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Romans  7

10/28/2013

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Romans 7:4-6 “So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point:  You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ.  And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead.  As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.  When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.  But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power.  Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.”

I know this was long but as you read it you have to see how amazing surrendering our lives to the Holy Spirit is.  We don’t think of the law first and what we shouldn’t do we think of how amazing Jesus is and what we can do to honor Him.  Even early on in our walk we had the tendency to say, (I can’t do that or the commandments say not to do this.)  But when we actually open our heart and say your will be done we think of ways to glorify Him not just follow rules.

It is that renewing of our mind that makes us see the things we ought to be doing and it is the positive light we see in Christ that keeps us doing the things we are supposed to.  The Spirit is so freeing and helpful as we journey through this short life on earth.  My friend Pastor Kevin Goff of The Rock Church put it like this and it really made a light switch go off for me.  “The Holy Spirit doesn’t convict us of what we are doing it convinces us of what we should do.”  What a different thought and one way a “comforter” or the Holy Spirit uses positive light to help us.

The Holy Spirit is God and God is love, so when we live in the Spirit it is no longer about the law and what we can’t do but it is about love and what we can do to be Christ-like.  Our entire walk with the Lord is exciting and full of fruit which makes us better people and examples of what living in the Spirit will produce in us.  Too many people think that when we accept the Lord in our hearts our lives become boring and lame, but I say the opposite is true.  When we accept Jesus Christ the Spirit that lives in us makes us see the incredible benefits of a life in Christ that we are full of the things that make our lives complete.  Look at Galatians chapter 5 verse 16, which says, “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives.  Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.”  We all know what our sinful nature craves but look at what the Holy Spirit produces in verse 22, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives:  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  There is no law against these things!”

When we are living by these things given by the Holy Spirit our lives are fun and full of light which others can see and be attracted to.  We need to desire all that God has and put in the time to learn and understand all of what Jesus’ life, death and resurrection has done for us.  Amen  


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Romans 6

10/23/2013

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Romans 6:1-4 “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace?  Of course not!  Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?  Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined Him in His death?  For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism.  And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”

We need to see this and believe this.  What is exciting about accepting Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives is that we get to live new lives.  God doesn’t change our personalities and the traits that make us who we are but He changes us from the inside so we use our traits to show our new Christ-like lives.  We have been raised to life and we can feel the power of the Spirit in us that is guiding us to follow the way of life not death.

Verse 7 says, “For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.”  We have an awareness of what is right in God’s eyes and we seek wisdom so that we can continue to grow and sharpen the sword or the word of God in our lives.  The refining of our new lives along with who God made us helps us reach people for the Kingdom of God.  We must continue to grow and understand that the Spirit is alive in us and doesn’t want to control us but work through us.

What Paul says in verse 11 is very important as we let go and let God lead our lives.  “So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.”  When we feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit we know that He is convincing us to do what is right and good because He is God and He always has our best interest in mind.

It is so important for us to understand what we get to do as followers of Christ and our desire should be to do all we can to know all we can so people see the light that is in us.  Our change comes from us knowing the word and the Spirit in us guiding and directing us to all truth.  As we open our hearts and mature in our walk we need to see what Paul is sharing in Romans chapter 6 verses 15-16, “Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning?  Of course not!  Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey?  You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.”

Life is in Christ, and death is in our sin.  The Holy Spirit is in us to keep us seeing what is right and good in our lives.  As we train we grow and as we grow we follow and surrender and that surrender is a sign of maturity.  Amen


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Romans 2

10/19/2013

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Romans 2:4 “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you?  Does this mean nothing to you?  Can’t you see that His kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?”

As I read these three questions they made me think and thank God for whom He is – love.  If we can remember these questions when we are going through each day it would keep our focus off judgment and put it on caring for people.  Verse 7 really shows the heart that God desires us to have by saying; “He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers.”  It’s not about just doing good to do good, it’s seeking after all that God has taught and given us so the goodness comes out of our heart because we love Him.

When we think of how kind, tolerant, and patient He is we can see that we must have these qualities as well.  He does not sit in heaven angry and waiting for us to mess up; He keeps on showing kindness so we will open our heart to others as well.  I think we feel that the more good we do the more God loves us, when in fact He just loves everyone and is working through the Spirit to have us understand this love.  Verse 11 says, “For God does not show favoritism.”  We must keep seeking wisdom and applying what we learn and feel so we can start changing from the inside.

When we know the truth because we are seeking the truth our actions will be done because our heart is changing not because we know the law or what is right.  In Romans chapter 2 verses 28-29 Paul does a great job showing the importance of the change that makes us an example that is pleasing to God.  “For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision.  No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God.  And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law, rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit.  And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.”

We need to open our hearts and learn to see how amazing Jesus’ sacrifice was and continue to grow and show how His behavior is important to us.  Then our lives will show kindness and that kindness will help people see Christ in us; which is what God wants us to show.  Amen


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Acts 26

10/13/2013

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 This is Paul discussing his faith and what he has been doing on his journey after seeing Jesus and going on to Damascus.  Acts chapter 26 verse 14 says, “We all fell down and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?  It is useless for you to fight against my will.”

