Loving Jesus Style

Scripture: Romans 8:16-17 (ESV) 16  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17  and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Devotion: What does it mean to be an heir of God and a co-heir with Christ? It means that we have a glorious inheritance that awaits us in heaven. It means that we are part of God’s family and that we share in his love, his grace, his power, and his glory. It means we have a hope that surpasses anything this world can offer. And most importantly, it means that we are not alone. We have the Spirit of God living in us, confirming our identity as God's children and our destiny as co-heirs with Christ. But being an heir of God and a co-heir with Christ also means we share in his sufferings. We will face trials, persecutions, hardships, and temptations in this life. We will have to deny ourselves, take up our c...

Scripture: Romans 11:28-32 (NLT) 28  Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 29  For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. 30  Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. 31  Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. 32  For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone. Devotion: In this passage, Paul reveals a profound truth about God's plan for Israel and the Gentiles. It's not just a historical account, but a living reality that directly impacts our lives today. He shows us how God's use of their disobedience and His mercy are not a distant concept, but a present-day truth we can experience. He reassures us that...

  Scripture: Romans 10.9 (ESV) if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Devotion:             These words Paul addressed to the church in Rome are a precious confession of the simplicity of our salvation in Jesus Christ. Sometimes, we allow the Christian faith to become complicated. We are, despite our protestations to the contrary, much like the Pharisees of Jesus Day. We like to multiply the things necessary for salvation without Biblical warrant. It is good for us to remember the story of the crucifixion of Jesus. A thief hanging on the cross next to Jesus asks Jesus to remember him when Jesus comes into His kingdom. Jesus responds that the thief will be with Him in paradise that very day.             However, in some churches today, membership standards are so low that eve...

Scripture: Romans 12:16-19a (ESV) 16  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17  Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18  If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, Devotion:             Peace, what is it really? There are different definitions depending on the situation in which the word is being used. Peace can mean, in a military sense, the ceasing of combat. Peace, in a domestic sense, can mean something different. God’s peace is the reconciliation between God and humanity achieved through the cross by Jesus on our behalf. Humankind is so broken that we even resist this reconciliation and continue to fight among ourselves.          ...

Scripture; Romans 7:21-25 (ESV) 21  So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22  For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23  but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24  Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. Devotion:             Today’s scripture finds the Apostle Paul lamenting over the effects of sin in his life. Paul’s sentiments are easily understood by Christians living today. Its truths are timeless. Who among the readers of this devotion has not at some time in their life come across a situation where they knew what God would want them to do but went ahead and disobeyed...

Scripture: Romans 4:18-21 (ESV) 18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse. 21  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Devotion:             Today, we consider the wrath of God. In our churches today, you will not hear this topic preached from our pulpits very often if at all. This is due in part to the prevailing spirit of this age, which believes God has no justification for being fill...

Scripture: Romans 8:35-39 (ESV) 35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  36  As it is written,                         For your sake, we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37  No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  38  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,  39  nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Devotion:             Paul began this chapter with the good news that “there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” Paul e...

Scripture: Romans 8:31-34 (ESV) 31  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32  He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33  Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34  Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Devotion:             Today’s passage revolves around God, through Jesus, forgiving all our sins. First, it appeals to God’s unequaled mercy and love for His children. This world, like its ruler Satan (which means accuser), tries to keep Christians beaten down by reminding us constantly of our sins and failures so that we never experience the total freedom and joy that comes from being part of Christ’s family of faith. Nothing is so harmful...

  Scripture: Romans 8:28-30 (ESV) 28  And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30  And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. Devotion:             The passage we consider today is familiar to many Bible-reading Christians. We take it as a beautiful promise that God has given His people. And so, it is. However, it is deeper and more meaningful than we even suspect when giving it the glance that we give familiar Bible passages. I propose that this tiny passage stuck away in a far corner of an obscure letter in the Bible may be a radical proclamation of the freedom we inherit when...

  Scripture: Romans 8;22-27 (ESV) 22  For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23  And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24  For in this hope we were saved. Now, hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26  Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27, And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Devotion:             Today’s scripture passage may seem out of place in this book of Romans, e...

  Scripture: Romans 8:18-21 (ESV) 18  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19  For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21  that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Devotion:             Paul is writing here to encourage the Roman believers and give them hope. We need this same hope in our lives today. The good news is that the hope Paul offers the original hearers of this word and the hope we need in the present is fulfilled in these words. The present sufferings we suffer, and the glory Jesus came to bring are for God’s people today. The Son of God has been revealed through the...

  Scripture: Romans 8:12-17 (ESV) 12  So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 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. 14  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17  and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Devotion:             What do you think of when you hear the word heir? All of us are heirs of something. While we may not inherit millions from a parent or relative, we have received somethin...

  Scripture: Romans 8:3-4 (ESV) 3  For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4  in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit Devotion:             We often think of the laws of God as having tremendous strength, and they do! However, human fleshly desires keep the law from accomplishing what God gave us the law for. Hence, there is a need for God to send His Son Jesus Christ into the world. Because the flesh was weak, it was necessary for Jesus to come to remedy what was lacking in the law.             Jesus' appearance on earth put to death the ill effects of the weakness of the flesh but gave us a new life we live in the Spirit. Jesus ...

  Scripture: Romans 8:1-2 (ESV) There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Devotion:             Today’s scripture announces freedom for the believer in Christ Jesus. For thousands of years, the Jewish people had labored under the yoke of the Mosaic law. This law burdened the people with its demands of offerings and sacrifices for sins. Not only did they have to sacrifice repeatedly because of the ineffective nature of their offerings to take away their guilt and shame. They had to tithe to support the priesthood.             Paul announces that in Christ is the end of the old covenant system and its replacement with the new covenant system. One would think that the Jewish people would be grateful, but they were so used to the ol...