

As I go about my day, when things come up, I will remember BUT GOD and know that He is for me so anyone or anything that is against me has to face no one else BUT GOD!

Posted on

Because of Love

These past weeks we have been looking at the God’s love and the way He expresses it towards us. Now let’s look at how we express our love to the Father.

“ We love because God loved us first. 20 But if we say we love God and don’t love each other, we are liars. We cannot see God. So how can we love God, if we don’t love the people we can see?” I John 4:18-20 CEV

A big part of our loving God is how we love others. His love for us is unconditional; Paul tells us that God’s love thinks the best of others and doesn’t store up wrongdoings. In other words, love forgives and forgets. It doesn’t keep score; real love wipes the slate clean.

I’d like to share two different portions of Scripture I was reading this morning. They really spoke to me and gave me a mandate of how I’m to live, reflecting the love of God. Maybe they will do the same for you.

“Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head 16  of the body. Christ holds it together and makes all of its parts work perfectly, as it grows and becomes strong because of love.” Ephesians 4:15-16 CEV

Paul, who wrote these verses and the ones we will read next, had a divine insight to love. When he had his conversion experience, he was leading a murderous campaign against Christians. He carried arrest warrants on his person, looking for those who professed Christ and were claiming that Christ was the Messiah. He was on the road to Damascus to arrest many more when Christ appeared to him. He went from hating and persecuting the believers to loving them and teaching them how to be more Christ-like.

“Let love be your only debt! If you love others, you have done all that the Law demands. 9  In the Law there are many commands, such as, ‘Be faithful in marriage. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not want what belongs to others.’ But all of these are summed up in the command that says, ‘Love others as much as you love yourself.’ 10 No one who loves others will harm them. So love is all that the Law demands.” Romans 13:8-10 CEV

Jesus was the one who taught that the greatest commandment of the Scriptures was to love the Lord with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength and then that we should love others as we love ourselves.

To love the way God wants us to love we first have to receive the love He has for us, experience it for ourselves and then we can be a conduit of love that will flow to others.

“But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. 35 If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35 CEV

Each of us will have opportunities to be loving today. Remember, we are up for the task because of His love for us!

Posted on

Loss, Love & Triumph

Have you ever lost contact with someone you love? Maybe one of you moved and circumstances changed; maybe it was more permanent than that and death is the cause of separation. If that’s the case, then maybe you can understand the story of Joshua.

Joshua lived in Egypt and he was one of the many that Moses delivered from pharaoh’s control. He and Caleb were two of the twelve spies that saw how luscious and productive the land of Israel was; he gave a good report that the others chose to ignore. He became Moses’ assistant and served God with his whole heart. Now Moses had died and the responsibility for taking the Israelites into this new land was his.

“…The Lord said: 2 My servant Moses is dead. Now you must lead Israel across the Jordan River into the land I’m giving to all of you. 3  Wherever you go, I’ll give you that land, as I promised Moses…5  Joshua, I will always be with you and help you as I helped Moses, and no one will ever be able to defeat you.

6-8  Long ago I promised the ancestors of Israel that I would give this land to their descendants. So be strong and brave! Be careful to do everything my servant Moses taught you. Never stop reading The Book of the Law he gave you. Day and night you must think about what it says. If you obey it completely, you and Israel will be able to take this land. 9 I’ve commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the Lord your God, and I will be there to help you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:1-9 CEV

For forty years Joshua had seen God’s mighty miracles; for the same time, he had seen the stubbornness of the people. He had stood by Moses, learned from him and now he was on his own to lead. I imagine his sense of loss was almost too much to bear.

But God!

God knew Joshua was in need of encouragement. God knew His plans for Joshua’s future and He knows His plans for us.

“I will bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of suffering.” Jeremiah 29:11 CEV

In a few, power-packed verses, God establishes Joshua’s leadership and declares his victory.

  • I will always be with you
  • I will help you
  • No one will defeat you
  • Be strong. Be Brave
  • Obey My Word
  • Be strong. Be Brave
  • Don’t be discouraged or afraid
  • I will be there to help you

Notice the Lord repeated Himself. He was making a point to Joshua and to us.

