Romans 8

Why God, Why

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

This pastor’s heart is heavy this morning after reading news about a reporter and her cameraman in Virginia being gunned down and killed on live TV this morning. I won’t go into details here as you can click the link above.

As I read this story, my heart broke and immediately send me into a series of questions, many consisting of: “Why God, why?” as I instinctively started looking for answers. It’s a natural response to a tragedy as one seeks consolation, comfort, hope and maybe even an explanation. Something, anything to help make sense of the evil and sin in the world. I hear this “Why” question a lot and ask it myself.

And there are no good answers to explain why this tragedy happened, but there IS hope. The hope? OUR hope?

OUR AWESOME GOD THROUGH CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD

[Isaiah 43:1] But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

[1 Corinthians 15:55-57]  “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[Romans 8:35-39, but really, read the WHOLE chapter] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

[John 11:25-26]  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?“

…and there are many more, but hopefully this is a start for you. This world is nasty, sin-stained, filled with death, but…

Our God is love, pure and perfect, and filled with Life; a life that is your’s through faith in Jesus Christ. So as chaos reeks havoc in this world, cling to Jesus. May the only answer you search for and cling to be

JESUS.

Mighty and holy God, I lift up to You those affected by this tragic shooting. May family, friends and loved ones know Your love and the hope of the resurrection. Evil may have it’s day in this world but You have overcome this world. May we cling to THAT reality. All praise, glory and worship be to You, oh God, through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Groaning and Sighing for Charleston

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

This pastor’s heart is breaking today over the senseless killing of 9 people (including the pastor) in Charleston, SC yesterday by a disturbed gunman who felt it necessary to commit such an atrocity. These people were gathering at their church for prayer; lifting up their petitions and cries and confessions and praise to God. These people were gathering in a seemingly “safe” place as they were in a “safe” place.

[54] When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” [55] “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” [56] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. [57] But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
[1 Corinthians 15:54-57 ESV]

This is the first text that came to mind when I started perusing the news this morning. I don’t know if this gunman thought he had gained a victory by killing 9 unsuspecting people in a church prayer group, but the victory is not his. I don’t know if Satan honestly thinks that he gained some sort of victory by leading this young man to open fire like that, but the victory is not his. Worldly corruption has not gained a victory. Sin has not gained a victory. Despair has not gained a victory.

There are no words that can explain what happened yesterday and why. There is nothing that can come from the gunman’s mouth that will make this easier to digest. There is much that I don’t know but one thing I do:

[57] But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

For me, this is the truth I cling to. Yesterday I wrote about Good News in a bad news world, well, this is yet another prime example of the need for the Good News in a bad news world. Instead of trying to make sense of why some man would walk into a church and kill people, go to scripture and listen to God. Don’t bestow a false victory on this gunman or Satan or death or what/who ever. Acknowledge the victory already won by God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Place your faith in him and the victory of all victories is yours.

In the mean time, join me in praying for those families who are mourning the death of loved ones. Pray for those who are left with the memories of this tragedy. Pray for the Charleston community. Pray for law enforcement as they investigate and sort through evidence. Pray for all who are haunted by this event.

May the victory gained by Jesus give you hope in a bad news world.

Holy God, loving Father, in a Romans 8 type of way, words escape me and so I ask that Your Spirit may intercede with mine as it groans with sighs too deep for words to express. Grant Your suffering and mourning children the hope of the resurrection and may they cling to You during this time and always. All glory and honor and praise and worship be to You, holy God, through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

No Separation (Romans 8:38-39)

/ The Pastor

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:38-39 ESV]

There is nothing more horrifying than that thought of being separated from the love of God. And that separation would be the definition of hell. Even among the flames; in the midst of pain and suffering, if God’s love were still there, there would still be hope of rescue and healing and restoration; even if not in this life. Without God’s love, though, there is:

No hope
No rescue
No healing
No restoration and…
No God

THAT is hell and THAT is something that no one would ever want a taste of for even a second. So when people say things like, “That was just hell going through that” or “I’ve been through hell and back” or other such sayings; people have no idea nor do they want an idea. I think we too often minimize hell and therefore we don’t take it seriously enough. Hell is separation from God. The Good News, though, is that through faith in Jesus, you have never, ever been separated from God and never will be.

