Jesus Loves You – 5-4-22

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1 NKJV
Today is a long discussion at the end, and I thought I would warn you that I did not stay under my 4000 word total. But I am requoting the entire reading during the discussion, and today’s is a little longer. I am sorry, but I was blessed doing it and I know it is powerful and God will bless you today as well.

RELATIONSHIP:

Do you already have a relationship with a powerful God who cares about your every need because He loves you? Did you know my God can communicate with you and protect you – He has a plan for you to prosper if you just submit to His will and let His plan play out in your life!!! God wants a relationship with you and has already made a plan for your life. He loves you so much He sent His son to this world, to die as a sacrifice for your sins and rise from death with victory over sin and the ability to have a personal relationship with you.

Do you want to know truth? Be able to discern lies? Know how to figure it all out in these confusing times and have peace? The Bible says Jesus is the truth. I have experienced it and it has changed my life. I was once a hot mess of sin, promiscuity, drug and alcohol use and so much more. But I was lost and when I could not find my way, or find a truth, I numbed it with bad choses. When I found Jesus, and truth – I found peace and deliverance from those things.

If you want a relationship with God without truth you will get the counterfeit, hypocritical Christianity that has kept some of you away for too long. You need truth and relationship. You need to be honest with yourself and God (including honest repentance) and God will reveal truth to you. It becomes the two way, interaction that your relationship with God is built on. This is why Jesus is called the truth, because he is our only way to the Father. 

“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. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 NIV
Here is a prayer for you to pray:
Jesus, I believe you are the way, the truth, the life, and the only way to the Father. I believe you are the son of God, you came to Earth and lived. That you died on the cross as a sacrifice for my sins, and rose again so that I may be saved from my sins and be able to get to know you. I declare: Jesus, you are Lord!
Therefore, I confess that I am a sinner and I ask that you forgive me of my sins and come into my life. Help me to turn away from my sins and transform me into what you have lovingly created me to be. Help me through a real personal relationship grow and accept your will for my life – that I may live in your blessings. Please walk with me, and talk with me – I accept a relationship with you and with our Father God, through you. In the name of Jesus I pray ~ Amen

BIBLE READING:

Dear Heavenly Father – Please give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of who you are, who Jesus is, and who the Holy Spirit is. Open the eyes of our understanding, please, so we may know the hope of our calling and the vast sovereignty and power of the grace of the cross. Please do not let us miss out on what you want and need from us today. Lord, I pray that your word prepares us and not scares us! We forbid the works and influences of fear over your word and our sound mind. And please keep us and bless us and shine your face upon us and pour out grace over us and give us peace! Thank you! – In Jesus name we pray, Amen

Today’s reading is the Book of Romans chapter 8 (embedded below for your convenience in the NKJV). 

Free from Indwelling Sin

8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who^[a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. ² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵ 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, the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For to be ^[b]carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. ⁷ Because the ^[c]carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. ⁸ So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. ¹⁰ And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies ^[d]through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Sonship Through the Spirit

¹² Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba,^[e] Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

From Suffering to Glory

¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; ²¹ because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of ^[f]corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. ²³ Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession ^[g]for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷ Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

God’s Everlasting Love

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Footnotes

1. Romans 8:1 NU omits the rest of v. 1.
2. Romans 8:6 fleshly
3. Romans 8:7 fleshly
4. Romans 8:11 Or because of
5. Romans 8:15 Lit., in Aram., Father
6. Romans 8:21 decay
7. Romans 8:26 NU omits for us

MEMORY VERSE CHALLENGE:

John 20:31- “but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

STUDY/DEVOTIONAL:

Last week, we challenged each other to take a few actions daily to help get us some healthy roots and to root out any sins within us. If you participated in yesterday’s activity, then there is not much to repent of today. But it is here for review, and a reminder to keep building up the healthy roots.

PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS:
Dear God, I am sorry for being filled with all/any unrighteousness, and/or sexual immorality, and/or wickedness, and/or covetousness, and/or maliciousness, and/or envy, murder, and strife, and/or deceit and evil-mindedness, and/or being a whisperers and  backbiters, and/or haters of God, and/or violent, and/or proud and boasting, and/or inventors of evil things, and/or disobedient to parents, and/or undiscerning, and/or untrustworthy, and/or unloving, and/or unforgiving, and/or unmerciful, and/or for practicing such things are deserving of death. Please forgive me even though I knew better and I understand the righteous judgment of You, God. Please wash me with the Blood of Jesus. Cleanse me and help me turn from my evil ways – convict me strongly when I do wrong that I may notice and stop. And send a fresh filling of your anointing to break the yokes of bondage and help me destroy the roots with a mindful effort and focus on you. Please reignite the fire in my belly that I may burn for you in boldness. In the name of Jesus we pray ~amen

HEALTHY ROOTS CHALLENGE: this challenge is to heal and strengthen our roots
One – Give God ALL the Glory
Two – Dedicated time for thanksgiving, and be thankful for all things!
Three – Guard our hearts and mind, rebuking and stopping sinful or not godly thoughts, not letting our minds wander and be prayerful and intentional in thinking.
Four – And finally, let us be humble. Humble enough to say I do not know it all and God has something new to reveal to me in this book and in this day.
(Please review the blog post from 4/25/22 for an explanation as to why we are doing this daily and for the scriptural reference instructing us to make these things a practice in our lives. Until they flow from us naturally, we can intentionally and with all of our hearts, scheduled them into our lives and watch them heal and reroute our unhealthy roots that gave sinful/evil fruits.)

Now, let us look at chapter eight and refocus our eyes on God! Yes, we did take our eyes off of him for a couple miserable days, but we do need to look inward occasionally – do some spring cleaning. And NOW, we can refocus on God – with a better understanding of our freedom from sin.

“1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
There is a judgmental spirit condemning the Christians and it lives in our churches. However, I have been to many churches and in some it is just there bickering among a few people. In other places it is entrenched and a principality governing the place with immovable rules made by man quenching the move of the spirit.
I heard a thing on Monday during a planning meeting and initially agreed – but inside I have been grieved since. Please hear what I am saying because it is a subtle difference and do not get caught up on the words I used to try to explain it. The modern charismatic, Pentecostal, evangelical, revivalist type church was born of a move of the spirit. Over the years due to human’s need for scheduling and need to maintain commitments – people have placed man made order over the services and schedules. A couple people said, we have to have balance; we can’t abandon order and our schedules and we can’t be so structured that God can’t move. We need to give God room. And regretfully I agreed. 
You may agree too – especially since today I wrote more and it will take you more time to read it all. Your schedule may not have been ready for the move of the spirit. (It took me longer to write as well, and my schedule was also disrupted – BUT NOT GOD’s Schedule or God’s timing!)
But then I began thinking: how much room do we give God? We do not pray for our ailments that a doctor is maintaining, only the ones the doctor can’t cure. We do not believe for all things, just the ones that fit in the room we give God to move. Casting out a demon takes a varying amount of time; how do we schedule that and how many demoniacs came in today? But if we say nothing to cause them to manifest, then we do not need to address it. If we say we live in the spirit, but do not address the evil, the demons, the strong holds and the curse – what are we addressing and what good are we to a dying, broken, needy people?
Jesus did not have great evangelistic outreach meeting buy scheduling in as a much as we do. There is NO record of a worship service starting off His gatherings. After the last supper, they did break out into a hymn sing on their way to the garden. But worship was not a song service.
I wonder what harm there would be if we did not ask how many songs out song team has prepared, if we did not schedule them from 7 to 7:15 but do three short songs so the people feel like they were worshiping for a while. No getting lost in the bridge and do not let your fingers play the instruments lost in the spirit – into prayer music.
What would happen if we stopped filling service with announcements, hype, disruptions, set formulas and we told people to come at such and such a time and leave when they needed to and let the spirit have complete unhindered control? Why do we need to balance Him with our plans? (I kept my mouth shut and Monday’s planning session went smoothly and it will be the same schedule – in by 7 pm out by 8 pm but plan to be there until 8:30 for those who linger and fellowship and those who want prayer.)

