Category: Romans

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The Doors Are Open

I was born and raised in Yuma, Arizona. It’s in the very southwestern part of the state and it’s hot!

When friends and relatives came for a visit they never came in summer. But when visitors came we often made a trip to the Yuma Territorial Prison, it was something they all wanted to see. It had housed some of the most notorious lawbreakers of the early West and was mentioned in so many of the westerns made in Hollywood.

I remember being intrigued by the rock walls, the small cells and the large iron doors. The only light in those cells came through slats of iron. It had to have been bitter cold at night and furnance hot by day. It was often described as the “hell hole”.

It’s this image, the Yuma Territorial Prison, that I see when I read these words:

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.  Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”  16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.” Romans 8:14-17 NLT

When I read those words “fearful slaves” I see those prison bars. Fear is an emotion that imprisons us – taking all our freedom and zest for life. Fear is debilitating and can cause someone to act irrationally.

But when the chains of fear are broken and the prison doors are opened freedom comes. It’s like stepping out of darkness and into the fresh light of day. The head turns upward, fresh breath is drawn into the lungs, a smile appears – freedom has come!

In Christ we go from a life of bondage to a life of sonship. We had nothing while we were imprisoned and now we are heirs, sons and daughters, of Almighty God!

We all have been in bondage to one degree or another but there’s good news – Jesus has broken the chains and we have been set free!

Look up – the doors are open!

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Loaf of Bread Faith

Last week Dave and I were in the grocery store and I was looking at the varitey of artisan breads . One loaf in particular caught my eye – Jalapeno Sour Dough.

Oh my!

It was absolutely delicious. I’m so glad I tried it. It was a definite “I would do this again”. As I sat thinking about that bread this morning I began to see a little correlation between buying that loaf and faith.

I could have said “Dave, I bet this bread is delicious. It will be great with those steaks we’re going to grill”. And then I could have walked on, leaving the bread on the grocery shelf. Or perhaps I could have taken it one step further and purchased the load and taken it home. Unpacking the groceries and moving it to the pantry I might have made another remark about how good I imagined the bread to taste but as of yet I still wouldn’t have known the true richness of its flavor.

To experience the wonderful goodness I needed to open the wrapper, cut a slice, warm it for just a couple seconds and taste!

“O taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the man who trusts in Him!” Psalm 34:8 NLV

Once tasted (experienced) there is no denying the goodness. I can tell you how delicious I think it is, I can even put a plate with warm slices in front of you but you won’t get the full benefit until you take a piece and taste for yourself.

One Bible writer says that faith is substance of things we hope for; it’s a tangible confidence. Faith is confidence in what the Lord has done for us. I can tell you of my experience with the Lord and you can be moved by my testimony but each one of us has to experience His goodness personally.

Faith without corresponding action isn’t really faith, it’s merely supposition. To say “I wish I could have the confidence that the Lord will always be with me” or “I hope someday I will be at a place where I can give the Lord all my fears” or whatever other thing it might be without personally experiencing God’s love and goodness would be like me saying “I bet that bread tastes delicious and walking away without ever experiencing it for myself.

I can say that I have faith the bread will bring me strength when I’m famished but if I never lift my hand to take a piece and eat it; I could starve. Christ has paid the price for us and God has given us all our own measure of faith.

“Because of the grace that God gave me, I can say to each one of you: don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Instead, be reasonable since God has measured out a portion of faith to each one of you.” Romans 12:3 CEB

Faith equals action. Taste and see!

What action does your faith need to take today? If you listen to the Holy Spirit he will show you what you need to do.

Be willing to put action to your faith.

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Fragrance of Love

Take a deep breath. What do you smell? Is it sweet and inviting? Hopefully, it isn’t harsh and offensive. Sweet and inviting is better, much much better.

Years ago, my mother moved to Dillon, MT where Dave and I lived. Right outside the back door of her duplex was a tall lilac bush. Each time she opened the door to walk out she would be greeted with the smell of lilac. She told me that she remembered being a small girl and smelling lilacs at her home. That smell, that sweet odor, reminded her of home!

Have you ever walked through a rose garden when it’s in bloom or sat on a bench surrounded by gardenias? Our sense of smell is very strong. It can warn us of danger, like a skunk or fire, or it can bring us comfort and consolation.

In the Old Testament, offerings of thanksgiving to God were to be a mixture of fine flour, olive oil and incense. When they were burned by the priest, the offering had a sweet odor that was pleasing to the Lord.

The Apostle Paul tells us we are to offer our bodies, our lives, to the Lord as a living sacrifice. So this begs the question, what fragrance does my life emit?

“Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That’s the most sensible way to serve God. 2 Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.” Romans 12:1-2 CEV

Is my life pure and pleasing? Is it one with the sweet smell of thanksgiving? Do I spend more time thanking God for His goodness and His love than I do complaining about how things could/should/would be better “if only”?