This is amazing to see because Jesus shares His heart for us and His determination to have the Good News shared all over the world.  We share because we feel peace and joy when we accept Jesus and seek to live like Him.  The Holy Spirit will tug on your heart and will always give you feelings that are right and holy.  When we surrender and follow Jesus there is peace and joy, even when the situations are difficult.  But when we take the lead and try working through them ourselves there is stress and a lack of peace in our lives.

After Paul shares his story with the King he says in verse 27, “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets?  I know you do – verse 28 says, “Agrippa interrupted him.  ‘Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?   Verse 29, “Paul replied, whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.”  Paul’s determination to do God’s will led him to be bold and not worry about anything that was happening to him. 

I love what Paul says in Galatians chapter 1 verse 10, “Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but God.  If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”  When we can understand that we shouldn’t be in charge that God has given us a leader that is perfect; then we can grow in our faith and realize we are Jesus’ servant and our purpose is to glorify the Father.  In Galatians chapter 2 verses 20-21 Paul puts it perfectly, “My old self has been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.  So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless.  For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.”  



We need to realize that God’s grace is amazing and that it is for all so we should work hard to understand who Jesus is and live our lives as His servant making a difference in this temporary place before we join Him for eternity.  Amen. 

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Acts 20

10/8/2013

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Acts 20:22-24 -After Paul is sharing with the people in the province of Asia he discusses that he needs to go to Jerusalem because that is what the Holy Spirit is showing him.  “And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem.  I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.  But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus – the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.”

This is amazing to me and something I want, the courage to do what the Spirit is leading me to do.  Paul shares “…I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.”  And this does not detour him from what needs to be done.  Could we say that we would do anything if we knew there was jail and suffering?  That is not very appealing but Paul wasn’t trying to live his life for himself he was living to do what he received from Jesus.  As we open our hearts and read God’s word we can be moved to do God’s will instead of our own.  It takes faith in what we are learning and who Jesus is, not the circumstances we are in.

Look how Paul is sharing with them to step up and don’t shrink back when he is gone.  Verse 28 says, “So guard yourselves and God’s people.  Feed and shepherd God’s flock – His church, purchased with His own blood – over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders.”  This was to the followers in Asia but we have the same job description as followers of Jesus today.  We must learn and seek wisdom and then we must share that knowledge and wisdom with others so people see Christ in us and our love helps them want to seek their own wisdom.

What is exciting about this is it’s not just for the un-churched people; everyone needs to keep growing and maturing in their walk so we can all listen to the Spirit without hesitation.  And our excitement is not what we have but what Jesus has done for us.  When our faith moves and we have no doubt, that is when we can say what Paul did in Acts chapter 20 verse 24, “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus – the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.”  Our transformation and willingness to grow is what feeds the Spirit in us and when we purposely feed that Spirit He gives us what we need to stand firm in our belief and make the sacrifices to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.  Amen
  

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Acts 18

10/4/2013

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Acts 18:24-26 “Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt.  He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy.  However, he knew only about John’s baptism.  When Priscilla and Aquilla heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately.”

This stood out to me because it shows no matter how well we know the word of God and what we are doing we can always learn more.  We can never be satisfied with what we know and the best way to keep growing is by asking God to reveal more to us.  This happens by us seeking wisdom and asking for it, then praying to the Father for change.

Apollo’s wasn’t upset that these two Gentiles where helping him, he was excited to learn more.  It said he knew the scriptures well but he understood that he could learn even more.  The word is active and sharper than a sword.  Look at Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12 which says, “For the word of God is alive and powerful.  It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.  It exposes our inner most thoughts and desires.” 

We are truly able to grow and develop when we open God’s word and read it with a purpose.  I’ve said this before but it is so perfect for our understanding.  Knowledge is good but if we don’t apply it, it is not beneficial.  God’s word is great, but if we don’t apply it we are no better off than before.  As Apollo’s continued to grow and learn more, he used his knowledge from others and what he already knew to help teach about Jesus, and that is how we as believer’s, people who want to be Christ followers, should be doing as well.  God gives us people along with His word to keep us maturing but we need to make sure we are asking God so we are not deceived by people that are persuasive.

One thing we need to notice about Apollo’s is that he has confidence, and that is because he has put the time in to study what needed to be studied, God’s word.  At the end of verse 27 it says, “…When he arrived there, he proved to be of great benefit to those who, by God’s grace, had believed.”  Our purpose in growing is not only for our own development it is for others to benefit from our passion and faith in the Lord.  Nothing we do as Christians should point back to us; it should all glorify the Father.  As we continue to ask God we should believe in what we are given and use it to shine like Christ.  It is maturing when we are able to learn from the word and then apply it even when we think we can do it better.  With this comes humility and an openness to learn which Apollo’s prove to have.

 I pray that I always have a desire to learn more and keep my eyes on the prize while I am actively living my life as an example to others.  Amen

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