Monday Devotional :: Dealing With Tempatation

Now the snake was the most cunning animal that the Lord God had made. The snake asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?” Genesis 3:1 (Good News Bible)

For the third test the Devil took him to Jerusalem and put him on top of the Temple. He said, "If you are God's Son, jump. It's written, isn't it, that 'he has placed you in the care of angels to protect you; they will catch you; you won't so much as stub your toe on a stone'?" "Yes," said Jesus, "and it's also written, 'Don't you dare tempt the Lord your God.'" Luke 4:9-12 (The Message)

Why exactly is the devil so hell-bent (Hehe, see what I did there? Hell-bent!) on tempting us? The obvious question is to seperate us from God. The devil knows that he can't have a bunch of people walking around free and loving God and being loved by God because that love leads them to a realization of how blessed and powerful they are. The enemy is aiming to keep people blind to the truth and deaf to God's call to come up higher.

If we look at scripture we see 2 ways the devil uses to get us off track:

1. He questions our view of God. Is God's word really true? Did God really say? 

We need to firmly establish in our hearts who God is to us. The more we study the Bible the more His character is revealed to us. We know from scripture God is good, sovereign, and His word is true. From different passages and stories we also get to know God is love, passionate and full of wonder. The more we read, the more we know. 

One thing we can hold on to though is that every word He says is true. He is the supreme authority in our lives. His word is unquestionable and that's just the way it is. We're faced with aspects of this question the devil posed more and more in our culture: Did God really tell you that this is wrong? I know I face this when it comes to the kind of TV shows I watch. My sister asked me once why if I was so excited about a certain type of show and whether it's something I would be comfortable watching with my pastor's knowledge. I laughed it off, but the question stuck with me.  

Did God really say I shouldn't watch this and that? Did God really say I can only go this far with my boyfriend? Did God really say I have to honour ALL authority? It's hard to make the better choice. I know. I've been there. I'm there right now! The devil tempted Jesus to presume upon the promises of God. We presume upon the promises of God when we purposely sin while clinging to a promise of God. If Jesus had purposely sinned by throwing Himself down from the temple, He would have been testing God’s promise to not let Him fall. If I purposely sin while claiming God's promise to forgive sin, I am testing God. It's the same as praying, "God, please forgive me for this sin I am about to commit,"—it presumes upon God's grace.

We need to look at everything through the lens of the word of God. Repeat after me, "God said it. I believe it. That settles it."

Check out "How to know the will of God" tomorrow.

2. He questions our identity. We need to ask God who we are. Beyond being a child of God made in His image to love and be loved by Him, I've been asking God, "Why did you create me the way you did? Why do I feel like this when this happens?" "What does this trait of mine teach me and teach others about who You are?" 

The enemy wants us to doubt our relationship with God, and to focus on meeting our own needs without Him. Jesus' 1st temptation was to turn a stone into bread. See how he didn't say 'pray to God and ask Him to turn it into bread.' The devil wants us to doubt our identity in God and then place our reliance on ourselves which ultimately leads us straight into chains. When we're disconnected from our creator and disconnected from His purpose for us, we search for other ways to fill the gap and 'be complete'. 

The truth is that we were created by God, for God. Of love and for love. You and I have a desire to have a full life and God has promised  us that we'll live and live to the fullest. We desire for fullness and satisfaction, and God has promised to fill us with Himself. Will you believe Him and find your fullness in Him? Or will you believe the lies of the devil, who tells you that stuffing yourself full of the world will meet your desire for fullness?

We learn 2 ways to resist and overcome temptation, from someone who fell (Eve) and someone who conquered (Jesus).

1. Jesus refused to agree/comply with the enemy. Again, repeat after me, "God said it. I believe it. That settles it."


2. He was ready to reply to it. He quoted from Scripture, "It is written". We have to be stubborn about making time for the Bible. Squeeze in the word of God at every opportunity. If it means listening to a sermon on the way to work instead of (often times pervasive talk radio) do it. If it means blasting worship music and singing in the shower, do it. Surround yourself, cover yourself in the word of God.

