#52 My favorite jelly beans are only sold once a year

I have a slight addiction to jelly beans. I will admit it now. I can have ice cream in the house and only eat my little half-cup scoop, but if I have a bag of jelly beans open in front of me, I can't be stopped. I don't know what it is about them, the texture, the shiny colors, the sweet flavors... I just can't have enough. My all-time favorite kinds only come out once a year for Easter. Starburst makes a tropical flavored bag of jelly beans, and Lifesavers makes a pastel colored bag. Those two are my Nemesis. I've only gone through a bag of each this year, but I am feeling really weak and want to drive up to Walgreens and get some more... must resist temptation...

#51 God can help create change

In our small group bible study, we are going through a study called "The Genesis Process". It is a study based on addictions and coping behaviors we use that are harmful to us and others that take the place of really dealing with an issue. The coping behavior I've chosen to work on is frustration. We've only gone through two weeks of the study, but just today I noticed my reaction to a situation was different than what it would normally have been. I've been trying to develop ways to combat this behavior (like memorizing a bible verse to quote during times of weakness), but haven't followed through with it yet. However, I think it is just the fact of being aware, and beginning to pray to God to heal me of this harmful behavior, that is changing things. I'm excited to see what else He can do in my life!!

#50 Roomba vacuum cleaner

I'm thankful that I can sit here on the computer while my nifty little robot cleans all my floors. Thanks to Alyssa for sharing her cool toy with me :)

#49 You can be grafted and re-grafted

"And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again." Romans 11:23

Paul is talking about how Israel started out as the hold olive tree. However, because of their unbelief, the branches, or certain people, were cut off the tree. In their place, new believers, or Gentiles, were grafted onto the tree. They don't support the tree, the tree supports them. If some of the old branches, or old believers, were to come back to belief and repent, they would be re-grafted. And they would grow and cultivate even quicker, since they were part of the natural tree to begin with.

This parable provides hope for all people. If you are new to the faith, God can simply graft you onto His tree, and you will grow and thrive. If for some reason you were with God, but then have fallen away, it's even easier to come back to God, even if it can seem harder. Some believers who have fallen away may feel that they don't deserve to come back; they knew God, then denied Him, so they have no right to be taken back. But God says that those type of people, as long as they change their belief, will come back to Him readily. Now there's no excuse!!

Lord, thank You for promising a way for all types of believers. Thank You that You are the tree that we can gain sustenance from, and that can help us grow and thrive. Help me to stay connected to Your tree, and not be broken off. I want to produce fruit for You.

#48 Knowing Christ is all it takes

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" Romans 10:13

Knowing Christ is what it all boils down to. The Jews thought they were saved through knowing and obeying the law. But "Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes" (10:4). So by ignoring and denying Christ, they missed out on the big picture. By following the law, they are living by the law. By following Christ, we can live through Christ. The law is powerful and ordained by God, but I would much rather follow a living Jesus than a set of rules. Through following Jesus those rules should fall in place, but it's Jesus who is leading my life, not a set of rules. In a game of "follow the leader", Jesus is at the head of my line, not rulebook. What would be better, a set of rules for how to play the game, or a coach to teach you them? Or how about a textbook or a teacher to teach you what you need to know to pass the class? I would much rather have the real thing, the real person guiding me.

Lord, I want You to be at the head of my life. I know the Bible is not "just a book", you can use it to speak to me, but I don't want it to just be a book. I've been discouraged lately in my daily devotions and I don't like it. I want to be able to communicate to You through Your word. I will finish off Romans, then start up with the Life Journal in January with the Message Bible. I was really inspired with that reading plan, and maybe a new version will put a new spin on things for me. Thank You for giving me the Bible, and a desire to read, even if sometimes it doesn't get done. Help me to reach for the Bible first, instead of my book or the internet. Help me to make time, and help it to not just be something I fit in. I want to go to that first, commune with You, and make that my focus.

#47 God's got it figured out

"But who are you, a mere human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it 'Why did you make me like this?'" Romans 9:20

This section of Romans talks a lot about how God predestines those who are going to love Him, and those who are going to hate Him. "Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden." (18). This doesn't really seem fair. I thought we were supposed to have free choice to decide to follow God? But God says that He knows what's going on, He's got it all worked out, He's the one that made us. So maybe it is like we still have the choice, but God, since He's all-knowing, knows what we will eventually choose, but did He create us that way? Hmmm... maybe tomorrow's reading will have more insight.

Lord, I don't understand it all, but I know You do. Thank You for having it all figured out.

