Category Archives: love of God

The Romans Challenge: The Children of the Promise

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“In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭9‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As my kids were growing up, my husband and I took them to church faithfully. We talked about God often. I read them Bible stories and worked with them on memorizing Scripture. In all of this, I told them. I can tell you about God, but I cannot give you a relationship with God. You MUST get that relationship on your own.

The Jewish people thought they had the “in” with God. They were blood descendants with the Fathers of their faith. But they were missing something… relationship with God. This is not something they could receive as a physical inheritance. They had to receive the relationship by faith. “The children of the promise” are the ones who are “regarded as Abraham’s offspring.” 

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3‬:‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When we come to Christ and accept Him as our Savior, we enter into a relationship with God. We become His child. We receive His promise of salvation for those who believe. We are “the children of the promise.” Our relationship with God as His child is not through a human pedigree or our personal efforts to live the best we can. It is not our own doing at all (no jumping through hoops). It is not the result of our relationship with our mom, dad, grandpa, or grandma (we don’t have to be biologically related to the right person.) Relationship with God comes from a personal faith — one on one. We believe and then we simply receive what God promised to us!

The promise is simply this:

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Thank You God for the simplicity of Your Good News! Relationship with You is received through faith in Your promise!

The Romans Challenge: If Only I Could

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“For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race,”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭9‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

My youngest son Andy spent 6 days in the NICU after he was born. He was having troubles breathing. After having three babies with no major issues, it was shocking to me. All the tubes and wires attached to him, and the constant sticking him for blood samples was more than a momma’s heart could bear. One memory in particular still makes my heart ache to this day. The nurses came in to change his cpap prongs that went into his nostrils. They warned me that it might be best for me to not watch. As I was turning away, I happened to catch a glance of his tiny 8 lb 6 oz body arching off the bassinet as they pulled them out. He was obviously in pain. Oh how I wished I could take his place…

Paul starts of chapter 9 of Romans echoing that same kind of desire for his people, the Jews. Paul knew what it was like to check off all the religious boxes — having a religion— and not truly have a relationship with God himself. He also knew that one real encounter with Jesus, had changed him forever. This is what he longed for the people he loved to experience.

The Jews had it all. They had the “patriarchs (the Old Testament Heroes we read about today)and from them (the Jewish people) {was} traced the human ancestry of the Messiah” Jesus. God had been revealing Himself to their ancestors for centuries before, but when Jesus came they rejected Him.

This makes me think of our day and time. I’m a child of the 80’s. When I was growing up in small town, Missouri, it seemed that there was a church on every corner. People knew about God. America was considered a “Christian” nation. But we have drifted far from where we were.

The question that remains, “does my heart ache for those around me that have not experienced the same relationship with God that I have?”

Sin brings death, darkness, and destruction into our lives, but we have the remedy — Jesus! He came that we would experience abundant life. (John 10:10)

Father, help us to truly care for those around us who are lost in sin. Help us to give ourselves away to Your purpose of making You known. I ask for You to stir in our hearts to desire to pray for those around us and to obey You fully in what You tell us. So that Jesus would be lifted High in our lives, and others would come to know Him. First and for-most, fill us with Your love! So we love like You do, sacrificially. In Jesus name!

The Romans Challenge: Super Conquerors

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“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭37‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I went to see the new Superman movie. I’ve been a fan of Superman since I was a kid watching the old black and white TV show. I watched Christopher Reeves as Superman in the 80’s. This ought to date me… Ha!

One thing struck me as I watched the movie. Different actors, different time period, BUT same basic theme. Things will get really bad. Superman will have an encounter with Kryptonite and ALMOST be destroyed, then he will be who he has been all along… Super! He will overcome. He will save the day.

As I was reading the verse above, the phrase “more than conquerors” stuck out to me. So I did a little exploring on Bible Hub. This phrase in the Greek is “hypernikomen” or “hyper” conqueror. Hyper means “over and beyond. Excess.” (Websters 1828 What came to my mind is the definition of “super” is exactly the same. You and I are “super conquerors” through Jesus who loves us!

What does this mean? Before you invest in a blue stretchy suit and a red pair of underwear to go over it. Let me explain. We, much like the fictional hero Superman, will encounter hardship. BUT ours is REAL LIFE… Paul described the hardships of our world as the possibility of famine, nakedness, danger and sword… BUT this is not going to be our defeated end. Through Jesus we will always overcome!

