Romans Road Week 1 Father, as we start down the Romans Road (from the middle), come and guide my heart, mind, and fingers. Help our hearts to be ready to receive your truth, now. Jesus, help us to grasp what it means to be in you so that we can resist sin, guilt, and shame because we can focus elsewhere, such as on Jesus’ face. Holy Spirit, we submit afresh to You today. Help us to live radically empty, so that you can fill us more fully. In Jesus’ name, Amen On Monday, we introduced our new series, which will run until well after Christmas, except for a brief excursus into Isaiah as we observe Advent and Christmas. The series is called Romans Road... Some of you may have just shuddered at that reference. I chose to start with chapter 8 because I love it. The passage we covered briefly stated that we cannot be condemned by anyone, if we are in Christ. Take that to the bank today. Do not allow the enemy to accuse you of anything, silence him by reminding him that it is all under the Blood of Jesus. You are free from guilt and sin, now. I should specify that that applies if and when you confess and repent, not just carte blanche for anyone any old time. On Wednesday, we continued the thought from Monday’s passage in the next few verses. You are free from domination by sin. Monday, we learned that there is 0 condemnation for any who are in Christ. He is and was perfect, so no condemnation can stick to him. You could say he’s like Teflon Don that way, lol. If that is the case, and we are in Him, and He lives in and through us, then there is now no condemnation for us, either. This grants us access to the Holy Spirit, who guides us into all truth. Are you motivated to pursue spiritual realities? Are you still caught up only in what you think will benefit you here and now? If you want life and peace, seek the ways of the Holy Spirit, not the ways of the world and the flesh. Be careful to not make that distinction too sharply between flesh and spirit... We are mostly talking about moral and ethical living out of response to the love of God, vs living for yourself. Which type of life would you rather lead? A vapid, fun-for-now, pay-the-price-later kind of life, or a more prudent one shaped around the ways in which God designed us to live? On Friday, I reflected more on what we talked about on Wednesday. Living in the Spirit, though, is more than simply adhering to some ethical code, though. There is so much life when we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us rather than insisting on our way all of the time. As I said the other day, the mind-set bent toward the Spirit is about living oriented towards love and others, along with growing closer to God. The other option is more or less, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” Do whatever feels good, man... That does not end well, most of the time. Let the Spirit guide and move you, you may not understand it in the moment, but looking back, it will make more sense. You will have better relationships by the end of it, and that matters more than most things do. So, what did we learn as we started this trip down the Romans Road (even though we started in the middle of the letter)? Those who are in Christ need never be subject to the power of sin, guilt, or shame ever again. The life guided by the Holy Spirit will end better than the selfish option that the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh would have us lead. Do you want to keep fighting God? If the answer is no, then surrender. Let the Holy Spirit lead you into all Truth, whether in relation to morals and ethics (holiness), or any other arena of life. #romansroad #romans8 #Bible #Paul #memesplanation #spiritualityntech #techfreedom

Romans 8:4-6 So now every righteous requirement of the law can be fulfilled through the Anointed One living his life in us. And we are free to live, not according to our flesh, but by the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit! Those who are motivated by the flesh only pursue what benefits themselves. But those who live by the impulses of the Holy Spirit are motivated to pursue spiritual realities. For the sense and reason of the flesh is death, but the mind-set controlled by the Spirit finds life and peace. You are free from domination by sin. Yesterday, we learned that there is 0 condemnation for any who are in Christ. He lives in us and through us. This grants us access to the Holy Spirit, who guides us into all truth. Are you motivated to pursue spiritual realities? Are you still caught up only in what you think will benefit you here and now? If you want life and peace, seek the ways of the Holy Spirit, not the ways of the world and the flesh. Be careful to not make that distinction too sharply between flesh and spirit... We are mostly talking about moral and ethical living out of response to the love of God, vs living for yourself.