death
life
angels
rulers
things present
things to come
powers
height
depth
anything else in all creation

None of these things will or can separate you from God’s love. You may think your suffering feels like hell, but it is not. Your suffering here is for but a moment and believe me, you are not alone. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you are not alone; you are not in hell; you are not separated from God. Granted, I don’t know what your suffering is like. I don’t know how you may be feeling. I don’t know exactly how I would respond in your position. But the one thing I do know is that in Christ Jesus…

GOD LOVES ME

and God loves YOU.

Cling to this wonderful promise in Jesus Christ and rejoice that hell is not your place but rather God’s love is your reality and hope.

God of life and salvation, we praise You that Your love over comes the powers of this world and therefore gives hope through Jesus. May those who suffer know Your love and may they know they are not alone. Give them hope. Give them strength. In Jesus name I pray, Amen

The Pastor -|—

Condemned but Free (Romans 8:1-8)

/ The Pastor

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. [Romans 8:1-8]

Imagine this scene if you can…

You are on death row for the most heinous crime one can think of; and not just one time but you have committed this crime over and over, but you don’t think the crime is that bad. You look out and see that other people are far worse than you. But you are still considered a menace and therefore you need to be condemned and killed.

And so there you sit; condemned, when your attorney comes in. He has good news for you. He tells you he can set you free and remove your condemnation. All you have to do is, with your whole heart, admit your guilt, at which point, your attorney will take your place on death row and your record expunged.

Sounds like a pretty good deal.

But instead of taking the “deal” you are offended. You will admit nothing. So promptly fire your attorney; convinced that you can plead your own case and set yourself free. You don’t need any help.

FOOLISH!!!

Before the Almighty God you stand condemned because of your sin, but through faith in Jesus you are no longer condemned, as he has taken the punishment for you that your record may be expunged and that you may be free. And when you rack up charges again, your “attorney” stands ready to speak for you.

What a deal
What a gift
What mercy
What grace

You see, our flesh is too weak to satisfy the requirements of the law so therefore we have no hope of pleasing God. Yet many people try.

I’m a good person.
I go to worship (often).
I don’t kill people.
I don’t cheat on my wife/husband.
I help people.
I am definitely not like that person over there.

If this is your defense, you are still lacking ~ by a long shot. For you are NOT a “good” person. You are a sinner, evil, bad, condemned, no matter how many good works you do. In the flesh you are dying but in the spirit; that is if the Spirit of Christ lives in you through faith, you will live.

So why in the world would you want to fire your attorney when you stand condemned in front of God Almighty? As the saying goes, “A man who is his own attorney has a fool for a client”. So don’t be a fool.

Jesus has saved you by grace through faith. You did not earn this. You do not deserve this. And you can not live without this.

Set your mind on the spirit and not on the flesh and let Jesus take your condemnation and give you justification, righteousness and life.

That is a good deal so take it and live.

Mighty God, may Your Spirit transform our weak minds and hearts to be inclined towards You through Jesus Christ. May we see this gift of life and receive it with our whole heart. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

It’s Coming

/ The Pastor

image

The YouVersion Bible app now has an option to make these cool scripture images. So upon installing the update this verse came immediately to mind after a long and trying day. The only problem with this picture is that the image is not nearly glorious enough. The only appropriate picture would be too blinding to look at, but hopefully you get the point.

May God bless your night and whatever “sufferings” are plaguing you right now, give them to God and wait; your glory through faith in Jesus Christ is coming.

Good night.

The Pastor -|—

Groaning and Sighing ~ A Romans 8 Moment

/ The Pastor

Have you ever had one of those moments when you felt drawn to God and then you start praying…

God….

…and then nothing?

Have you been there before? Am I preaching to the choir? I’ve been there. It’s a strange feeling because I know what I want to pray for but the words won’t come out because something inside of me says,

That’s not it.

And so I sit there with a dumbfounded expression on my face (luckily those moments generally happen when I’m alone so no one can see my dumbfounded look).