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) This is the reality of a believers life! This is because “NOTHING can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

As a believer in Jesus, we are His! He has conquered the greatest of all enemies — death, hell and the grave. His victory has become ours! Our circumstances here on earth may seem very dire and may overwhelm us, but they are not the final say over our lives. No matter what we encounter, we are loved by the God who spoke the planets into being. He has set His affection on us, “and we know that for those who love God all things work together for the good…” (Romans 8:28)

Ok, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to get a T-shirt with a Superman “S” on it and start to wear it. But if we do, may it be a reminder, not that we derive some kind of superpowers from a fictional planet that our parents sent us to earth from. We are much more than that! We are “Super Conquerors” through Jesus, the God of the universe and beyond! He holds ALL power in His hand. No matter what we go through His love for us never changes. He is at work, and we can be confident that our end will be victorious in Him!

The Romans Challenge: Child of God

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“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

My grandchildren are precious to me. When they come over to my house and snuggle up on my lap for a time of being held, I am totally enamored with the feelings I experience. My love for them wells up inside of me. The conversations about what is important in their world — legos, “Sonic the Hedgehog”, and Dr. Seuss books — happen. It is beautiful to me. It is a reminder of all the times I had with my own kids as they were growing up, when my world revolved around their world.

God feels this way about us. When we received Jesus and His Holy Spirit came to live in us, we were adopted by God. We have the full rights of a child of God. We can approach Him, not as a lowly slave, but as His very own sons and daughters. In fact, the Holy Spirit enables us to cry out to our Heavenly Father as “Abba, Father” which in Hebrew means “Daddy.”

I have to admit that calling God “Daddy” almost seems scandalous to me. It feels a little awkward. That’s probably because of all the years I have lived not in full awareness of my new position in Christ. Instead of listening to the Holy Spirit testifying to my spirit that I am indeed God’s Girl”, I have lived identified with an identity as a slave to fear.

Fear is an uneasiness of mind that focuses on the thoughts of a future of evil that is likely to befall us. (Websters 1828 Dictionary) Living our lives focused on ourselves will lead us to nothing but fear. This is slavery… bondage. We were made for connection and focus, not on ourselves but on someone greater than us — God. We were made for relationship connected to Him by faith and love.

When we understand that we have been adopted by God, accepting this adoption by faith— believing and trusting what God has said is true — we will experience His love. We will see that all of God’s will is focused on our good. He desires to benefit and prosper us in everything. We will experience what my grandson does when he crawls up on my lap and tells me about all the little boy stuff that is important to him. We will see that God wants us to do the same. He is our Heavenly Daddy who wants us to crawl up on His lap and pour out our hearts to Him. (Psalm 62:8) He loves us and wants us to experience Him in close and intimate relationship.

God longs for us to come to Him like children — in total dependence upon Him. He desires for us to totally obey Him and submit to Him as our Daddy. He wants us to know that as Our Heavenly Daddy His plans for us will always be good. He will always be working things out for our good. Everything He does is good.

We do not have to dwell in slavery to fear of impending evil and doom. We have been adopted by God whose very nature is goodness and love. He holds us close. We are His children the ones He loves.

“I am no longer a slave to fear… I am a child of God”

The Romans Challenge: The New Life in Christ

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“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The New Life we have been given by Jesus is a gift like no other! We can leave behind the old way we used to live and experience God in a deep and intimate relationship.

No condemnation! Such beautiful words! We have been set free! When we understand just how much we have been forgiven, we become overwhelmed with just how much this freedom from sin and death means!

Not only are we forgiven of a debt of sin we could never repay, we are taken from the position of a spiritual pauper to being positioned in a relationship with the God! Our position of being “in Christ” means we have been united with Him, which is being attached to Him and connected to Him. We are a part of Him!

He has given us His Spirit to dwell within us so we can live in victory over sin! This is as we walk “according to the Spirit.” We are guided by Holy Spirit’s counsels and His influence. (Websters 1828) When we live our lives in agreement with the Spirit, united to Him, we will experience His “life and peace.”

What we were we are no more! We are forgiven, alive, free, victorious, at peace, full of the Spirit… In Christ!

The Romans Challenge: There Was Jesus

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Fifty-four years on planet earth gives you some perspective. I have a lot of different seasons to look back on. Truthfully, I have made some really bone headed decisions during each of those seasons…

Today when I was reading Romans 7 two phrases that Paul wrote stood out: “What a wretched man that I am!” And “ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Verses 24 and 25)

Chapter 7 is a lot of Paul writing about the struggles he had on the inside. he says, “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found myself sitting in the same struggle.

BUT JESUS!

Jesus is our deliverer! He is the one who releases us from sin’s grip. He rescues us! When we finally get to the end of ourselves and surrender our lives completely, He keeps us! He holds onto us, he retains us in His possession. He preserves us from falling. He protects us, guards us, and sustains us.

Fifty- four years has taught me something, I cannot make it on my own. I ( on my own) cannot make a better version of me… I need Jesus! And Yes! “Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Jesus is waiting for us to turn to Him in each and every situation. He desires for us to recognize that we need help… we need Him! When we finally get to that point, we will see “There Was Jesus.”