Romans 8:7-9 In fact, the mind-set focused on the flesh fights God’s plan and refuses to submit to his direction, because it cannot! For no matter how hard they try, God finds no pleasure with those who are controlled by the flesh. But when the Spirit of Christ empowers your life, you are not dominated by the flesh but by the Spirit. And if you are not joined to the Spirit of the Anointed One, you are not of him. As I said the other day, the mind-set bent toward the Spirit is about living oriented towards love and others, along with growing closer to God. The other option is more or less, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” Do whatever feels good, man... That does not end well, most of the time. Let the Spirit guide and move you, you may not understand it in the moment, but looking back, it will make more sense. You will have better relationships by the end of it, and that matters more than most things do.

Romans Road 2 Papa, Thank you that we can call you “Papa”. Thank you that you loved us enough to send Jesus to make a way for us to be with you, to be in full communion with you. Jesus, thank you that you showed us the way, and opened the way for us to be sons and daughters of God. Holy Spirit, help us to hear you more clearly guiding us and reminding us that we are indeed the beloved children of God. In Jesus’ name, Amen This week we covered about 7 verses in Romans 8. Sin kills, Christ brings life and restoration. Flesh is an ally of sin, and cannot submit to God. We must learn to live loved, and become mature children of God, moved about by the impulses of the Holy Spirit, fully aware and accepting of the truth that we have been adopted by Him. Romans 8:10-16 Now Christ lives his life in you! And even though your body may be dead because of the effects of sin, his life-giving Spirit imparts life to you because you are fully accepted by God. Yes, God raised Jesus to life! And since God’s Spirit of Resurrection lives in you, he will also raise your dying body to life by the same Spirit that breathes life into you! So then, beloved ones, the flesh has no claims on us at all, and we have no further obligation to live in obedience to it. For when you live controlled by the flesh, you are about to die. But if the life of the Spirit puts to death the corrupt ways of the flesh, we then taste his abundant life. The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit. And you did not receive the “spirit of religious duty,” leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the “Spirit of full acceptance,” enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!” For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!” First, we talked about Romans 8:10-11. We learned how when we are in Christ, we are no longer dead to Christ and alive in sin. Yet, now, we are alive in Christ, and are being brought to life in Him.Not only in terms of spiritual life, but even our physical bodies can be restored to life and healed from the effects of our previous life. This is through the presence of the Holy Spirit, who also makes us fully acceptable to and accepted by God. You are fully accepted by God. Let that sink in. You are fully accepted by God. This acceptance brings healing, even to your natural body. It can begin to undo the consequences of your old sin patterns and family baggage and wounds. Let it. In verses 12-13, we saw how because we are in Christ, that old nature which is purely focused on what feels good in the moment, no longer has to control us. You no longer have to follow its dictates, and it is a dictator. Abundant life is yours when you choose to go where the way of the Spirit leads you. When you develop a relationship with the person of the Holy Spirit, He will help, guide, and protect you, if you listen to Him. That is Wisdom, y’all. What is this “way of the Spirit”? The way of the Spirit means living with a focus on how we can bless God and others. It is living in keeping with Torah, which, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can do. In verses 14-16, we saw how when you are fully accepted by God, you are His beloved child, in Christ. If you want to progress in getting closer to our Father, then you must empty yourself of your drive and desires and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you fully. That is far easier said than done. Let’s get on the path, or take another step on the path toward maturity today. Let’s hear the Spirit confirm in us that we are indeed beloved children of God. What did we learn this week? That we are the beloved children of God, fully accepted by the Father, because of the work of the Son, through the power of the Holy Spirit. We hopefully had that reality driven home afresh, that sin, guilt, and shame need have no sway over us now. We have healing and restoration from the inside out. Can you believe all that? That is the abundance of life that the cross and empty tomb promise us who live in keeping with Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit. You are a beloved child of God. Let that truth shape your life.

Romans 8:10-11 Now Christ lives his life in you! And even though your body may be dead because of the effects of sin, his life-giving Spirit imparts life to you because you are fully accepted by God. Yes, God raised Jesus to life! And since God’s Spirit of Resurrection lives in you, he will also raise your dying body to life by the same Spirit that breathes life into you! In Christ, you are no longer dead to and in sin. Your body is revitalized by the Holy Spirit in you, because you are in Christ. That makes you fully accepted by God. Let that sink in. You are fully accepted by God. This acceptance brings healing, even to your natural body. It can begin to undo the consequences of your old sin patterns and family baggage and wounds. Let it.