So Lord, I pray that you'd forgive us for all the times we've doubted who You are. I pray that you would reveal the subtle ways we allow sin into our lives knowingly or unknowingly. I pray that you may show each of us who you made us to be. Amen.

Memory Verses

Not everyone is called to share their deepest darkest secrets with the world; but I have been, so a part of my blogging is out of my awe of God and how He’s healed me.

Genesis 50:20 says, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

Sometimes we go through stuff that other people have gone through but their untold stories remain in the dark. A huge benefit of being a lastborn is that my mom and sister tell me how they dealt with the things I'm dealing with now. I get to learn from amazing women who've gone before me. 

As humans, and speaking for myself, I've gone through struggles and  pain that I don't want anyone I know to go through. It's hard to talk about all of it, because a lot of things would break my pride and this cool and "unfazed in the face of anything" reputation that I cling to. Satan takes hold of that fear of sharing and binds me up. It seems that when I, and people in general, start talking that Satan loses his grip. I pray that many people will find the confidence to speak up about their secret sin/fear/shame… and in the process, find healing through Christ.

Currently an area that I'm pursuing is making and sticking to firm boundaries. One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is self-control and that's an area I want to grow in. I have to keep reminding myself, I have these boundaries in place not for restriction but rather to defne the parameters of my freedom. I'll write more on that later on.

For today, I want to remind myself and you guys of a couple of things:

Deuteronomy 2:3, “You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north.”

1 Corinthians 6:19, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, 
who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 
you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

1 Corinthians 10:13-14, “...God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond 
what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will provide a way out 
so that you can stand up under it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee...”

2 Corinthians 12:9-11, “But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, 
for My power is made perfect in weakness...' therefore, when I am weak, 
then I am strong.”

Romans 6:19-20, “I put this in human terms because you are weak 
in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body 
in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now 
offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.”

Miracles & Counting the Cost

John 2:1-11

Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine left.” Jesus replied, “Woman, why are you saying this to me? My time has not yet come.”

His mother told the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.” Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the water jars with water.” So they filled them up to the very top. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the head steward,” and they did.

When the head steward tasted the water that had been turned to wine, not knowing where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper wine when the guests are drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!”
 

Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, in Cana of Galilee. In this way he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

I find it awesome that the God who said, "don't build a house without counting the cost", is the same God who re-filled the vats of wine at this wedding. I don't know much about planning a wedding, but from all the shows I've watched I know one of the 1st questions your planner or your caterer asks you is, "How many guests are you expecting?" Then they work depending on your answer.


Now, maybe this couple did do that and did do the work, made a proper guest list, but people ended up thirstier than expected. Maybe people brought their friends along; or uninvited guest just showed up. In any case, there was no wine left.


Think about all the times when we've said yes to God and pledged to do one thing or another for His sake with 100% intentions to do it, but life gets in the way. You get sick, you get lazy, you didn't really sit down and plan every detail perfectly, what happens then? We can learn a lot about the gracious nature of God and how He wants to be involved in every tiny detail through this story.

