Category: Romans

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Made Right – Ready for Use

I know everyone has bought an item at one time or another and found one of those “inspected by” tags. Do you ever wonder who “inspected by No. 46” is? And if you find a flaw in the product, were they having a bad day and just didn’t do their job right? I know it’s silly but I wonder about those things.

However, I have never wondered if God was having a bad day when He told the Holy Spirit to put His seal of approval on us – we are made right and ready for use.

“It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.” Ephesians 1:13-14 MSG

This signet that Paul is talking about was the seal which was placed on every document that came directly from the king or ruler. Hot wax was pour on the parchment and the king’s ring was pressed in to it, leaving an impression to authenticate His approval.

We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit; this marking says we have been made right and are ready for use.

“So that one sin of Adam brought the punishment of death to all people. But in the same way, Christ did something so good that it makes all people right with God. And that brings them true life. 19 One man disobeyed God and many became sinners. But in the same way, one man obeyed God and many will be made right.” Romans 5:18-19 ERV

Made right! When God the Father sees us, He sees that we have been made right! No junk or second rate product here. We are completely new in our life with Him.

“When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world. The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new!” II Corinthians 5:17 ERV

We’re not good enough to do this on our own. No, we have to accept what Jesus has done. There was a time when we were so strapped financially that we couldn’t pay the electric bill. There wasn’t enough money and we didn’t know what we were going to do. A dear friend offered to pay it for us. We could have refused His offer but we didn’t and the bill was marked “paid in full”. Jesus paid the price for our sin and God has marked the account “paid in full”.

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” II Corinthians 5:21 NLT

Because of Jesus we have been “made right” and are ready for use!

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The Treasure Hunt

When we lived in Montana there was an old ghost town only a few miles up the road. It was always an adventure to visit there and learn about the early mining history of our state. We could walk through the buildings, down the streets and even visit the cemetery. Thousands of people had lived there during the gold strike and then almost over night the gold played out and a new strike was found about seventy miles away in Virginia City. Off the residents went in search of riches.

During the summer, visitors to Bannack are welcome to try their hand at prospecting using a gold pan and some dirt from the nearby, gold enriched, Grasshopper Creek. Gold panning is fun but it’s hard work too. For the diligent there is the possibly of finding a nugget or two and at the very least a few flakes.

The mound of dirt that’s brought in doesn’t look like much – just regular old dirt. Add some to your pan and the treasure hunt begins. Sloshing and swirling of water, removing the larger rocks, more washing, but more gently now. The black dirt settles in the bottom of the pan, a little more water, swirl it gently and there in the bottom of the pan garnets, rubies and even gold appears.

Prospecting is nothing more than looking for something valuable among the common. I know of no better prospector than the Lord.

“Jesus told the people another story: What will a woman do if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them? Won’t she light a lamp, sweep the floor, and look carefully until she finds it? 9 Then she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, “Let’s celebrate! I’ve found the coin I lost.” 10 Jesus said, “In the same way God’s angels are happy when even one person turns to him.” Luke 15:8-10 CEV

He searches for us. Digging through the dirt, He washes away what is worthless to reveal our true value. We are precious to Him! We are his treasure.

Our heavenly Father came looking for us when we were at our worst. Once again I am overwhelmed by the Father’s love for us! He has covered our lives with His unconditional love and forgiveness.

“Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful. 7 No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person. 8 But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.

9 But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger. 10 Even when we were God’s enemies, he made peace with us, because his Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by his Son’s life. 11 And in addition to everything else, we are happy because God sent our Lord Jesus Christ to make peace with us.” Romans 5:6-11 CEV

Because of His love and the sacrifice of Jesus we are at peace with God and precious in His sight.

“He feels pity for the weak and the needy, and he will rescue them. 14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious to him.” Psalm 72:13-14 NLT

We are precious to the Father. We are His treasure!

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Have A Great Day!

What are you considering today? What we focus on effects our emotions and our actions. We can get up with our mind filled with thoughts of joy or thoughts of dread and those thoughts will dictate our day.

I plan to have a great day, I hope you do too.