So as I sit there searching for words and almost every time my mind and heart goes to Romans 8:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [Romans 8:26-28 ESV]

Weakness? Sounds about right.
Groaning? Yup
Love God? Absolutely

And so this pastor is convicted.

I need to relent and release my selfish desires and mingle my spirit with the Spirit. For I know what I want to pray for but I don’t really know what I ought to pray for now.

Sin
Frustration
Anger
Sadness
Jealousy
Disappointment

Always seem to get in the way of good prayer time with God. So sometimes we just need to shut our mouths and brains off and let the Spirit speak with our spirit.

Would you pray with me…

[groan, sigh, groan, sigh…] Amen

The Pastor -|—

Sighs, groaning and praying

/ The Pastor

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” [Acts 7:55-56]

Stephen knew he was in trouble. He knew his life was in danger. Stephen knew that he was not getting out of this crowd alive. But he was unfazed. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he sees the reason for his faith. And I can about imagine the peace he felt, even as the people dragged him out of the city to stone him.

The reason I was drawn to this text this morning was because of a prayer request I received yesterday from a friend. He sent a group text to a few of us; asking how we should be praying for those Christians that ISIS recently captured. This has been weighing on him and wanted to know how to pray. So I sent the above text and wondered if we should be praying that those Christians see what Stephen saw and thus be strengthened and encouraged. Someone else then chimed in and suggested that we pray that the faith of those persecuted Christians have an impact on their captors.

But is there more?

I’m not sure what those Christians truly need since I can’t begin to imagine what it is like for them. I can’t imagine what I would pray for if I were in that situation or how my faith would hold up. But I like that text from Acts so I am going to pray for those Christians using that text and then pray that their faith impacts their captors and then fall in Romans 8:26…

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

…and then turn it over to God.

I don’t and can’t know what they truly need, but God does. So let’s allow the Holy Spirit to take our groanings and sighs and cries and carry them to the Lord. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to intercede for us. Let’s give it up to God and say, “May your will be done”

Let’s pray…

[Sigh]

Amen

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ Flesh vs Spirit

/ The Pastor

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. [Romans 8:6-8]

The prosperity gospel…

[Oh no, here goes the Pastor again :-)]

…tries to convince people that peace is found in this life; through the flesh. It says that in order to “have your best life now” all you need to do is get your flesh in order. Meaning ~ thinking right, believing right, dreaming right, saying the right things and doing the right things. All of this, they claim, will curry God’s favor and therefore you will live “your best life now“. In essence, the prosperity gospel is trying to sell peace when it is actually bringing the wrath of God.

Those trying to sell this crap (excuse my language but this is what it is) have their minds set on the flesh and not on the Spirit and therefore they themselves are really not at peace. But when you are in the midst of what you believe is “your best life now” you don’t know you’re really not at peace. The flesh has a way of shielding one’s eyes from the truth.

So what is true peace if it is not found in this life? That answer seems pretty simple: By keeping your mind set on the Spirit which is faith in God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
~ A mind set on the flesh thinks only of this life; but a mind set on the Spirit thinks of the promised life to come through Jesus.
~ A mind set on the flesh can only achieve a temporary peace; but a mind set on the Spirit receives true, everlasting peace from the only true peace-giver: Jesus Christ
~ A mind set on the flesh can only achieve a fleeting happiness, that comes and goes and comes and goes; but a mind set on the Spirit has a joy that is not fleeting.
~ A mind set on the flesh CAN NOT please God; but a mind set on the Spirit has salvation.
~ A mind set on the flesh lives in death; but a mind set on the Spirit lives in Life.

And you probably get the point. When you have true faith in God through Jesus Christ then you submit to God’s Law and follow him in complete joy, for God is worthy. Your focus is on pleasing God, not the flesh. The prosperity gospel does not get this and therefore will never preach this. The true Gospel is understanding we can do nothing to achieve peace in this life but rather its submitting to God who is the only peace giver. It’s placing your faith in Jesus and believing your best life is yet to come, not now.

So set your mind on the Spirit and be at peace.

May God grant you a peace that totally blows your mind so that you may see and experience true peace in Him. Amen.

The Pastor -|—