Almost sounds like I am condemning and being judgmental – no worries – there is no condemnation for those who walk in the spirit. As long as you walk in the spirit and not the flesh – there is no fault that can be found.
However in those churches, the one with the evil condemning spirit living there – he will find anything and everything to speak against anyone. Including the pastor. I have seen them correct him from their seats – but they did not even know where he was going or what he meant. They did not even let him finish. Evil brood of vipers! (Not the people, the spirit that moved them to open their mouths against the Lord’s anointed.)

You and I are not pastoring churches like that, at least I hope you aren’t. So we can go through the exercise (yesterday) of dying from our flesh and waking up in the spirit and be encouraged because now, as long as we walk in spirit – we are no longer condemned or even able to be condemned (even when they try – we just quote this verse like swinging a sword that will cut off the tongue of the one attempting to condemn us).

“² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

So Jesus became flesh and conquered the weakness of the flesh under the law. Which is why we surrender to the spirit and we learn quickly that God is a God of order.  Like if we gave the service over to the spirit there would not be chaos.  Like, prayer meetings at my friend’s church – one Friday a month we plan to be there all night because the spirit leads it. We start with worship… we need to start somewhere. Then as lead by the spirit the worship quiets, the prayers go up (everyone speaking and praying at once – but if you listen we are all led to pray for the same thing – then we are all praying in the spirit). Then in a little bit, I say thank you Jesus and I hear others saying Thanks you Jesus and we thank him and praise him for having heard and answered that prayer and we break out into song! Which quiets, and we repeat the cycle. There is order and structure in the leading of the spirit. That same order and smooth transitions comes into our lives as e also let the spirit lead our lives. We have divine appointments, we are in the right place at the right time for the blessing, and we find the lost and hurting at the right moment to minister to them.

We are no longer weak and condemned by the rules and law – but we are compelled by spirit in love to do the will of our Father.

“⁵ 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, the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. ⁷ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. ⁸ So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

The day I returned to Christ, I laid on my floor crying – condemned with no way out. I switched teams and suddenly there was peace and clarity – I had peace in the storms and struggles. I came to Him in hopes he would fix it. He did not. He changed me and now those things aren’t in my life and those things do not matter. I am changed from His enemy and flesh that cannot please God.

“⁹ But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. ¹⁰ And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
Oh I could take this apart into a 3 point sermon – but if you have been reading along and doing the exercises you already get it. If you have just joined us, please feel free to scroll back and catch up. And if you do not have a relationship with God and are still thinking about it, then please keep considering and scroll to the top of any post to a section called relationship and ponder it.
But WE ARE HIS! Ownership is NOT a cool concept among millennials and younger. They do not want to be treated as property. It is because people have been BAD stewards of property and sin corrupted out understanding. Standing in the ruins of this concept and armed with love, although their perception of love has also been corrupted by the flesh and all that is evil. How does modern man (and women) understand that it is a privilege and pure love to be a slave to the will of the Father?! To be owned by a good and perfect steward. To be owned by a family name, like a good father owns his son.
I suppose ownership doesn’t mean what many think it means. Because ownership is ready stewardship. I bought a house and land, a small manageable plot but how can I own a piece of a planet? Really I steward it. And all the good things God gives me, like my son (it is my gift I own him), I gave him back to God and so I only steward him and since God owns him – it is God’s job to take care of him where I cannot and where I fail. Ownership is not a negative things – not in the hands of a perfect and Holy God.

“¹² Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Right there – “sons of God.” Owned by God. Debtors to God and forgiven of that debt by God. Reborn as His child into LIFE.

“¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba,Father.” 
Abba means daddy. It is the personal and intimate version of father.
We can grasp that we are doing the hard work of killing off our sinful flesh to be in bondage to fear again. But to receive… and this is where things start to fall apart. Receive. How do we receive it? Open our hands and try to touch and take a concept that is not tangible? Why in my culture are we not taught how to receive? We know how to take, and take is not the same. You can’t take a compliment, you must receive it. When a person comes to visit you cannot take them, you must receive them. But in my culture we no longer say we received guests. We “had” them – impersonal and with no intimate, gentle, or tender, interaction implied. Receiving happened regardless of worth or status or ability to give.
So we receive the spirit of adoption. So let us picture in our minds us opening the door and there stands this spirit and we say, ‘please come in and make yourself at home.’ So the Spirit comes in.
Then we say, ‘How can I serve you?’ or “Can I get you anything?’ that is the polite protocol for receiving someone. From that point we do everything we can to make sure they are warmly welcomed, feel included and part of our family, well fed (and usually we honor our received guest with better food and better dishes than we use – so included AND treated better than we treat our own).

“¹⁶ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”
In exchange to the warm welcome – the Spirit then tells everyone you are a child of God. Sometimes Christians doubt their salvation. It is normal when you are new to it. Some more mature believed struggle when worn down and doubt creeps in, again, this is normal. BUT WE KNOW, because the spirit himself bears witness that we are saved and Children of God.
Not saying we are the adopted ones – no, but we are the child. The pastor of my home church speaks of his son fondly and often uses examples from their relationship in messages. Only on special occasion does he ever call him, his adopted son – and that is when he is preaching on adoption.  (Yes, his son is adopted.) And like that son – we are called children, not adopted and we are heirs – we get the inheritance. We must dies to sin and suffer that death. We may suffer persecution as well but here he is speaking of the suffering of giving up the flesh.
In case you missed it, it is hard. Do you have a dream or a goal? Die to it, it is flesh. I always knew I was called to be in ministry and teach the bible… guess what? I had to die to that and give it to God as well. Because this blog was NOT what my flesh thought God was going to have me do! I struggled and suffered giving up me and my wants, desires, dreams, hopes, – but not my will – instead I want God’s will for my life. If he gives it back I will receive (better quick learn how to do that too!)

“¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
I will receive claim, declare and decree this verse. I will lay it like a rock in my foundation and climb right up and stand on it!!! I am waiting for that GLORY to be REVELED in ME! I strive for one thing, to be more Christ-Like and he is in Glory and that GLORY will be revealed in me on that glorious day of my homecoming!

“¹⁹ For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; ²¹ because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”
The whole earth longs for that glorious day when the curse is removed from the earth – all creation longs to worship God freely and without bondage of corruption. If you do not believe it. Grab a shofar and blow it (if you know how and have one).  My dog stops what she is doing and a weird peace comes over her and she sits at attention and she looks up, then looks at me. All of creation is waiting for that sound of trumpets and our Glorious Christ, their glorious creator. One day that trump will sound and she will look up and then look to me and I will be gone. Do I worry if she will be ok? Not at all. God provides for the animals, God has provided for her and me for the last 12 months of me having no solid income and a business that doesn’t make enough to support itself. (By the way, God has blessed me with a couple more sales, I am praying for the sales to pour open!)