Our most powerful adversary as Christians is not the devil. He was defeated when Jesus rose from the grave and we have been given authority over him and all his evil works. However, our greatest adversary is also our greatest ally – it just depends on how we use it. I’m talking about our minds!

God won’t force us to do things against our will. He won’t force us to accept His wonderful gift of salvation, even if it means we will eventually go to hell, and He won’t force us to accept the blessings that He is providing for us in this life either. We must willfully accept all of His provisions for them to work in our lives.

So, how do we move the mind from an adversary to an ally? The answer is simple. It’s by what we consider. Our mind is much like the computer I am using to message with right now. It can only produce on screen, or in memory, what I input.

It becomes our responsibility to input the correct information. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:1-2 “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

When we let God’s word be our input our minds will have a better way of thinking. I love what I heard one pastor say, “Get rid of stinkin thinkin”.

It’s imperative that we guard our minds more than we guard our wallets. The damage caused by wrong thinking is more detrimental than losing our cash. In fact, it’s very similar to spiritual identity theft. Thinking like the world thinks will keep us from realizing all the wonderful blessings that God has provided. “We live in this world, but we don’t fight our battles in the same way the world does. 4 The weapons we use are not human ones. Our weapons have power from God and can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments, 5 and we tear down every proud idea that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We also capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.” II Corinthians 10:3-5

Counteract the world’s influence today and live this “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7

We can make our day great by concentrating on all that God has done for us!

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Kindness & Peace

Some mornings when I get up I hesitate having any contact with the outside world. It’s not because I’m afraid of the reports on COVID-19. My heart gets grieved by the unkind words and actions that seem to be so prevalent.

Two things we can always use more of is kindness and peace. It would mean a great deal if people treated us nicer, right? I think we can get a hardy amen to having less drama in our lives. Here is the question: How can we be used to bring those two elements into the lives of those around us?

“This letter is to all of you in Rome. God loves you and has chosen you to be his very own people. I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!” Romans 1:7 CEV

Well, we can begin by praying for God to bless those we know with kindness and peace. And then we can follow through with being kind to those around us.

Kind to the other drivers on the roads, to the grocery store workers, our first responders, to truckers, neighbors and those we speak to on the phone and through electronic communication. To our kids and our spouses.

Kindness brings peace.

“Without wood, a fire goes out. Without gossip, arguments stop. 21 Charcoal keeps the coals glowing, wood keeps the fire burning, and troublemakers keep arguments alive.” Proverbs 26:20-21 MSG

“Don’t you know that the reason God is good to you is because he wants you to turn to him?” Romans 2:4 CEV

God’s goodness is what draws people to Him. When we emulate God’s character we are being used to bring others to Christ. We must never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit working through us.

“God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, 23 gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways.” Galatians 5:22-23 CEV

Today I’m praying that God’s goodness and peace will overflow in our lives flooding all those around us.

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Tough Times

Determination — Perserverance — Strength
All three are needed to get through the tough times and come out victorious.

Noah preached the whole time he was building the ark and didn’t have one convert but he kept building and he kept preaching.

Abraham was promised a natural born son and he had to wait 25 years to see the promise fulfilled.

Joseph was sold as a slave, spent time in prison, was forgotten before he made it to pharoah’s palace.

Moses led a nation of grumbling and complaining people for 40 years in the desert and they never made it to the Promised Land. That should have been about a 3-4 week trip.

Jesus preached, died, rose again providing that He was the Messiah and still many did not believe.

Paul was beaten, shipwrecked, nearly drown and held in prison and still he kept preaching.

God, the Father, isn’t willing that any should perish and has offered salvation to all. He hasn’t given up!

Each of the men above had been given a promise by God which gave them courage and determination to continue. They encouraged themselves with God’s word and used it to fight discouragement. They found that God was more than enough!

