#39 I am DEAD

"... Consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." Romans 6:11

Our old selves were crucified with Christ (6:6), so our bodies are no longer ruled by sin. We have been set free!! (6:7). Sin is no longer our master (6:14), we have died to sin.

All these point to the fact that through Christ's death, we have a chance at new life. We don't have to die, Jesus has already conquered death (6:9). We may fall asleep for a time, but once we have a new life through Him, we no longer face eternal death. We already died once, with Jesus, through baptism, that's the last death we have to face!! And what an easy one!! Through a positive and joyful moment (baptism) we forever rid ourselves of our old, sinful body, and come under grace. We may stumble and sin, but we are no longer slaves to sin, it no longer has a rule over our bodies, because we now have Jesus as our master. Amen!!

Lord, thank You for conquering death. Once we live with You, it no longer has the same meaning. We may be sad and miss Juliette, sad for her family, and that we can't see her now, but we know that she rests, and that she will wake up resurrection morning with a smile on her face and a skip in her step. We WILL see her again, and she will get to grow up in heaven.

#38 In a race of sin vs. grace, grace is winning!!

"The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:20,21

The law was created so we could identify sin, and when we could identify sin, it seemed there was more sin occurring. For example, if you and many of those around you enjoyed playing football, then all is well and good. But say you find out that where you live, playing football is against the law. Before you knew about the law, playing football was just something you did for fun. But once you found out about the law, all of a sudden you are breaking the law, you are sinning. So while you were sinning before, but just didn't know it, once you found out about the law, sinning increased.

BUT, according to Paul, where sin increased, grace increased all the more!! So once you found out about that sin, and repented of it, God forgave you of that sin, and grace increased. Grace is winning!! Whenever a sin occurs, and we repent, grace jumps ahead in the race!!

Lord, thank You that You have grace at the ready for us when we come to You repentful of our sins.

#37 There is a purpose to our sufferings

"...we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." Romans 6:3-5

While in the midst of suffering, there can seem to be no way out. We are immersed in what we are enduring, that is our only focus. But Paul says here that we can have glory in our sufferings. Through suffering, we can learn perseverance. While persevering, we develop character. And with the new character of God in us, we can have hope. And that hope is amazing, because God has poured out His love to us.

Juliette may have already fallen asleep, or she may be hanging on a little longer. Either way, it won't be much longer until she will rest in Jesus. While Matt is suffering through this, he can hang onto the hope that God has given to us, hope in His love.

Lord, thank You for giving us the Holy Spirit, and instilling in us Your hope. Please abide with Matt, and Jessica, and all of their family.

#36 Words that can have real meaning

So I still don't totally understand the words righteousness, justification, sanctification. Looked some of them up...

"Where justification is a legal declaration that is instantaneous, sanctification is a process. Where justification comes from outside of us, from God, sanctification comes from God within us by the work of the Holy Spirit in accordance with the Bible. In other words, we contribute to sanctification through our efforts. In contrast, we do not contribute to our justification through our efforts."

So when Paul says Abraham was credited as righteous (Romans 4:3), this was him being sanctified with God living in him. He was justified through Jesus dying on the cross, but he was sanctified through his faith, when he believed God would give him a son, even if it was seemingly impossible.

Lord, help me to understand these catch-phrases, words that may be used but don't really have a real meaning to me. They are very important words, words relating to what you did on the cross, and what you are doing even now in my heart. So thank you for making me justified, continue to work in me to sanctify me.

#35 God's gift is free

"...and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:24

We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory (Romans 3:23), so therefore, we all deserve death. But we can be justified-declared innocent or guiltless, through God's free gift through the death of Jesus Christ. We are not innocent, we all deserve death, and we cannot get rid of this sentence on our own. We can't do anything, we've been sentenced for life in prison with no bail. But Jesus steps in for us, and takes our sentence. We are definitely guilty, we deserve the sentence, but Jesus, who is innocent and guiltless, steps in to take our place. This is the only way we can be justified--by Jesus stepping in for us.

Lord, thank You for taking my place. Thank You for stepping in to serve my sentence, to give me a chance at life. I didn't and don't deserve it, but thank You anyway.

#34 We're not being tested by the law

"Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." Romans 3:20

Our life is not a big test, where God will go through what we've done, and how we've acted, and if we've followed every law, and not stumbled, we will "get in" to heaven. How sad of an existence is that? Unfortunately, many Christians believe this, that God is some revengeful God, out to catch us doing wrong, slipping up on one little thing. Paul says that NO ONE will be declared righteous through the law. No matter how hard we've tried to do right, that will NOT make us righteous. The law is there to help us become conscious of sin. It's there so we can identify sin. What is sin? Transgression of the law. So how would we know what sin is, if we didn't have the law? It's not some heavy burden put on us, it's something to help us. Why do we have laws in the world? To protect us. That's what God's law does too--protects us.

Lord, thank you for your law. Thank you that it's not some heavy burden you put on our shoulders, but instead, something to protect us.

#33 I'm not the judge

"...for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself..." (Romans 2:1). God doesn't ask me to be the judge of other people. In fact, he discourages it. If I judge others by some lofty standard, I am going to be judged by that same standard. And in many cases, that thing that the person is doing that I think is terrible, I may be doing it myself!! How, then, do I have any basis for judging them? I don't!!I am a sinner just like every other person. The only difference may be my relationship with Jesus. THAT is what I need to concentrate on. THAT is what my focus needs to be on, not on what the other person is doing.

Lord, please help me to not be the judge of others. I may take on that roll at times, but I really don't want that position. It's all yours. Please remind me of that fact and keep my focus on you and not on what other people are doing.

#32 The Gospel is not something to be ashamed of

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes..." (Romans 1:16).

In the words of Paul, the gospel is not something to be ashamed of. It is not something to hide, something that you don't want to talk about in case you might offend something. If someone finds out I'm a Christian, "one of those people", it is not something to make excuses for. It is something to be proud of, to shout from the rooftops. This world is full of sin, Romans 1:29-31 is a good list of the awfulness of human nature. But through Christ, we can become something else, something much better. I need to wear the gospel as a badge of honor. "Yes, I am a Christian, and Jesus Christ is my personal savior. Would you like to learn more about Him? Let me tell you about my Friend..."

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#31 The Bible

While it hasn't been easy, and I've really struggled in some cases, I finally did it... I read the whole bible. The Life Journal, while somewhat uninspiring towards the end, has helped me to do it. I now need to find some other type of study, in order to remain in the bible and seek to know Jesus better every day.

"Dear Lord, help me to yearn for your word. Help me to desire to read it every day. Put a new light to it, make it exciting and life changing. Thank you, amen. "

#30 Not having to have all the answers

Reading Job has taught me that I don't have to have all the answers. Job was complaining about all the things that were happening to him, and pondering the question "why do bad things happen to good people" like so many of us do. Then God speaks through a storm and proves to Job that HE is in control, everything that has happened on this earth HE created, HE formed, HE is in charge of. Job finally responds with "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." (Job 42:3). Some things we aren't meant to understand, aren't meant to know. We don't have to have all the answers. We can just rest in the knowledge that God does.