The Romans Challenge: The Addictive Nature of Sin

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“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭7‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A few years ago, I was trapped in a sinful thought pattern. It was destroying me. I couldn’t understand what I was doing and I was doing the very thing that I did not want to do. I had absolutely no peace inside of my mind.

During that time, God led me to a Bible study group where I met a woman who I told my struggles to. I asked her if my thought pattern was sin, even though it was clearly listed in the Bible as sin. She asked me why I thought it was not a sin. Then I said words that have been etched in my mind ever since: “Because I cannot control it.”

Make no mistake about it… Sin is a taskmaster! Sin controls us. It is addictive in nature. Addiction/ Sin will rule over you. Whether it is a chemical addiction, an addiction to lust, an addiction to worrisome thoughts, an addiction to food, an addiction to your phone, etc… our choices to run to the sin over and over and over proves it’s addictive nature. I wholeheartedly agree with Paul when trapped in sin, “what I hate I do.”

BUT Jesus!

Jesus has the power to break the chains of addiction! He can set us free from sin! I can testify that Jesus has set me free and I now dwell with peace in my mind and in my heart.

The first step to freedom was for me to recognize that sin had a grip on me or as Paul writes, “it is sin living in me that does it.” When we see what the problem is — SIN — we are in a very good place! Because Jesus has provided the solution for sin — repentance. 

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We are assured that He will cleanse us from sin, and Holy Spirit will empower us to live free! Praise God!

The Romans Challenge: Holy, Righteous, and Good

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“So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭7‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Law ( God’s commandments) are not the problem. Sin is!

God gave the Law to the Jewish people so they could get an understanding of His character. God also gave the Law so sin could be revealed. The Law was intended to point out to all of us how much we need a Savior.

For example the Ten Commandments:

These are good moral laws that we should abide by, but have we?

If we have broken just one, we have become a lawbreaker. We have sinned.

The problem is not the Law, that is “holy, righteous, and good.” The problem is us. We are all sinners desperately in need of a Savior, and our Good God has provided for that need — Jesus!

Thank You Father for sending Jesus! What we could not do on our own, You did for us. Long ago You gave us Your Law so that we could understand how much we need You to give us a new heart — a heart that desires to obey You! Thank You for Your gift of salvation that changes everything in our lives and helps us to walk after Your Way!

The Romans Challenge: Abandoned…Offering Myself

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“I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬ ‭NIV‬

We were created by Love and for Love! God’s intent for us from the beginning of creation was a love relationship. In this relationship, we would love Him with all of our heart, all of our mind, all of our soul, and all of our strength. We were created for worship of Him, or love expressed to Him. We were meant to “offer ourselves” to Him over and over every moment of every day. In return, we would receive from Him everything we ever needed — love, goodness, joy, etc. We were designed by Him to be “slaves to righteousness.’

A slave is subject to the will of another. They have no will of their own. They are wholly under the control of another. (Webster’s 1828) They are abandoned to the one they have given themselves to.

Because we were born into a fallen world, we have not lived as we were designed. Instead we have lived as “slaves to impurity and to ever increasing wickedness.” We willingly gave ourselves over to follow its leading. Jesus came to provide the way of freedom in Him!

Jesus came to break the power of sin. Once again, through relationship with God we are able to “offer ourselves” to Him presenting ourselves as an act of worship — extravagant love and extremes submission. (Webster’s 1828)

How do we experience this? Simply come… Tell Him He can have all of you! Tell Him that you desire to obey Him and to experience Him and His love.

No matter what we will choose to abandon ourselves or give ourselves to something! Choose surrender to Jesus! His ways are best! His way is life!

The Romans Challenge: Alive!

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“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬

Alive — Regenerated, Renovated Heart, Born Again! (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)

There is beauty in living “alive.” The only way to really understand this statement is to experience it. When you know the depths of what you are without Jesus and then experience Him, you know the death, darkness, and destruction you dwelled in. But thank God that we can live “alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

You and I were dead. There was nothing good in us. BUT GOD! He has taken what was completely broken, without hope… dead. And He has breathed His life into us, regenerated. He has renovated our hearts because He is the ultimate “Fixer Upper.” He takes the completely ruined by sin heart and makes it new! We are born again into a New Life! We are ALIVE!

Being fully alive in Christ is something you have to experience to understand at all. It is foreign to us. He breathes life into us so we can KNOW what His life is like: It is joy. It is peace. It is love. It is mercy. It is goodness. It is all these things and more.

The beauty of the New Life of being “alive to God” is the very thing that God desires for us! He wants us to live attached to Him receiving His life in every circumstance and situation. This starts with salvation, where we enter our relationship with God. It continues as we live day in and day out connected to Him in relationship!

We need to come to Him each and every moment of each and every day so we can truly experience living “alive to God!”