“There was no hope that Abraham would have children, but Abraham believed God and continued to hope. And that is why he became the father of many nations. As God told him, “You will have many descendants.” 19 Abraham was almost a hundred years old, so he was past the age for having children. Also, Sarah could not have children. Abraham was well aware of this, but his faith in God never became weak. 20 He never doubted that God would do what he promised. He never stopped believing. In fact, he grew stronger in his faith and just praised God.” Romans 4:18-20 ERV (emphasis is mine)

” But the Lord said, ‘My grace is all you need. Only when you are weak can everything be done completely by my power.” So I will gladly boast about my weaknesses. Then Christ’s power can stay in me. 10 Yes, I am glad to have weaknesses if they are for Christ. I am glad to be insulted and have hard times. I am glad when I am persecuted and have problems, because it is when I am weak that I am really strong.” II Corinthians 12:9-10 ERV (emphasis is mine)

“Love the Lord, all you godly ones! For the Lord protects those who are loyal to him,  but he harshly punishes the arrogant. 24 So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!” Psalm 31:23-24 NLT

I pray that we become like these men and we continue to hope. When we are weak we truly are strong because we go forward in a strength that only God can give. He is more than enough!

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We’re Champions

We all want to feel special. We want to know there is something about us that “entitles” us to the little extras. A bigger piece of pie, an extra scoop of ice cream, more money per hour at work, the bigger bouquet, the nicer car, the corner office and the list goes on.

However, I’ve never been one to win the trophy buckle, to graduate valedictorian, be promoted to executive team or even win the state championship. But there is one thing I’ve done that puts me in the top group every time!

This trophy buckle pictured here is my husband Dave’s. When we were preaching on working ranches and at youth rodeos he wore it all the time. We wanted all who came to realize that when we have Christ as our Savior we are all champions. The first step is to kneel at the cross.

“Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life. ” John 3:16 ERV

Yes, I’m a member of the world – I’m an everyone! That makes me a recipient of the Father’s love and a participant in life eternal.

“Training your body helps you in some ways. But devotion to God helps you in every way. It brings you blessings in this life and in the future life too. 9 Here is a true statement that should be accepted without question: 10 We hope in the living God, the Savior of all people. In particular, he is the Savior of all those who believe in him. This is why we work and struggle. 11 Command and teach these things.” I Timothy 4:8-11 CEV

Father God provides salvation for ALL but He’s given us a part to play. We must BELIEVE that Jesus provided our salvation as a free gift.

If I came to your house with a big box wrapped in beautiful paper and tied up with a gorgeous ribbon and I had put your name on the box, would that present be yours? Well of course it would!

If you took that present and set it on the dining room table and looked at it, each day, admiring how pretty it was and how nice it was of me to bring it, would it benefit you? No, not really. It’s not until you open the gift, fully accept it, that it truly becomes yours and is a benefit to you.

Many people have seen the gift the Father brought them; the gift of forgiveness and restoration but for what ever reason have failed to open it and appropriate it for themselves.

“My dear children, I write this letter to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone sins, we have Jesus Christ to help us. He always did what was right, so he is able to defend us before God the Father. 2 Jesus is the way our sins are taken away. And he is the way all people can have their sins taken away too.” I John 2:1-2 CEV

“no matter if that person is a Jew or a Gentile. There is only one Lord, and he is generous to everyone who asks for his help. 13 All who call out to the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:12-13 CEV

So you see if you are a whosoever, an everyone, an “all people”, the gift is yours! Accept it and take advantage of what is being given – it definitely makes you a winner!

Christ has made us champions – we are victorious!

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Stand Tall – Stand Strong

About twenty years back a movie, A Knight’s Tale, was released. It is a movie I enjoy and there is a lesson in that movie that has stuck with me all this time.

An old knight dies and one of his servants takes his place in the jousting tournaments. He has to produce patents of nobility (papers that attest to his noble lineage) in order to complete. His papers are forged. As the story goes, this knight begins winning many of the events and advances to the final games. He is discovered as a fraud and is about to be beheaded when a man steps from the crowd to validate his standing as a true knight. The man removes his hooded cloak and declares “I am the king and as such my words are uncontestable.”

The first time I heard it, that phrase burned in me like a fire! “I am the king and as such my words are uncontestable”. It still does.