As Christians – Christ like ones – our lives should be an offering that pleases the Father.

“Do as God does. After all, you are his dear children. 2 Let love be your guide. Christ loved us and offered his life for us as a sacrifice that pleases God.” Ephesians 5:1-2 CEV

We are to be like Christ and our lives should be like His, a sacrifice that pleases God. Just as the priests presented the sacrifices to the Lord and it pleased Him, we should offer our lives as a pleasing sacrifice.

It’s not only the Father who notices that the fragrance of our lives, those around us will notice too.

“I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume. 15 In fact, God thinks of us as a perfume that brings Christ to everyone. ” II Corinthians 2:14-15 CEV

During this week of Easter I desire that my life smells sweet with praise and thanksgiving to the Father and forgiveness and love to those I meet. I desire to release the sweet fragrance of love.

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Can’t Get Enough

Do you have any foods that you could eat until you almost burst? I have two; one is sweet, a hot fudge sundae and the other is salty, chips and salsa.

If I didn’t restrain myself I would gorge on these two indulgences. I just can’t get enough!

I’m sharing this, now very public, weakness with all of you because my dreams last night were inundated with delicious images of hot fudge sundaes. When I awaken one of my first thoughts was where is the closest Dairy Queen.

I know, she says tongue in cheek, that none of the rest of you experience these types of battles but just in case you do I’ll give you this piece of advice – resist temptation!

I have one other indulgence that you need to know about. This one I don’t try to resist, this one I give in to and let it fill my thoughts constantly.

“I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. 18 And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is. 19 Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.” Ephesians 3:17-19 ERV

I can’t get enough of God’s love!

Daily, I am reminded of His great love for me. It is unconditional. He loves me as much when I behaved horribly as He does when I am serving Him with all my heart. He extends His hand of mercy and grace. He will not reject me because His love never fails.

I will repeat, I can’t get enough of God’s love!

“Very few people will die to save the life of someone else, even if it is for a good person. Someone might be willing to die for an especially good person. 8 But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us.

9 We have been made right with God by the blood sacrifice of Christ. So through Christ we will surely be saved from God’s anger. 10 I mean that while we were God’s enemies, he made friends with us through his Son’s death. And the fact that we are now God’s friends makes it even more certain that he will save us through his Son’s life.” Romans 7-10 ERV

God’s love is deeper than we can comprehend, wider than the vast Milky Way but it is personal to each and everyone of us.

Let me close with these song lyrics written by Leeland Mooring, “Where You Are:“

I can’t get enough
No I can’t get enough
Of Your amazing love
I can’t get enough

I can’t walk away
No I can’t walk away
For I have seen Your face
And I can’t walk away

And I just wanna be where You are
I just wanna be near Your heart
There is nothing like Your love
There is nothing like Your love

Experiencing the love of God is one indulgence that I won’t walk away from.

I just can’t get enough! How about you?

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Looking In

It’s so easy for those who don’t know us very well to “look in” on our lives and make judgements.

Have you ever had that happen to you?

It’s hard to deal with but we can dismiss those actions with “they just don’t know me well enough”. However, it’s much harder when someone we love and are close too spreads lies or judges us harshly.

That can cause relationships to crumble and/or jealousy to grow. I know. Personally, I have been judged harshly on a couple occasions and regretfully, I have also been guilty of doing the same.

I’d like to tell you about a lady who had her reputation besmirched publically. She was called out because of her past. Her accuser tried to humiliate her in the presence of his friends and business associates. She had no where to retreat from his cruel words.

“Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”…

 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

48 Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Luke 7:36-50 NKJV

Jesus’ words “judge not unless you want to be judged” ring in my heart when I read this story. No one is insignificant to the Father. He sent His Son to die for everyone of us. Others may judge us, whether correctly or incorrectly, but Jesus only judges sin and all sin is the same to Him. And then He offers us peace and forgiveness.

The Bible tells us that man looks at what we do on the outside but God looks at our hearts. When people make hurtful accusations, look inside to see what God sees. Others may see failure, a screw-up, but God sees us as His sons and daughters, forgiven and wrapped in His love.

“God’s Spirit doesn’t make us slaves who are afraid of him. Instead, we become his children and call him our Father.” Romans 8:15 CEV

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Say A Little Prayer

Yesterday was a day of “little prayers”. I found myself stopping throughout the day praying specifically for friends and family.

Prayers were lifted while I was sitting at my desk paying bills, in the kitchen washing dishes, driving to the store and out in the garage taking photographs. Some came early in the morning before I got out of bed and others were said as I was laying my head down on the pillow last night.

There’s always time to Say A Little Prayer.

“Always be joyful 17 and never stop praying. 18 Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do.” I Thessalonians 5:16-18 CEV

I know some people think this way about prayer – well, nothing else works so we better pray. That’s a wrong idea of prayer. Our attitude should be – I will pray first so that things work out right.

“When you pray, don’t talk on and on as people do who don’t know God. They think God likes to hear long prayers. 8 Don’t be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask.” Matthew 6:7-8 CEV

When we pray we can ask confidently knowing that our Father already has our answer. Not a lot of words are necessary, we don’t need a quiet place with soft music playing – no, we just need an open heart and a willingness to talk to the Father.

It’s a great privilege to pray for others. Our spouse, our children, family and friends. Our nation and our leaders. Those who are being persecuted around the world, those who are sick.

Say A Little Prayer.

There are times when I go the the Father and say “Lord, I need someone to pray for me right now. I need to be strengthened, healed or encouraged”. The Father is so faithful to provide those prayers because the Holy Spirit prays for us.

“In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. 27 All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God’s people.” Romans 8:26-27 CEV

Last night I woke a couple of times to pray and I was praying again before I got out of bed. There is never a bad time to pray. When I got up and was getting myself a cup of coffee, I was praying and these words came to mind.

I could hear Dionne Warwick singing this song from my high school days:

The moment I wake up
Before I put on my makeup (makeup)
I say a little prayer for you
And while combing my hair now
And wondering what dress to wear now (wear now)
I say a little prayer for you

Whenever folks come to mind it’s always a good time to Say A Little Prayer!

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Imperfect But Loved

I don’t know if you have realized it or not but the Bible is filled with imperfect people. Ordinary people just like you and I.

There are men who lie, women who are jealous, the unfaithful and disloyal. The cheats and scoundrels. The fearful and the timid. The rebellious and the braggarts. We have their stories as a guide of what not to do but also as an encouragement.

An encouragement of our Father’s unconditional, unfailing love!

I’ve been reading the story of Jacob, Abraham’s grandson. He was a manipulative, devious man. He stole his brother’s birthright, the inheritance for being the oldest child and the blessing that went with it. He deceived his father and cheated his brother.

But God blessed him and through his descendants the nation of Israel was blessed.

“The Lord was standing beside the ladder and said: ‘I am the Lord God who was worshiped by Abraham and Isaac. I will give to you and your family the land on which you are now sleeping. 14 Your descendants will spread over the earth in all directions and will become as numerous as the specks of dust. Your family will be a blessing to all people.  15 Wherever you go, I will watch over you, then later I will bring you back to this land. I won’t leave you—I will do all I have promised.’ 16 Jacob woke up suddenly and thought, ‘The Lord is in this place, and I didn’t even know it.'” Genesis 28:13-16 CEV

On the night that Jesus was arrested He was celebrating the Passover with his twelve disciples. He knew two of these men were going to betray Him that evening. Judas, a paid informant, told the religious leaders of Jesus’ location which led to his arrest, trial and crucifixion. Peter also betrayed Jesus that night, denying his association with Jesus three times during the course of the evening.

Judas was so remorseful that he killed himself. It’s very sad that he died not realizing that Jesus’ death was for the forgiveness of all sin, including his. Peter, on the othe hand, had an encounter of forgiveness with Jesus after His resurrection and went on to be instrumental in evangelizing the world with the message of God’s unconditional love and forgiveness.

“Peter and the apostles replied: We don’t obey people. We obey God. 30 You killed Jesus by nailing him to a cross. But the God our ancestors worshiped raised him to life 31 and made him our Leader and Savior. Then God gave him a place at his right side, so that the people of Israel would turn back to him and be forgiven. 32 We are here to tell you about all this, and so is the Holy Spirit, who is God’s gift to everyone who obeys God.” Acts 5:29-32 CEV

Imperfect people are all God has. Some seem worse than others but we all fail to measure up. That’s why Jesus died – He brought us forgiveness and a relationship of love and peace with the Father. If we were perfect we would have no need for a Saviour, no need for unconditional love.

“All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. 24 But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.” Romans 3:23-24 CEV

Isn’t is good to know that no matter our failures or imperfections God chooses to love us unconditionally!

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Be Encouraged

There are so many influences that we encounter that are discouraging and disheartening but God’s word is contrary to that. In life’s darkest moments He offers us encouragment and consolation.

The word encourage is used 58 times in the New Living Translation of the New Testament. Most of these references are in the letters Paul wrote to Christians around the world.

“And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. 12 We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory. 13 Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe.” I Thessalonians 2:11-13 NLT

Paul was a man who didn’t just talk the talk but walked the walk. He knew what is was like to face hard times; he had been arrested, beaten, ship wrecked, run out of town and under house arrest. Yet his message remained the same.

“Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.” II Corinthians 13:11 NLT

He was confident that the new life we receive in Christ is a life of strength, joy, power and victory. He was compelled to share that message everywhere he went. It was his life goal, having turned from persecuting the Christians, to bring the message of restored relationship through Christ Jesus to the world.

“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.” II Corinthians 5:18-29 NLT

Our sins are no longer counted against us. God the Father, in his great love, adopted us to be His very own. His desire is to have a deep and enduring relationship with each of us. He’s not out to destroy our lives but to bring meaning, hope, joy and fulfillment to them.

“For I know that nothing can keep us from the love of God. Death cannot! Life cannot! Angels cannot! Leaders cannot! Any other power cannot! Hard things now or in the future cannot! 39 The world above or the world below cannot! Any other living thing cannot keep us away from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39 NLT

NOTHING can separate us from God’s love! Nothing.

The Father even loves us when we are rebellious. Remember the father of the prodigal son – He watched for him to return everyday and embraced him when he did. That’s the way our Father feels about us.

I hope this encourages you and I pray that you will be an encouragement to someone also.

“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” I Thessalonians 5:11 NLT

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Strong and Healthy

Today I want to share a few more thoughts with you on being a part of the body of Christ…

Although, we are all the body of Christ, we do not all have the same function. Some are fingers, toes, arms, and legs but we are all necessary for the proper functioning of the body. We are all needed to make the body complete. By working in harmony, we bring glory to the One who has placed His name on this body.

“A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use. 5 That’s how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another.” Romans 12:4-5 CEV

“All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” I Corinthians 12:27 NLT

If our little finger gets smashed or our arm gets broken the rest of our body works together to protect the part that’s hurting. When disease strikes, the blood cells work overtime to produce what it needs and then fights to remove the infection. In the physical body strife and stress weaken our immunity and make us susceptible to physical illness.

Sad to say, but the same thing happens in the body of Christ. Criticism, gossip, selfishness, greed, and pride are germs that infect the body of Christ and weaken our effectiveness. We need to protect and nurture the parts of this body, not amputate them, so that the message of Christ doesn’t lose its effectiveness.

We are mutually dependent on one another. I need you and you need me. We might not agree on everything but without each other neither of us will operate fully and the whole body will suffer.

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” Ephesians 4:11-16 NLT

If we pull away from each other, criticizing and condemning one another, we’ll be tossed around like a cork in the ocean. But when we receive good teaching we will grow to be more like Christ with each passing day. We’ll take on a maturity that brings glory to Him.

Let’s all work together to help the broken and hurting parts “so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” Christ wants us all functioning together in love!

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Our Sure Victory

What if I told you that the enemy who works so hard to convince us to that we can’t handle things has already been defeated?…

Satan knows if we fight, he will be defeated. If we give up, he wins. No one likes to lose, especially Satan, but in truth he has already been defeated.

“He defeated the rulers and powers of the spiritual world. With the cross he won the victory over them and led them away, as defeated and powerless prisoners for the whole world to see.” Colossians 2:15 ERV

God has done everything to secure our victory. It is up to us to enforce that victory. How do we enforce the victory that God has given us so freely? We STAND on God’s word. We believe the promises He has given us are our irrevocable inheritance. We do not let Satan convince us that we aren’t saved, and we shouldn’t let him convince us that we are weak and without power.

“ So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us. 32 He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things.” Romans 8:31-32 ERV

Long ago, God spoke to Moses and had him give this message to the nation of Israel, he reminded them of the promises that God had made to their ancestor Abraham. What God promised Abraham’s descendants is part of our inheritance too.

“All of you are God’s children because of your faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And when you were baptized, it was as though you had put on Christ in the same way you put on new clothes. 28 Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman. 29 So if you belong to Christ, you are now part of Abraham’s family, and you will be given what God has promised.” Galatians 3:26-29 CEV

These are some of God’s blessings to the nation of Israel:

“Be faithful in obeying the Lord your God…And the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 All these good things will come upon you if you will obey the Lord your God. 3 Good will come to you in the city, and good will come to you in the country. 4 Good will come to your children, and the fruit of your ground, and the young of your animals…6 Good will come to you when you come in, and when you go out.  7 “The Lord will cause you to win the battles against those who fight against you…8 The Lord will send good upon you in your store-houses and in all your work. He will bring good to you in the land the Lord your God gives you. 9 The Lord will make you a holy nation to Himself, as He promised you. But you must keep the Laws of the Lord your God and walk in His ways…12 The Lord will open for you His good store-house, the heavens. He will give rain to your land at the right time. He will bring good to all the work you do. You will give to many nations. But you will not use anything that belongs to them. 13 The Lord will make you the head and not the tail. If you listen to the Laws of the Lord your God which I tell you today and be careful to obey them, you will only be above and not below.” Deuteronomy 28:1-13 NLV

These blessings to the nation of Israel are for us as well. They are our inheritance. When we obey God’s word we have His assurance of victory!

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