“²² For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. ²³ Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”
Oh, you have heard me say and conclude each day with a cry out – “Come Lord Jesus Come!” Not because I want to escape – but because that is my focus and that is my prize. That is my blessed hope!
But here we see “waiting for adoption”. Throughout Paul’s writings we see these references to adoption and both having it and waiting for it. We apply this to our modern adoption system and get very close to what Paul is saying. But we can do better. We have an abundance of documentation on the Roman time period and world. Lots of unknowns, but we do have cultural writing that include the Roman adoption.
Like California (trying to pass a law that will kill newborns), Roman society had little regard for infant’s life. They had methods of birth control (which probably did not work) and did try to perform abortions (with an extremely high death rate for the women). So their answer was to take a newborn, which they did not want, out of the city and let nature do whatever nature does. Those infants would starve, quickly, get eaten by wild animals, and occasionally get saved by a person who would raise them. That saved child would probably never be adopted – just raised in the house to be an extra set of hands to do the work. This goes back to being owned and being a slave is not a bad thing in Paul’s culture. These children nursed on mother’s bosom, slept with the other children and were part of the family. When it came time to give the blessing was the only time it mattered – in preparation for the inheritance. Only the biological children got the inheritance. If there were no biological children, they would start the adoption process so the one they took in could inherit.
Another fascinating adoption in the Roman world was that you could adopt an adult!  Again this would be for inheritance, but let’s say I want to give my inheritance to my son and he doesn’t want it. Taking it means (in Roman culture) he would have to run my business. But my son works as a pools manager and wants to be the next aquatics director and not make and sell earrings and accessories. But let’s say I hired an apprentice to learn the trade and that apprentice would like to buy my business and own it. But in Roman times, people did not sell businesses. You could only acquire through inheritance. So I would have to start the process of adopting the apprentice so the apprentice could inherit the business (as well as anything else).
Notice I said start the process. Once you petitioned the Roman court to adopt (a costly process) the one being adopted was immediately considered a child of the family (even if you were an adult). Some adults were legally children of many families. But the adoption is not complete until the parent passes and the inheritance is given. So if the child does something worthy of being disinherited, the adoption process ends and the person is never completely adopted and doesn’t get the inheritance. The idea behind this Roman process was a hope that it prevented scams and abuse.
So when Paul says we are children by adoption we are already children! And when he says we wait for adoption it is because adoption is completed by the inheritance – when we receive heaven.

And for my eternal security friends who try to use this concept to prove that are saved forever even if they continue to sin and refuse to stop rebelling against God… you can lose the inheritance and not complete the adoption process. You adoption does not guarantee inheritance.

“²⁴ For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”
So we begin the adoption process and hope (meaning await it)!

“²⁶ Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷ Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
The Spirit helps in our weaknesses – then Paul give an example. But it is in ALL of our weaknesses that we have the Spirit’s help and in which we can rely on God who is strong. But what a great example Paul uses – pray in the spirit! He brags that he prays in the spirit more than us, and when he does, I think challenge accepted. If you are not filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of a spirit prayer language – aka praying in the spirit with groanings and words that are not understandable – than prayer that God give you that gift and open your mouth and let the spirit take control. I heard someone say just repeat thank you Jesus until the Holy Spirit changed it – I started groaning and vocalizing and let the spirit pray through my voice. Ask and you will receive.  And then use it so the spirit will help us pray correctly for the will of God and not our own will.

“²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
“Called” – quick side note on being called. Many are called. NOT ALL, as much as I will it was all, not all are called by God. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if you are reading this you are called. You would not have read down this far if you were not called. God is calling your name and has a purpose. In Matthew 28 we see the purpose is to go tell everyone about Him, so He can reach the called. But the ones not called will reject Him. Some who are called will reject him – but we must share and pray. God wishes that NONE should perish and that ALL can obtain everlasting life. Realistically He knows it can’t happen. So He calls out the names of those whose hearts are ready. It would seem you can be called and then not called or not called and then called – although Paul teaches on it – he is not clear on that subpoint. Here is the point – God calls our name and we have that opportunity to give ourselves to him. We know tomorrow is not promised. We must answer the call. I think we are past the whole, it’s hard and I just wanna have fun. I think if you are still reading and at this point – you know this is the truth and it is time to go full in. Maybe like me you were waiting and wanting a real and powerful God – not another lie and make believe idea. Well, God is not displayed in power, signs and wonders in the lives of people who are NOT full in, completely surrendered, dead to self, poured out in worship and full of the Holy Spirit. Stop waiting for someone else to answer the call. Go ye therefore and make disciples and God will give you His signs and wonders to do so. Answer the call.
And this is probably NOT for the unsaved – I do not think they would red down this far. It is for the once saved, who is searching and hoping. It is for the saved who is serving and looking for the signs and wonders. It is for the full in one who is suffering the birth pains of these signs and wonders. It’s time.