Over and over again in the movie, the knight is challenged to produce his patent of nobility. Our daily life makes the same challenge. What college did we go to; what company do we work for; which area of town do we live in…the list of challenges is endless. Those are the external rebuffs to our character. The emotional ones, which we often bring on ourselves, are even more daunting. We deal with feelings of unworthiness and criticism. Satan is referred to as the “accuser of the brethren” however what God says about us exceeds any accusations that he may bring.

We have a King who is willing to attest to our rights and standing. He is Jesus Christ, King of Kings. What He say about me, trumps anything else. His word is uncontestable!!

“The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them. 15 The Spirit that we received is not a spirit that makes us slaves again and causes us to fear. The Spirit that we have makes us God’s chosen children. And with that Spirit we cry out, “ Abba, Father.” Romans 8:14-15 ERV

“So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us.” Romans 8:31 ERV

“But you are his chosen people, the King’s priests. You are a holy nation, people who belong to God. He chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done. He brought you out of the darkness of sin into his wonderful light.” I Peter 2:9 ERV

“and from Jesus Christ. Jesus is the faithful witness. He is first among all who will be raised from death. He is the ruler of the kings of the earth. Jesus is the one who loves us and has made us free from our sins with his blood sacrifice. 6 He made us his kingdom and priests who serve God his Father. To Jesus be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.” Revelation 1:5-6 ERV

Read the verses above again. Those are our patents of nobility. We walk worthy because the King says we are. His Word is without contestation!

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Whatcha Thinkin’

How many times have we asked someone, “whatcha thinkin” or how many times has someone asked us that question?

Each day we are bombarded with so much information and it’s all competing for a place in our minds. We are the ones who decide what downloads we accept and we are the ones who decide what data to delete.

The Apostle Paul had a horrible past. He wasn’t much different than Hitler. Both men spent a great deal of time destroying the Jews and feeling they were justified in doing so. Paul was a part of the lynch mob that killed Stephen, the first Christian martyr. After that he did everything he could to track down the Christians, have them arrested and killed. Hitler rounded up the Jews and tried to annihilate them. The difference between the two men – repentance!

Paul’s message of God’s unconditional love and his understanding of grace was born out of his past. He could preach the amazing grace of God and absolute forgiveness because he had experienced it. He wouldn’t allow himself to be sidelined with thoughts of his unworthiness.

Our minds may be telling us, you’re unworthy – God can’t or won’t love you; He won’t forgive you; He won’t use you! You’re a disgrace – if people knew who you were or what you did, they wouldn’t want anything to do with you. Paul had those thoughts and this is how he handled them.

“All the other apostles are greater than I am. I say this because I persecuted the church of God. That is why I am not even good enough to be called an apostle. 10 But, because of God’s grace, that is what I am. And his grace that he gave me was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other apostles. (But I was not really the one working. It was God’s grace that was with me.)” I Corinthians 15:9-10 ERV

Paul knew how it felt to deal with feelings of unworthiness but instead of wallowing in that he filled his mind with an overwhelming dose of God’s grace and stepped into the acceptance of God’s unconditional love.

“But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us.” Romans 5:8 ERV (written by Paul)

Worry is also a tactic the mind uses to sideline us. With everything that’s happening around us it’s easy to worry. How do we not worry?

“Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel. 8 Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise. 9 You know the teachings I gave you, and you know what you heard me say and saw me do. So follow my example. And God, who gives peace, will be with you.” Philippians 4:7-9 CEV

Worry can be replaced with peace when we keep our thoughts focused on things that are good and pure. We need to remind ourselves that we have a loving, heavenly Father who protects us.

We can let our thoughts imprison us with bars of worry and unworthiness or we can stay focused on God’s love and have grace and peace unlock the prison door and set us free.

Guard your thinkin’!

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Moving Mountains

Have you had days when you felt weak and undone? Just didn’t know if you could go on for another day? I know, I have had those days too. Believe it or not Jesus had days like that too.

God, the Father, is a God of faith. Jesus Christ walked this earth as a man of faith. The Holy Spirit’s presence fills us so we can be men and women of faith.

God the Father spoke “Light be and there was light”. He didn’t speak just hoping something would happen, but He spoke in faith.

Jesus lived a life of faith while He was here. He pleased the Father. “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. 30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.” John 8:29-30

The writer of Hebrews tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God; so if Jesus pleased the Father it was because he was living by faith. “But without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and that he rewards everyone who searches for him.” Hebrews 11:6

When we are adopted into God’s family, we are saved by faith in God’s grace. Our faith is in what God has done, not in our own works but in God’s grace, his kindness. The fruit of the Holy Spirit, who indwells us, is “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

Faith isn’t something we have to WORK to get, it’s something we have been given freely by God the Father. “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Romans 12:3

Faith isn’t based on our effort, our goodness, our works or our holiness but faith is given to us by God. It’s a gift! A gift we unwrap, take out of the box and use. Even if we feel that we only have small faith, Jesus said it’s enough to move mountains. Once again, God kind of faith isn’t in our abilities or worthiness but it is in Him and His faithfulness to do what He says He will do.

There was a man in the Bible whose son was plagued by seizures. He brought his son to Jesus’ disciples but they couldn’t heal him so the father came to Jesus. He asked Jesus to heal his son. Here is Jesus response: “Jesus asked the boy’s father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ The father answered, ‘Since he was very young. 22 The spirit often throws him into a fire or into water to kill him. If you can do anything, please have pity on us and help us.’ 23 Jesus said to the father, “Why did you say ‘if you can’? All things are possible for the one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father shouted, “I do believe. Help me to believe more!” Mark 9:21-24 ERV

I’ve been like that father. I’ve come to Jesus with life’s challenges, struggles and pain. In my desperation I have said “Lord, please help.” Then the Lord reminds me of His many promises, assuring me that He will help. Like that father I have responded “Lord I believe Your word, help me trust You more”.

He’s never broken a promise. God doesn’t lie. He keeps His word.

We need to evaluate our faith today. Is it faith in ourself; in our works; in our abilities; in others? If so, that isn’t faith at all. We need to place our faith, our trust, in the Father, the same faith we used when we asked Him to forgive our sins – faith based on God and his power to save and on the love of Jesus who died and rose again.

When our faith is placed in God we will walk by faith and see life’s mountains move by the power of God.

“Lord, I believe in You. Help me be stronger in my belief.”

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Big Hearts!

Bigger Buts – Bigger Boats – Bigger Hearts!

I’m developing a pattern here and I didn’t realize it. The crisis we are going through, and we are going to get through it, is causing some to lose their hope and their perspective. They have become short-sighted and self-centered.

We need to be big-hearted people.

I read about a tattoo parlor on the East Coast who took all their supply of masks and latex gloves to the local hospital and donated them. They said they felt there would be plenty of supply once they were able to start business again.

Locally, a resort restaurant had to close and they made food boxes for all their employees who were being laid off. A restaurant in Tucson donated all their food to the local food bank. Instead of thinking only about themselves they were thinking how they could benefit their communities, their neighbors.

Churches are creating teams to check on their members. First with phone calls and then with people to do odd-jobs and grocery shop.

They are thinking with big hearts.

We should be Christ-like in our actions. That is the true meaning of Christianity. Christ was selfless and we should be too. Let’s look around our neighborhood and ask “what can I do to help”. Maybe it’s something as simple as writing a note of encouragement and putting it in a mailbox. If someone can’t get out, ask if there’s something they need from the store and pick it up for them. A mother of small children may need some extra craft supplies, a plate of cookies or some game ideas. Thank a first responder, the mailman, the delivery truck driver and certainly those still working in the retail markets.

We mustn’t allow this situation to side line us. The Apostle Paul teaches us that we all have God-given talents and abilities that will benefit others. Let’s use them.

“I realize how kind God has been to me, and so I tell each of you not to think you are better than you really are. Use good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you. 4 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.

6 God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have. 7 If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach. 8 If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.

Be sincere in your love for others. Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is good. 10 Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself.” Romans 12:3-10 CEV

Let’s make it our goal to help someone today. Right now the world needs big-hearted people!

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