• There was someone outside this situation seeking Jesus on behalf of the couple. I know there's a lot in my life that can be attributed to my mom and my grandma and the rest of my family praying for me. Times when I couldn't pray for myself and I put myself in danger but somehow survived or times when I could have been going through something but miraculously I'm not. This is on us, to keep our friends and families and better yet, total strangers in our prayers because someone somewhere is doing the same for us. Seeking God for you on behalf of something you're not even aware of! The steady insistence and the faith that Mary had that even if He walked away and seemed bothered, Jesus would do what she asked Him to was the force that pushed this miracle to be done. The fact that this was the 1st of Jesus' miracles goes to show this is something we could all learn from.
• Someone has to do the work. You have to have a workable plan. You see, the wine did run out, but they had six stone water jars which Jesus could refill. We need to walk into situations with a heart totally open to God. We need to make enough room for Him to fill us up. This could be stuff like staying consistent with feeding yourself in the word and quiet time and going to Church and so on. The well will run dry sometimes, but as long as it's open to the rain, it can get full again! You have to do the work: if you're looking for a miracle regarding your job, be the best employee there. If you're looking for a marriage mate, become a perfect marriage mate yourself. Whatever it is, do the work, start working on your plan.
• Jesus is so gracious. He didn't go to the couple and say, "Why didn't you plan your wedding better? Why didn't you order enough wine? How does one even throw a party without a good plan?!" He didn't reprimand, He came in and gave them wine that was even better than what they had before. God comes in where we fall short and makes all things new and better. We sing this song at Church, "You latter will be greater than your past, you will be blessed, more than you could ask. Despite all that has been done, the best is yet to come All things are possible,the best is yet to come, the soon is soon to come."

So, I hope this encourages you as much as it has me.

xx
Jo

23rd Birthday Post!

Psalm 107:7 He led them by a straight path to a city where they could settle.

Yes Jesus! I woke up and read the Bible since I figured it was the best thing to do first thing in the morning :-) isn't God faithful giving me this word! Great Birthday present right there. This verse doesn't only apply to travel plans but also to all the other places where I need God to help me settle - relationally, financially, emotionally, spiritually and so on.

The verses before talk about those redeemed of the Lord and how not everyone started out on these straight paths and some wandered into wastelands where they could not settle, some were hungry and thirsty and their lives ebbed away... (Sound familiar? Getting into the wastelands of bad financial mistakes, bad relationships, depression etc.) ...but the moment we cried out to God in our trouble, He delivered us from our distress. So this is my Birthday promise...straight paths, straight paths, straight paths, claim it for yourself!

Other than that, some other thoughts...maybe this will turn into the song I wanted...

I will give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love

and for all the wonderful things He's done 

for He broke down every gate and cut through every bar

I'm free, I'm free my soul will sing

I will give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love

and for all the wonderful things He's done for me

I cried out to you in trouble and you saved me from my distress

I will tell of your works with joy I will sing

I will give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love

and for all the wonderful things He's done for me

I see the works of the Lord, His wonderful deeds in the deep

I am filled with awe, of your glory I will sing

I will give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love

and for all the wonderful things He's done for me

He stilled the storm to a whisper, the waves of the sea were hushed

I am led, I am guided, of your love I will sing

I will give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love

and for all the wonderful things He's done for me
He turned my desert into rivers, my thirsty ground into flowing springs
I will praise, I will exalt of your grace I will sing

I will give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love

and for all the wonderful things He's done for me
He's turning desert into pools, parched ground into flowing springs
I will trust, I will obey of your faithfulness I will sing

xx
Jo

What Do You See?

Yesterday, I read a status update from Paul Manwaring where he talked about how the way you define God’s glory directly influences how you receive it. 

{Paul is a pastor out at Bethel Church in Redding and He's amazing. He reminds me incredibly of my dad and He's got such a spiritual fatherliness about him and incredible humility all wrapped up in one. He wrote the book "What On Earth Is Glory?" which I'm planning on getting once I get some extra cash. I'm not sure but I think he mentioned once how someone had prophesied him being a leader to leaders and a father to fathers, if I'm remembering correctly, then he is the most in-your-face revelation of prophesy ever because it's definitely true of him. I haven't met him in person but hopefully will one day.}

My definition of glory has always been goodness. God’s glory is all His goodness. Goodness encompasses His love, His strength, His awesomeness, His majesty, everything, all of that is good. When I think about Him showing me His glory, I see all this goodness and I can’t begin to imagine the extent of it. I can’t see how it all fits into this one person in this case me. I see glory as something that when it’s revealed to you, you can capture it, in all your senses. You can hear it, you can see it, you can taste it and touch it and smell it.

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh the joys of those who take refuge in Him!