120 people were believed to have been in the upper room when the spirit of the Lord fell – and they went out and changed the world. Well, more than 120 people subscribe and follow this blog. If we go all in like they did – how much we can accomplish!!

“²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
Predestination. That is a slippery slope to explain. Let’s us me as the example: As a child an evangelist confirmed to me that I was going to be an evangelist. I chose not to go to Bible College because a boy who attended broke my heart – so I went to art school. I went my own way, met a man, got engaged, got pregnant and the man left me. I came home and tried to get right with the Lord. But there was a mean and evil spirit of division brewing in my home church and it was not the same as when I left. I lived condemned for having a child out of wedlock. I was only able to be part of the infant and toddler ministries – I wouldn’t be a bad example to them. Every and any single man who came into the church and began to talk to me was told it was a sin and to stay away from me. I wore the scarlet letter.  I and the other young single women, called them the Old Boys Club – the ones who spoke so badly to us, condemning us and keeping everyone away from us – they would not even let their wives be friendly with us or help us.  Well, that spirit divided the church in the biggest of all the church splits we ever had! The pastor even left. I wandered aimlessly. My mother left the state. My brother moved away. My sister went to another church then hopped around and slid away from God and I did the same thing. Fast forward: little sin rapidly pulls you down a steep hill and all of a sudden you look up and say – how did I get here? I called out to God and to my surprise he was next to me waiting.

I sloppily threw around the word restoration and restored – until a pastor recently challenged me to clean up my choice of words. At my age, I will not be restored the years the locust have eaten in a true restoration. I can exchange my ashes for beauty, I can like Job have a new doubly blessed life (but Job lost children who he never got back). I am restored to Christ, but that does not mean I will go to Bible College now and come out an evangelist. I was not predestined to make poor choices. I was predestined know God, therefore I had the encounter with him as a child, as a young adult and circled back again to have an encounter. I was predestined to have opportunity after opportunity abounding in grace to be saved – to be conformed to Christ’s image – to become Christ-like. God called and chased me down and You all reading this have also been predestined to be challenged to be Christ-like.  If you or I walk away and do not repent, we still have the same very real possibility for landing our sorry butts in hell. This predestination means that before you were born, God made you special for such a time as this and gave thought and planning to your life as well as purpose. If you choose to receive it and the anointing or not – is up to you.

“³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

God’s Everlasting Love

“³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
What a funny question, Paul. The answer is EVERYONE and anyone not serving God. Is Paul trying to overwhelm us? No. the point of this is God is so much bigger. God is so much more. God is beyond all of our words and understanding, yet many write more words every day, myself included trying to explain this unexplainable enormous God!

“³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.”

“^34a Who is he who condemns?”
The word satan mean the accuser. The enemy and those influenced by him accuse and judge… they cause feeling and thoughts of condemnation – BUT NO ONE CAN CONDEMN except God himself and He has chosen to justify us instead by grace through faith.

“^34b It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”
You catch this? We are down here on earth a hot mess, struggling with sin and ourselves and Jesus loves us so much He is up there say, “Dad, don’t look no, they are having a weak moment but the holy spirit is there and I’ll wash them nice and clean when they repent – forgive them, they do not understand the weight of all of this.”
And when we pray – Jesus intercedes for us there as well so our prayers come before the thrown.

“³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”
NO ONE can separate us from the LOVE of Christ or the Love of God. Now, sins can separate us physically from God – but his love is still upon us.

“³⁶ As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
All what things? Tribulations, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword and being killed like sheep to the slaughter.  Yes, even in being killed we are more than conquerors. Take a closer look in the spirit at what is happening and kill our own flesh (die to sin). They cannot kill what we have already killed. So we conquer! In the spirit we win – our souls and the souls of others is what is at stake and what we are trying to win! Because we have already won the love of God.

“³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Even while we were yet sinners – He loved us and loves us. Jesus loves you. God loves you.

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Thank you for reading in 2022 – a Year of Wisdom and Salvation
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!