Sunday, March 6, 2011

Mining For Gold...

- This eighth chapter of Romans is like a goldmine where we discover some precious realizations of our life with Jesus. For example:

1) Romans 8:26 (NLT)
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.

- We all feel helpless to even know what to pray for in the face of some of the complex problems in life, yet just the longing within us for an answer becomes the prayer uniting us with God's desires.

2) Romans 8:28 (NLT)
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

- We can take heart that God will bring goodness out of any circumstance, no matter how dark it might seem to us, if we will love him and allow him to guide our hearts.

3) Romans 8:31 (NLT)
What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
...
Romans 8:35 (NLT)
Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
...
Romans 8:37 (NLT)
No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

Romans 8:38 (NLT)
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.

Romans 8:39 (NLT)
No power in the sky above or in the earth below-indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

- Christ has our lives in his hands, so no matter what we face in this life, we need not worry. We can face life and all its complexities, fears and trials, knowing that our destiny is secure.

This should give us a deep, quite confidence, in full humility, understanding that it is all God's doing, not our own "merit" that secures us.

BTW... These things are all well and good to know as head-knowledge. However, allowing them to penetrate my being, so I can face life with a calm heart, is a lifelong journey of ever-increasing faith.

1 comment:

DeAnn said...

great truths to start the day with - D