I was thinking about that yesterday and today I came across this verse in Revelation totally randomly, someone else tweeted it:...

Revelation 4:8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

I’m doing a Bible study of Revelations for the next couple of weeks, I’m still in Chapter 1 so I haven’t gotten to any of the huge “visions”, but from what I’ve heard and read, Revelations is a pretty allegorical book with tons of symbolism embedded into the face-value meaning of the words. What I mean is, there are winged creatures with six wings and eyes all around, but I also can imagine, being around the throne is a lot to take in. Like I said, the goodness of God invades every sense and to me, the realest sense of all, is sight. 

You can doubt what you feel, you can doubt what you hear, you can doubt what you taste or smell, but it’s almost impossible to doubt what you see. So, if God’s intention is for us to be in Heaven beholding His glory, it would be kind of in His great and funny nature to give some creatures a gazillion eyes.

My prayer is, for God to give me eyes to see His glory; to be overcome here on earth and stay in awe all the way to Heaven. If I end up on the worship team up there, maybe I’ll get a gazillion eyes to behold His glory ;-)

xx

Jo

Luke 9 - Just Say Yes!

I'm still working though the One Year Bible and journalling a lot on what God's been speaking to me. Lately my quiet time has been at around 9 at night, and I just read and write. It really is true what they say that the more I've been doing it, the deeper the love and the hunger for Him grows :) I love it, it's crazy in the Kingdom the hungrier you get, the better you feel which is completely opposite in the physical.

Anyway, a couple of nights ago I was reading Luke 9:51-62. I was stuck on verse 59-60 and I didn't know what it meant or what to write about it, which is normally when God just shows up and speaks to me so much more in the "difficult to understand" concepts than the seemingly straightforward ones.

Luke 9 [NET] v.59 Jesus said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” v.60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

So this is what I wrote in my journal:

Jesus called me to follow Him, but many times I hid behind excuses. "Let me try and fix myself / let me try and heal myself from these broken, dead parts of my life / I need my me-time so I don't use God as a crutch against life's problems / I need to commit to deal with myself before I commit to deal with God or my most famous and most-used one "let me try and see if this relationship is going anywhere then once I'm happy with this boy, I can focus on you." Yes, I'm embarrassed to say I said that a million times and I hate that I said that.

But, I've been called to life and to leave the dead things behind. I don't say this callously; I've buried a father. I can't imagine Jesus telling me not to stay and comfort my family or be there for them, but from that experience, I know that this verse is meant as a call to life, a call to not allow death to be the victor and the star of the movie, but to allow the Kingdom to take center stage.

It's letting go of the sadness, depression, brokenness or other issue you've dealt with and choosing...
instead to focus on the Kingdom, attacking this not from the viewpoint of death but from life. A great example I remember is when Bill Johnson's brother in law passed away last month and Eric came out to preach the message on the fruit or the report, based on how when the 12 spies went out to check Canaan out, 10 came back with a report, 2 came back with the fruit. He compared that passage to how Bethel goes after cancer and sickness yet cancer has taken away one in their family, that's the report, but he urged us to look at the fruit of this ministry and made it clear that what had happened was in no way a setback but a stepping stone. Eric and the Johnsons still mourned, he wasn't callous, he was real, but he preached from the Kingdom view rather than the "death has won" view

This verse is calling us to life, calling us to live out of Life, life here being the proclamation of the Kingdom of God and stepping out of and letting go of the dead parts of our life. The kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom is the presence of God and that presence releases freedom. Jesus said to mourn with those who mourn, so this verse wasn't telling the man to ignore his family or pretend everything was alright, but to live out of Life not death. Seek first the Kingdom and all else will be added unto you. God wants to be the source of comfort, He's said a million times He's father to the fatherless and brings comfort to the widow. This was never this man's burden to bear.

This really spoke deep into my heart. There are dead or broken parts in all of our lives and this just called me into remembering to change my viewpoint. I'm saving money for school and living expenses and I can choose to look at this like this man did and say to Jesus as He calls me, "let me figure out a way to sort out my finances or agonize about how to pass this interview, then I'll see if I'll be able to come" but God is always reminding Him to seek Him first, to see things the way He sees them, what I struggle hard to do, He does easy.

What areas have you guys struggled to change your viewpoint? Lemme know in the comments/email.

P.S
I just got a picture in my mind of how this guy could have said back to Jesus, "OK yes, of course I'm going to go with you, thank you for calling me! But here's my heart and this is what I'm dealing with, please help me heal from this and know how you want me to handle it." Maybe, someone reading this needs to say that. That is honestly how simple it is to experience everything God has planned for you. Just saying yes. I'll be really excited to pray for you, email me/comment and I'll get back to you.

You Are All I Need

I've really been considering the implication of these words recently; we sing it all the time in worship, when we're praying, that's what a lot of people say, but what does it mean?

I have a lot of stuff that's going on in my life, dreams for my future, things that I need or maybe desperately want {I may or may not be thinking about a new phone as I write his :-)} but the aim of Christianity, salvation, is to get filled up by and content with God and God alone.

Last night I was reading Nehemiah which is where we're at with the One Year Bible reading plan, and I was just thinking, the only "Bible" guys in the Old Testament had was the Book of Moses, which is basically where the commandments were kept. We, on the other hand have hundreds of stories, thousands of promises, page after page of how God's shown his love over the centuries, yet those guys had such a rich relationship, they lived it, they experienced God every single day and I think that's what we're aiming for.

We might have the "playbook", know what pitfalls to avoid, know what promise to quote at every situation. Countless of self-help books centered around the Bible, yet what we live in isn't "it". I'm saved, millions of people are saved, but there's no way I can compare my life with John or Peter or Paul or all those other guys from the early Church. My life has been changed, so what? I mean, those guys would literally walk under a light and their shadow would heal people. They were leaking God everywhere they went.

Yes I have all this stuff that I want and desperately desire, dreams for how I want my life to go, but I also don't want to miss out on that authentic encounter that's changed people's lives all across the world. Look at Kim Walker-Smith or Steffany Frizzell or people who've left their homes to be missionaries in desolate places. Doctors inventing new techniques to heal, geeks coming up with new ways to communicate :-) People whose lives are just the picture of going wherever God asks them to go. People who hear and follow the heartbeat of God. I feel like those guys know what heaven is, they live it daily and isn't that the point of getting saved in the first place. My life has been changed, so what?

Still, discontentment over the normal or lack of "the normal" fills my heart. I let all this "stuff" keep me up at night, yet in a year or 10 years, none of it will matter! I worry, I fret, I get anxious, I stress over this stuff. It may be o.k., it may be valid - worrying over stuff God's legitimately placed in my heart, but if I'm honest, it mostly isn't. I take on the burden of worrying about whether I'm missing out on this or that, or whether I should go after this or that like I'm the author of my life. 

I'm not content with Christ alone and this bothers me. I'm lost, I'm rambling, but I hope that somebody out there gets what I mean. Most importantly, I pray and hope God gets what I mean. 

xx
Jo

Meh! (Part 2)

I guess the one thing we have is Grace, two things actually, grace and love, but lets talk about grace.

First of all, grace isn't a free-pass card to do whatever you want. The only way to experience grace is to take it as an extension of God's love. If somebody loves on you, you don't throw it back in their face, right?

Jude 1:4 talks about ungodly men who've slipped in among God's people, who use grace as a license for evil. He warns the people that if they follow in those steps, they'll be part of the condemnation that's set for them.

Source: youtube.com via Annalena on Pinterest

1 Peter 5:10 talks about how the purpose of Grace is to restore, confirm, strengthen and establish.


(1Pet 5:10 [NET])
And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Restoring us as His beloved, confirming our place in His heart, strengthening us so we want fall again, establishing us on higher heights.

But, in order to get these, we need to get Jude 1:5 first, we cant use grace as a free-pass. That's not love and we wont be restored, confirmed, strengthened or established if we keep working our way back. It'll be going round in circles, and most importantly, it's not really giving God any glory.

One thing I learnt this week, is that, "The glory of God is at stake." In how I live my life, walk, talk, dress, act, being a friend, a daughter, a sister, in all these things, the glory of God is at stake. As a Christian, I reflect the glory of God. So far, I've not being doing a really good job. I need to constantly check myself, are the actions I do now going to hurt me tomorrow. Is wasting time at work now, going to give me stress tomorrow as I catch up. Its not just a "Christian" thing, its a life thing.

God doesn't want us wallowing in whatever muck we wallow in as a result of going our own way, He doesn't enjoy our "meh!" days just as much as we don't enjoy them. That's the practical reason grace exists, so our lives can be better.

Restore. Confirm. Strengthen. Establish. 

Letter To My Teenage Kids Part 7

Part 7 of the Letter

Let me end by this verse that changed my life, and I hope it changes yours;

The background to this story is that Jacob had been looking for a wife and fell in love with Rachel. So he worked for Laban, Rachel’s dad and Laban told him, he can’t keep working for free, let him name a price and he’ll get it. Jacob asked for Rachel and Laban agreed, for 7 years of Jacob’s labor. Jacob romantically worked for 7 years and Laban played a trick on him and gave him Leah instead. In the end Jacob had two wives, beautiful Rachel who he loved. And Leah.

Leah felt hated, like most women do, when we feel like we don’t measure up or, like our boyfriend’s don’t think we’re good enough, so,

Genesis 29:31 When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved; he enabled her to become pregnant while Rachel remained childless. V. 32 So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. Surely my husband will love me now.”

(This is like when the relationship doesn’t work and we do anything to keep the guy interested; obviously, it didn’t work so…)

 V.33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the LORD heard that I was unloved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.

(At this point, it’s like you’ve left the relationship and have found another guy and you start the same process all over again, of doing stunts to keep it working, which it doesn’t, so…)

v. 34 she became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi.

(Hop into another relationship, do the same thing again, thinking this time it will work, and it doesn’t finally…)

V. 35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” That is why she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.

(Leah’s outlook changes, she stops looking to Judah, (men) to be the source of her joy and looks at God and finally she is content and she praises God.)

This story doesn’t have to be about boys, are you using the same methods of studying over and over and they aren’t working, are you trying different lotions and stuff thinking this one will work, and it doesn’t.

My Favorite Chapter

I know I've posted a lot of Bible stuff of late, but it's just one of those weeks where if I didn't have this to hang on to, I wouldn't have any hope of making it through o.k.

So this is my favorite part of the Bible, at least right now. Romans 8. I'll let it speak for itself; hope you get to the end :-)

(Rom 8:1-39 [NET])

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

v. 2

For the law of the life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.

v. 3

For God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

v. 4

so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

v. 5

For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit.

v. 6

For the outlook of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace,

v. 7

because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so.

v. 8

Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

v. 9

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him.

v. 10

But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is your life because of righteousness.

v. 11

Moreover if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you.

v. 12

So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh

v. 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.

v. 14

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.

v. 15

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.”

v. 16

The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God’s children.

v. 17

And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ) – if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him.

v. 18

For I consider that our present sufferings cannot even be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us.

V. 19

For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God.

v. 20

For the creation was subjected to futility – not willingly but because of God who subjected it – in hope

v. 21

that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.

v. 22

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now.

v. 23

Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

v. 24

For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees?

v. 25

But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance.

v. 26

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.

v. 27

And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God’s will.

v. 28

And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose,

v. 29

because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

v. 30 [NET])

And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

v. 31

What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

v. 8:32

Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things?

v. 33

Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

v. 34

Who is the one who will condemn? Christ is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us.

v. 35

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

v. 36

As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

v. 37

No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us!

v. 38

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers,

v. 39

nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

xx

Jo