Romans 8:12-13 So then, beloved ones, the flesh has no claims on us at all, and we have no further obligation to live in obedience to it. For when you live controlled by the flesh, you are about to die. But if the life of the Spirit puts to death the corrupt ways of the flesh, we then taste his abundant life. Because we are in Christ, that old nature which is purely focused on what feels good in the moment, no longer has to control us. You no longer have to follow its dictates, and it is a dictator. Abundant life is yours when you choose to go where the way of the Spirit leads you. When you develop a relationship with the person of the Holy Spirit, He will help, guide, and protect you, if you listen to Him. That is Wisdom, y’all.

Papa, Thank you that you are so good. Thank you that you know what is best for us, and that you give us your glory, but simply ask for loving obedience in return. Holy Spirit, help us to trust the Father to do what He says He will do. Help us to die to ourselves today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen Romans 8:17-23 And since we are his true children, we qualify to share all his treasures, for indeed, we are heirs of God himself. And since we are joined to Christ, we also inherit all that he is and all that he has. We will experience being co-glorified with him provided that we accept his sufferings as our own. I am convinced that any suffering we endure is less than nothing compared to the magnitude of glory that is about to be unveiled within us. The entire universe is standing on tiptoe, yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters! For against its will the universe itself has had to endure the empty futility resulting from the consequences of human sin. But now, with eager expectation, all creation longs for freedom from its slavery to decay and to experience with us the wonderful freedom coming to God’s children. To this day we are aware of the universal agony and groaning of creation, as if it were in the contractions of labor for childbirth. And it’s not just creation. We who have already experienced the firstfruits of the Spirit also inwardly groan as we passionately long to experience our full status as God’s sons and daughters—including our physical bodies being transformed. In our brief thoughts about vs 17, we learned more about how as beloved children, we get access to all that God has. Even at that, though, there is something in the way on that path. We must accept the suffering of Jesus. To me this means that the suffering is that of giving up our ways, desires, and ambitions in order to obey God. We must allow the Lord to refill and rebuild us. Once He does, then we must obey Him. On the other side of that, we will receive all His treasures. It can be hard to trust that God will follow through for us, I know this because I know too well how broken fathers can be. However, we have to learn to trust Him if we want all he has. Next, in verses 18-21, we asked ourselves a question: Do you want to see the glorious revelation of the fully mature children of God? Is there a part of you that wants to see what this really means on a personal level? Let’s see what this glory is, what will happen to and in those of us who take this journey and go through this process of refinement through suffering as Jesus did. Jesus submitted Himself fully to the Father’s will, and now He has been glorified, raised up to the Father’s right hand. He has shown us the way to join Him. All of creation, including our own souls, have been standing on tiptoe to see what will come to bring freedom from the fallout of human sin. It is well worth becoming what Jesus paved the way for us to be. This suffering could be physical, but this is not a call to some sort of asceticism, as I said earlier, it is really about dying to ourselves. Finally, we talked briefly about vs 22-23. Quite the vivid image if you are a parent or have ever witnessed a birth in person. The crazy part is that this is still true. The universe has been in labor to deliver the children of God for 2,000 years. Physical transformation to match the interior and spiritual side of things which we are already beginning to sense and experience. What does that mean? How might we be transformed? This, plus more... https://shows.acast.com/spirituality-tech