#46 Jews can find Jesus

"...Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised!" Romans 9:5

Reading about WW2 has opened my eyes to how much the Jews were hated, how they were blamed for Christ's death, how they were singled out. Jews have a unique heritage, Jesus came through them!! But even with them following all the laws, they still need to come to know Christ. They need to be shown how Jesus fills the prophesies of all the old testament prophets, how the savior they were looking for already came. Their heritage is awesome, and they should preserve that, but they need to know Jesus. Their image of Jesus most often is through "Christians" who throw His name around and use it for asserting their own purposes. But that's not how it's supposed to be. Jesus was one of them.

Lord, I don't personally know any Jewish people, but it amazes me to hear stories of Jews coming to know Jesus. Please help them to come to know You, before the end, through any way possible.

#45 Nothing can touch us!!

"...If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

Who can be against us? NO ONE, NOTHING!! If God lives in us, if we are co-heirs with Christ, if we are adopted into God's family, then we are "more than conquerors" (37) through Him. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (38,39). So while we may be touched by all the things listed, they can never separate us. Though we may suffer through and because of some of these things, God still loves us. Wow, you can't get much better than that.

Thank YOU Lord for promising to never be separated from me. Thank You for loving me so much. Help me to remember Your love and Your promise as I go through some of those things. Help me to keep my focus on You.

#44 What is now < what is to come

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18

Many of us may suffer now, and may suffer in the future. But once we have a new body, and a new life in Christ Jesus, that's not even going to matter. That will be like a speck of dust in the wide ocean. We won't even remember it, it will be so insignificant. It may be all that we can think and dwell on at the moment, but the glory we will receive is infinitely better.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him..." Romans 8:28

God can also use bad situations to create good. While our earthly bodies ache, and catastrophes arise, that just might be what it takes in order to come to God. If we suffer some here, but come to know the eternal life in Jesus, it was all worth it.

Lord, help me to not question when things don't go well. If you are using that situation to bring me closer to You, or to maybe even bring someone else to You, help me to see it and realize it, and act according to Your purpose.

#43 We have life after death

"But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness." Romans 8:10

Our bodies are riddled with sin... acne, scars, wrinkles, arthritis, cancer, etc. They are slowly dieing, because of this sin. But even though our bodies may die, we can know that we have eternal life if the Spirit lives in us. We are "co-heirs" with Jesus, how cool is that?

Lord, thank You that we have another option than just staying in these sinful bodies. I can't wait to be changed in the blink of an eye, or resurrected to a new body, if I may fall asleep before You return. I can't wait to see Juliette again in her new body again.

#42 God will rescue me from my sinful nature

"What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Romans 7:24,25

"I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." Romans 7:18. Many of us may have the desire to be a good person, to do good things, but without Jesus living in us, we are unable to. We may do outwardly good things, donate to the poor, be nice to people.. but inwardly we may still hate, covet, and be an awful person. And God sees the inside. And it's usually the inside that tears people up. For example, depression can become a problem, when people try to do good, but keep feeling awful on the inside. On the outside they may look like everything is fine, but on the inside they have a huge hole where God should be. And it can only be filled with God.

But the good news, is even with how wretched of a person we may be, God can and WILL deliver us through Jesus Christ!! He gives us an out to that awful way to live.

Lord, thank You that You can fill that void in my life, that through You I can no longer just desire to do good, but can LIVE through You.

#41 Bound to God, not the law

"But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." Romans 7:6

When we were bound to the law, we served because we had to, because that is what the law said. For example, say you had to become partners in a school project with someone. You didn't really like them, but you had to, in order to complete the project. You were required to get along, so you could work together. But then, after the project was completed, you were no longer required to get along, but suddenly you became good friends. You were no longer required to get along, so then you got along because you liked each other.

This might seem like kind of a silly analogy, but it just goes to show that when you are required to do something, our sinful human nature fights it. When you have to do something, you don't really want to. But if it is no longer a law, then you are under the new code, you serve according to love, not requirement. So when we die to the law that binds us, we are released from the hardships of that law too, and can serve God through the Spirit. Serving God and following his laws is no longer a burden, but it can become a delight.

Lord, this passage might have been somewhat confusing, but You have showed me that serving You can become a delight when it is no longer a burden.

#40 Eternal life is a gift

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

When we are slaves to sin, we earn death. All our impurities and unrighteous acts are like working at a job of sin, where, when we retire, instead of a pension, we earn death. However, eternal life is a gift. It is not something that can be earned. Even if we changed our acts to those of a righteous and pure nature, we still would retire with a pension of death. But that is what Jesus did--He stepped in and took our pension, what we have earned throughout our lifetime, and given us the gift of eternal life. Praise God!!

Lord, thank You for giving me the gift of eternal life. I don't deserve it, and I definitely haven't earned it, but You've given it to me anyway. Thank You for that.

#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.