“ I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume.” II Corinthians 2:14 CEV

Can you hear God saying to you “be strong, be brave – God, in Christ always leads us to victory”? Sure, there are battles but we will be victorious.

God promised to always be with Joshua and He has made the same promise to us.

“ In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. 38 I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—” Romans 8:37-38a CEV

Maybe you’ve experienced the loss of someone you loved and depended upon, just like Joshua. Your heavenly Father is there – in your loss to encourage you with His love and lead you to victory!

Posted on

Confident Love

There’s a confidence that comes when we know we are loved. We can open up and share our heart’s desires and our fears, knowing we are in a safe place, a place of free from ridicule and ambivalence.

That’s what God, our Father, wants for each of us.

Old time religion seemed to be more based in fear than in love. Christianity isn’t about religion, it’s relationship! Once I began to see how much God loved me and how He desired a relationship with me, more that I was desiring one with Him, I became God-fident!

I am confident in the One who loves me. Confident that His correction is based on love and not malice. Confident that He will never leave me. Confident that He wants me coming to Him whenever I feel weak and uncertain. God-fident in His unconditional love.

“You can be sure that the Lord will protect you from harm.” Proverbs 3:26 ERV

David, the shepherd boy, was confident in God’s love and protection.

“ Everybody here will see that the Lord doesn’t need swords or spears to save his people. The Lord always wins his battles, and he will help us defeat you.” I Samuel 17:47 ERV

“ I want them to be strengthened and joined together with love and to have the full confidence that comes from understanding. I want them to know completely the secret truth that God has made known. That truth is Christ himself. 3 In him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are kept safe.” Colossians 2:2-3 ERV

“ So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us. 32 He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things.” Romans 8:31-32 ERV

The last two verses were written by Paul and were part of his instructions to the new followers of Christ in Colossae and Rome. The basis of his teachings were to get new believers on a firm foundation in their walk with Christ. He wanted them to be God-fident. His teachings will do the same for us.

My last verses today are some I have held confidently in my heart for over 40 years now. I used to pray, wondering if God was even listening. Did He hear my prayers, would He answer them? Then I read these verses and committed them to memory.

“My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours.” I John 5:13-15 MSG

There’s a misconception that we can’t know what God’s will is. That would be so unfair of God to leave us in a constant state of unknowing. How can we be confident like that?

“9 But as the Scriptures say, ‘No one has ever seen, no one has ever heard, no one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’ 10 But God has shown us these things through the Spirit.” I Corinthians 2:9-10 ERV

We have God’s word. He does not change. When we see a promise of God in the Bible we can have confidence that He will keep His word when we pray. And if we don’t know what we should be praying for we can ask Him to show us and He will. He will lead us with peace, directed by His word.

We will become God-fident, confident in His love!

Posted on

A-Mazing Love

This morning my thoughts took an interesting turn. Some of you know that I like to break words down and find their root and that’s what led my wonderings today. I was thanking the Father for His amazing love – amazing grace – amazing forgiveness.

In my mind’s eye I saw one of those corn mazes that so many farms do during harvest season. I realized that much of life is like one of those mazes. We hope to start out on one path and walk straight to our desired dream or goal but that just isn’t life as we know it.

Life is filled with twists and turns. There are storms and set backs; there are disillusionments and discarded dreams. Just look at the life of Joseph. He started life with a coat of many colors and a dream of being a leader. His path, his maze, led him through a pit to a position as a house boy, then to a prison and finally he ended up before pharaoh and became the second most prominent man in Egypt. Read what he told his brothers:

“Joseph told them to come closer to him, and when they did, he said: Yes, I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt. 5 Don’t worry or blame yourselves for what you did. God is the one who sent me ahead of you to save lives.” Genesis 45:4-5 CEV

A-mazing. His life was filled with twists and turns but he knew each step of the way he was being led by God.

Now, let’s look at another man who had an amazing life.

“Jesus was still teaching 3 when four people came up, carrying a man on a mat because he could not walk. 4 But because of the crowd, they could not get him to Jesus. So they made a hole in the roof above him and let the man down in front of everyone.5 When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the man, ‘My friend, your sins are forgiven.’ …10 ‘I will show you that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth.’ So Jesus said to the man, 11 ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and go on home.’ 12 The man got right up. He picked up his mat and went out while everyone watched in amazement. They praised God and said, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’” Mark 2:1-12 CEV

A-mazing! This man had his friends come into his home, pick up his bed, carry him through the streets to a roof top, demolish the roof and then let him down through the roof with his bed held by ropes. He was helpless but not hopeless. He met Jesus and the result was amazing!

I want to go back to a verse that we looked at a few days back. It’s a verse about the depth of God’s love.

“ In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. 38 I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, 39 and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Romans 8:37-39 CEV

The walls of a maze are meant to separate, to confuse and disorient but this verse states clearly ” nothing can separate us from God’s love”!

Maybe your life has been like Joseph’s, seemingly taking one bad turn after another or perhaps you have felt that you were being haplessly carried through life without any say so as to where you were going – no input into the decisions being made for you.

“9  But it is just as the Scriptures say,

‘What God has planned
    for people who love him
is more than eyes have seen
    or ears have heard.
It has never even
    entered our minds!’

10 God’s Spirit has shown you everything. His Spirit finds out everything, even what is deep in the mind of God.” I Corinthians 2:9-10 CEV

Here’s the amazing part – when we are trusting God’s love, nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate from God’s love. It’s amazing!

Posted on

Start With Love

Each morning I start with love. I profess my love to the Father, Son and Spirit of God. Then I search His word and hear Him speak love over me. It’s an amazing way to begin each day.

When Scripture is put to song, it really stays with me. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to end, they are new every morning, new every morning, great is thy faithfulness, oh Lord. Great is thy faithfulness.”

Steadfast: a. firmly fixed in place : IMMOVABLE, b: not subject to change: firm in belief, c: determination, or adherence : LOYAL

God’s love is steadfast: firmly fixed in place; immovable; not subject to change; determined; loyal. And His love is towards me!

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. 24 ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’ 25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. 26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” Lamentations 3:22-26

We have all failed. God knows that and His love never ceases. It is new to us each morning. He sees what no one else sees; the times we’ve tried and the times we’ve grown tired from trying. He loves us in our efforts and loves us in our failures.

“ Only those people who are led by God’s Spirit are his children. 15  God’s Spirit doesn’t make us slaves who are afraid of him. Instead, we become his children and call him our Father. 16 God’s Spirit makes us sure that we are his children.” Romans 8:14-16 CEV

The great thing is that the Spirit, living in us, will remind us of that deep and abiding love of God. Failure is not a reason to be condemned, it propels us forward straight into the arms of our loving Father.

“Jesus, our high priest, is able to understand our weaknesses. When Jesus lived on earth, he was tempted in every way. He was tempted in the same ways we are tempted, but he never sinned. 16 With Jesus as our high priest, we can feel free to come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we receive mercy and kindness to help us when we need it.” Hebrews 4:15-16 ERV

God’s love for us is steadfast, immovable. Heads up and Move forward!

Posted on

Scratching the Surface

Yesterday I started to talk to you about unimaginable love. Started, yes started. If I spent every day this year focused solely on the love of God, I still would only be scratching the surface of the subject.

There is an old hymn, The Love of God, written in 1917 that expresses it better than I can:

  1. The love of God is greater far
    Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
    It goes beyond the highest star,
    And reaches to the lowest hell;
    The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
    God gave His Son to win;
    His erring child He reconciled,
    And pardoned from his sin.
    • Refrain:
      Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
      How measureless and strong!
      It shall forevermore endure—
      The saints’ and angels’ song.
  2. Could we with ink the ocean fill,
    And were the skies of parchment made,
    Were every stalk on earth a quill,
    And every man a scribe by trade;
    To write the love of God above
    Would drain the ocean dry;
    Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
    Though stretched from sky to sky.”

To write the love of God above would drain the oceans dry and the whole sky would be filled with the acts of the love of God. And, that still wouldn’t adequately contain the depth of His love.

I think Paul and John were the best at conveying God’s love through Scripture. Back to Romans 8 this morning.

“God knew them before he made the world. And he decided that they would be like his Son. Then Jesus would be the firstborn of many brothers and sisters. 30 God planned for them to be like his Son. He chose them and made them right with him. And after he made them right, he gave them his glory.

31 So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us. 32 He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things. 33 Who can accuse the people God has chosen? No one! God is the one who makes them right…35 Can anything separate us from Christ’s love? Can trouble or problems or persecution separate us from his love? If we have no food or clothes or face danger or even death, will that separate us from his love?…37 But in all these troubles we have complete victory through God, who has shown his love for us. 38-39 Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not death, life, angels, or ruling spirits. I am sure that nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us or nothing below us—nothing in the whole created world—will ever be able to separate us from the love God has shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:29-39 ERV

Is there something in your past that keeps haunting you – telling you, “You aren’t good enough”? None of us are, that’s why God’s love is so amazing. He sees our failings and loves us in spite of them!

Posted on

Unimaginable Love

There are a number of things on my heart this morning. My reading in Romans took me to Ephesians.

I love it when the Lord just opens up His word and drops it in my heart.

In Romans 7, Paul writes of his frustration of being human. He says he often ends up doing things he doesn’t want to do and finds himself lacking in doing the things he does want to do. His conclusion is that the fleshly desires of his old life are warring against the spiritual desires of his new life in Christ.

I know each and every one of us have experienced the same battles and probably with the same result. Paul deals with self-doubt and self-condemnation. But he doesn’t stop with those thoughts – thank God!

“What a miserable person I am! Who will save me from this body that brings me death? 25 I thank God for his salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord! So in my mind I am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful self I am a slave to the law of sin. 8 So now anyone who is in Christ Jesus is not judged guilty. 2 That is because in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit that brings life made you free. It made you free from the law that brings sin and death. 3 The law was without power because it was made weak by our sinful selves. But God did what the law could not do: He sent his own Son to earth with the same human life that everyone else uses for sin. God sent him to be an offering to pay for sin. So God used a human life to destroy sin. 4 He did this so that we could be right just as the law said we must be. Now we don’t live following our sinful selves. We live following the Spirit.” Romans 7:24-8:4 ERV

Paul goes on to explain that God isn’t condemning us for our failures. No, indeed. It is God who has provided the way of victory and freedom for us from our sinful life through Jesus. “He did this so we could be right”.

As we go to the end of Romans 8 Paul writes that if God is for us, who can be against us. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing! How can that be? Well, that’s when I moved to another of Paul’s writings in Ephesians.

“And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is. 19 Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you. 20 With God’s power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of.” Ephesians 3:18-20 ERV

The power of love.

God wants us to know and experience the depth of His love which really is incomprehensible to the natural way of thinking. We have to accept the depth of His love by faith. It’s greater than we can ever know naturally. The love of God fills our lives with everything our loving heavenly Father has designed for us, it is so much greater than anything we could ask for or imagine.

That’s what God’s unconditional love is…its unimaginable. It’s all God.

I know I started last year focusing on the love of God and here I am doing it again. The reason, after all my years of walking with the Lord I am daily becoming more aware of the depth of God’s love for me.

It calms my fears, dispels the condemnation, removes the guilt and defeats all the attacks that the enemy launches against me.

I am loved not because of my goodness or my works. I am loved because God, who is love, says I am. Therefore, I am confident in Him and who He has called me to be.

I want to encourage you each day as you also grow confident in His unimaginable love.

Posted on

Walk Free

How many steps do you think you’ll take on this last day of 2023?

For several years I wore a Fitbit and it was a constant reminder that I wasn’t getting enough steps.

Physical accomplishments are important because they help us stay strong and healthy, we all know that. But do we give the same recognition to our spiritual growth and activity?

“Training your body helps you in some ways. But devotion to God helps you in every way. It brings you blessings in this life and in the future life too.” I Timothy 4:8 ERV

This morning part of my Bible reading took me to Romans 6. Have I mentioned that I love the book of Romans? (Spend some time reading & studying this book.) The Romans prided themselves in being forward thinkers and specimens of physical strength. The Roman soldiers were highly trained and disciplined.

Now that they were coming to faith in Christ Paul’s letter was like a training manual for them spiritually.

“We know that our old life, our old sinful self, was nailed to the cross with Christ. And so the power of sin that held us was destroyed. Sin is no longer our boss. 7 When a man is dead, he is free from the power of sin. 8 And if we have died with Christ, we believe we will live with Him also. 9 We know that Christ was raised from the dead. He will never die again. Death has no more power over Him. 10 He died once but now lives. He died to break the power of sin, and the life He now lives is for God. 11 You must do the same thing! Think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin. But now you have new life because of Jesus Christ our Lord. You are living this new life for God.

12 So do not let sin have power over your body here on earth. You must not obey the body and let it do what it wants to do. 13 Do not give any part of your body for sinful use. Instead, give yourself to God as a living person who has been raised from the dead. Give every part of your body to God to do what is right. 14 Sin must not have power over you. You are not living by the Law. You have life because of God’s loving-favor.” Romans 6:6-14 NLV

“Think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin.” “ Sin must not have power over you. You are not living by the Law. You have life because of God’s loving-favor.“

When we have new life in Christ, we die to our old life and become a whole new being.

“ For if a man belongs to Christ, he is a new person. The old life is gone. New life has begun.” II Corinthians 5:17 NLV

Consider this. A dead body, a corpse has no power of its own. It has to be carried from place to place and can be manipulated by the one holding it. The only real power it has is to stink as it decays.

Our old life, our life before Christ is dead. One translation says it has passed away and all things become new.

If you have been struggling with a fear, an emotion, a habit that has been holding you back turn it over to God and let Him show you the victory that He has provided.

“Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. 6 With every step you take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way.” Proverbs 3:5-6 ERV

Take the first step, trust the Lord completely and then walk free into the New Year.

Posted on

Home Again!

We spent Tuesday and Wednesday on the road, driving home. Outside of a couple of construction zones and a few spots of congested traffic the drive was uneventful, just the kind we like.

I have no idea how many thousands of miles we have traveled over the years. God’s hand of protection has guided us. Protection. A gift that I never take for granted.

I was reminded of another gift that God has blessed us with when I was reading this morning, The gift of righteousness. Simply put, righteousness means right-standing or acceptable.

“There is a lot of difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gift. That one sin led to punishment. But God’s gift made it possible for us to be acceptable to him, even though we have sinned many times. 17 Death ruled like a king because Adam had sinned. But that cannot compare with what Jesus Christ has done. God has treated us with undeserved grace, and he has accepted us because of Jesus. And so we will live and rule like kings.

18  Everyone was going to be punished because Adam sinned. But because of the good thing that Christ has done, God accepts us and gives us the gift of life. 19 Adam disobeyed God and caused many others to be sinners. But Jesus obeyed him and will make many people acceptable to God.” Romans 5:16-19 CEV

God’s gift of right-standing isn’t seasonal; it’s a gift 24-7-365. Every day, all year long. Right-standing with God has been granted and as the verse says, “made it possible for us to be acceptable to him, even though we have sinned many times.”

The reason Christ came was to pay the price for our sins. Something we were and are unable to do on our own.

“ When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world. The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new! 18 All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between himself and us. And God gave us the work of bringing people into peace with him. 19 I mean that God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold people guilty for their sins. And he gave us this message of peace to tell people. 20 So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is like God is calling to people through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God. 21 Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could be right with God.” II Corinthians 5:17-21 ERV

This was God’s plan from the beginning; He wanted us to be a part of His family and to live with Him in His home. The gift of right standing with God is like coming home!

Privacy Policy Proudly powered by WordPress