Romans Road 4 Papa, Thank you that we have this hope. This hope that we will be made one with You as we walk out submission to Your will and ways, just as Jesus did when He was walking the dusty roads and paths of the Middle East, 2,000 years ago. Help us to be the generation that sees that hope fulfilled because we shed the religious trappings of the past and clung to the Truth of our relationship with You. Jesus, help us to walk as You did. Holy Spirit, guide us and help us to grow in trust with the Father, that we might get to the point where we become mature children of God. In Jesus’ name, Amen Romans 8:24-29 For this is the hope of our salvation. But hope means that we must trust and wait for what is still unseen. For why would we need to hope for something we already have? So because our hope is set on what is yet to be seen, we patiently keep on waiting for its fulfillment. And in a similar way, the Holy Spirit takes hold of us in our human frailty to empower us in our weakness. For example, at times we don’t even know how to pray, or know the best things to ask for. But the Holy Spirit rises up within us to super-intercede on our behalf, pleading to God with emotional sighs too deep for words. God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our longings, yet he also understands the desires of the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, his holy ones, in perfect harmony with God’s plan and our destiny. So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose. For he knew all about us before we were born and he destined us from the beginning to share the likeness of his Son. This means the Son is the oldest among a vast family of brothers and sisters who will become just like him. This week, this was the section of Romans 8 we discussed. Becoming the fully realized children of God, resplendent in His Glory is the hope which Paul is referring to here. When we have achieved the fullness of that hope, then we will be changed. We will have been fully saved. We will be perfect image-bearers of Jesus Christ. We will be so identified with Him that people will have trouble seeing where we start and He ends, and vice-versa. Even as humans, we often don’t have the words to pray, so the Holy Spirit, knowing that, our situations, and God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will, will intercede with and for us through sighs and groans too deep for words. he takes our requests, our feelings, and desires to the Father for us, and harmonizes them with the Father’s will for us. Let that sink in for just a moment. Because of that, we can cling to the fact that God is always working all aspects of our lives together for the best in keeping with His plans for us. Because He knows all things, He knew which of us would choose to be with Him by becoming like Jesus, taking on His very way of life, His very image. This makes Jesus our older brother, our savior, and our exemplar. That is huge. Far bigger than I have time to unpack in this brief devotion. That is what it means to be a child of God, to live as Jesus showed us to live, in loving abandon to the will of the Father. It is not simply asking God to “bless our mess”, but submitting ourselves and our mess to Him, and letting Him guide us through sorting the mess out.

Romans Road 5 Papa, Thank you that You and all of Heaven are pulling for those of us who you knew would choose to become one with You once again. Thank you that You do not accuse us. Thank You that You have chosen to cover our sins with the blood of Jesus. Jesus, thank You that You shed Your blood for us. Thank You that You constantly intercede on our behalf, along with the Holy Spirit. Help us to learn to ask for the help we need and to recognize when it comes. In Jesus’ name, Amen Romans 8:30-34 Having determined our destiny ahead of time, he called us to himself and transferred his perfect righteousness to everyone he called. And those who possess his perfect righteousness he co-glorified with his Son! So, what does all this mean? If God has determined to stand with us, tell me, who then could ever stand against us? For God has proved his love by giving us his greatest treasure, the gift of his Son. And since God freely offered him up as the sacrifice for us all, he certainly won’t withhold from us anything else he has to give. Who then would dare to accuse those whom God has chosen in love to be his? God himself is the judge who has issued his final verdict over them—“Not guilty!” Who then is left to condemn us? Certainly not Jesus, the Anointed One! For he gave his life for us, and even more than that, he has conquered death and is now risen, exalted, and enthroned by God at his right hand. So how could he possibly condemn us since he is continually praying for our triumph? Ok, so what does that mean? We are righteous because God called us righteous in Jesus, and He is in the process of producing righteousness in us, now. God, and all of heaven is for us. There is no one who currently belongs in heaven to accuse us of being unworthy or sinful. The enemy exists, don’t miss that point, but He is no match for Jesus (as we saw on the cross and in the empty tomb). God is so far in our corner that He gave us Jesus. Let that sink in, God’s own son came and gave Himself for us. If God didn’t hold Jesus back in order to bring us into alignment with His original design for us, then how could we think that He might hold anything else back from us that we need? That is futile thinking, straight from the enemy, who is the accuser. Do not heed it. He isn’t worth listening to. Why does he seek to waylay us? It is the job that fell to him, since he hates God and we bear His image, so the enemy does his best to hurt God the only way he can, by preventing His children and image bearers from reuniting with Him. What do you think about that? Tell me that isn’t wild. Does the Father leave us without help? No, or as Paul would say “me genita” or “hell no”. We have all of Heaven on our side and in our corner. We simply need to learn how to ask for help, then receive it.

