8:1 - Not guilty. Thank you Jesus.
8:6-7 - The mind of a sinful man is death because a sinful man lives in open rebellion against God. God is life, so only death can come from opposing Him. Do my actions reek of death or pulsate with God-honoring life?
8:15 - We did not receive God's Word and we did not receive the Holy Spirit (God Himself!), so that we could feel like we are enslaved to a bunch of rules given to us by a universal control freak who lives within us to make us constantly feel guilty. If that is what your view of God and the Holy Spirit look like, you just don't get it. We were given the good news and the Holy Spirit as a part of our inheritance...we have been freed as slaves to life destroying, death-bringing sin and we are given a father-child relationship with the ruler of all things. That is an insanely awesome payment in return for a sin-filled life...thanks be to Jesus Christ.
8:19 - Creation itself is waiting for you and me to stand up as the sons of God and bring the kingdom of heaven to earth. The choices we make and the way we lives should leave a wake of life and resurrection behind us in this world. We are saved by the blood of Jesus and filled with the Spirit of God, and that should be revealed through our lives.
8:26 - There are times that I am at a loss for words when it comes to God. When problems, like world hunger, seem so huge you don't know where to begin...when you are confused and don't know what God wants or what you want...when you are spiritually exhausted...when you are broken by guilt and feel unworthy to speak in the presence of God...the Spirit of God takes your failed conversation with God communicates in ways that you couldn't even imagine. Trust that God will hear you and go to Him, no matter where you are.
8:27 - I LOVE THIS PHRASE - "we are more than conquerors." We are victorious, but it is so much more beautiful and powerful that a conquering victory. We are not victorious through sheer power of strength and will...we are not victorious because we have the biggest and baddest army...we are victorious through the way of Jesus Christ. We are more than conquerors because we are victorious servants. We do not live and fight to become the masters...we live to serve our master and fight against the selfish ambitions of this world through sacrificial service. Do you see how earth-shatteringly wild it is to be more than conquerors? We win by losing...losing our old lives...losing our self-absorbed obsessions and gaining Jesus Christ. As Christians we are more than conquerors, because in this war we do not sow destruction and death...we die to ourselves to become servants who bring resurrection and life. That's what it should look like anyway.
2 comments:
Always liked how chp 8 tells us who we are if led by the Spirit – sons/daughters of God – heirs of God and with Christ. May we all strive to live as a child of the Father – as an heir who will take care of what has been entrusted to us.
Really liked how the Message laid out 10 - But for you who welcome him(Christ), in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God's terms.
Experience life on God’s terms – something I want and try to do everyday.
Also how the Spirit himself intercedes for us (26) – shows me that God wants to help us all the time and be involved in everything we say and do – that word and deed thing.
Finally – want or need reassurance about God’s love for you – read 38-39.
Peace,
j
In reference to the "more than conquerors" talk, i really like the reason we are more than conquerors. It is because of Jesus and what he does. We are not good enough by ourselves. But we also need to remember what Jesus did and what he was about. He was about loving people. Not about proving them wrong, or coming up with a flawless argument. he was about loving people. Its funny to me how in Acts 1, when everyone had every reason to go around and share the gospel in a "I told you so" kind of way (Jesus had risen, and was standing in front of them). Instead, Jesus tells them to wait for the gift of the father. We are more than conquerors. Because of that, love people; don't shove it down their throat.
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