Romans Road 6 Papa, Thank you that nothing can separate us from You. Thank you that your love is ALL-powerful. Thank you that no created thing, outside of us, can remove us from your love. Jesus, thank you that you made it possible for us to experience and live in this love. Help us to never peel ourselves away for any reason. In Your name, Amen. Romans 8:35-39 Who could ever divorce us from the endless love of God’s Anointed One? Absolutely no one! For nothing in the universe has the power to diminish his love toward us. Troubles, pressures, and problems are unable to come between us and heaven’s love. What about persecutions, deprivations, dangers, and death threats? No, for they are all impotent to hinder omnipotent love, even though it is written: All day long we face death threats for your sake, God. We are considered to be nothing more than sheep to be slaughtered! Yet even in the midst of all these things, we triumph over them all, for God has made us to be more than conquerors, and his demonstrated love is our glorious victory over everything! So now I live with the confidence that there is nothing in the universe with the power to separate us from God’s love. I’m convinced that his love will triumph over death, life’s troubles, fallen angels, or dark rulers in the heavens. There is nothing in our present or future circumstances that can weaken his love. There is no power above us or beneath us—no power that could ever be found in the universe that can distance us from God’s passionate love, which is lavished upon us through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One! Soak in this scripture today. Let it seep into and infuse your very bones with liquid love from God. It does not matter what you face in this life, once you are in Christ, there is NOTHING outside of you which can remove or separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Absolutely nothing. This passage has been latched onto by many who forget the rest of the chapter, so let me remind you that there are conditions on experiencing these things: we must be 100% surrendered to the Way of the Spirit. I’m not saying that God’s love is withheld from any of us who He knew would desire Him, even in the split seconds before death. What I am saying is that we can separate ourselves, if we make habits of walking in other ways, of living as we might if we hadn’t ever come to the Lord. I do not want to get into the once saved, always saved argument, here. All I wish to say about that is, if we choose to walk away from God after coming to Him, it is our choice. No thing outside of you can force you to make that decision, though. No thing can wedge itself between you and God, unless you allow it to do so. Shame has no place in the presence of perfect love. Fear is banished. If we bring it in, and choose to listen to it over the voice of God, then that is our choice. It did not separate us, we removed ourselves from that place of perfect love and peace. We can choose wrongly, and I have seen some do that. There was a guy who was a youth leader when I was in high school who admittedly had issues (who doesn’t, though, right?) and within a year of when I graduated from high school, left the church and became a militant atheist. He knows the truth, has (probably) experienced the love of God, and yet allowed the circumstances of his life, which were rough, even to the point of being brutal, and allowed his feelings about those things to separate him from God. Those things did not do it, his reaction to them did. That is an old story. A sad one, nonetheless, but a tired, old story. Choose well, today. Choose to stay in His love for you, no matter what your life presents to you.

Romans 1:1-6 Paul, a loving and loyal servant of the Anointed One, Jesus. He called me to be his apostle and set me apart with a mission to reveal God’s wonderful gospel. I write to all his beloved chosen ones in Rome, for you are also called as holy ones. May his joyous grace and total well-being, flowing from our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, rest upon you. My commission is to preach the good news. Yet it is not entirely new, but the fulfillment of the hope promised to us through his prophets in the sacred Scriptures. For the gospel is all about God’s Son. As a man he descended from David’s royal lineage, but as the mighty Son of God he was raised from the dead and miraculously set apart with a display of triumphant power supplied by the Spirit of Holiness. And now Jesus is our Lord and our Messiah. Through him grace cascaded into us, empowering us with the gift of apostleship, so that we can win people from every nation into the obedience that comes from faith, to bring honor to his name. And you are among the chosen ones who are called to belong to Jesus, the Anointed One. Read my commentary on the blog here: