Romans 8:1-17

We who have trusted Christ & received the Grace&Mercy His Gospel alone provides,have been set free from the Chains that once claimed us as prisoners of sin&death,as told in Romans 6:12-14.Those parts of us that were tarnished & decaying because of the Chains have been put to death on the Cross with Jesus.But when when we allow ourselves to succumb to the passions associated with these things,we are in essence picking up things that are dead and full of potential disease that can make our hearts/minds/spirits sick & unhealthy/unholy.When we do this we loose a vigor for The Life that Christ gives us when we take His Great Exchange -> our Chains to Sin&Death EXCHANGED for His Life of Freedom from those Chains & the DEAD STUFF tethered to those Chains.And instead of living by the “life support” of The Spirit of Christ,we become fooled & weakened by pulling the DEAD STUFF back into our lives & living according to the flesh.It is like pulling dead flesh back over our beings....dark & nasty stuff!This is what Romans8:1-17 encourages us about when describing the contrast of living according to the flesh, and living according to the Spirit.When we accept the Great Exchange offered by Christ,He gives us His Spirit to guide us and to protect us from the ways of the flesh;the ways of sin and death.But it is our choice still,whether we will choose to live according to His Spirit....or succumb to the stench of the dying flesh that He freed us from & live according to the flesh(Romans8:6,”For to set the mind on the flesh is death,but to set the mind on the Spirit is life & peace.”).Even though I have given my life to Christ,I have a choice to make many times throughout my days.And I do not always make the RIGHT choice.Thank You Jesus for the Gift of Your Spirit that is always beckoning me to know and follow Your Heart for my own good.Help me to be increasingly aware of Your Spirit,and may I live according to Your Spirit & not by the flesh today.Please make me aware of the dangers of turning back to the flesh...whenever I am tempted to do so.

Romans 6:12-14

When we turn to Christ and receive HIS Gift of Mercy & Grace,there is a great exchange that happens n our life.Jesus takes all of our sin away,including our heart terminally infected by sin and sin’s entangling web of deceit...and HE takes these things to death by HIS sufferings and sacrifices on the Cross,condemning these things to HELL forever(which is where they intended to drag me forever).The CLAIM these things have on our hearts/spirits/minds/lives are NULLIFIED,& the CHAINS that tethered these things to our hearts/spirits/minds/lives are broken.WE ARE FREED from these things.But,they can still taunt us from the pit of Hell,as well as from their influences in the world around us.We are sorta like addicts that have been freed from the grip of whatever we were once addicted to,but still have bits of our hearts/spirits/minds/lives that can be tempted away from our New FREEDOMS in Christ.These are the “passions” that Romans6:12-14 addresses(Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its passions,and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.).When we trust Christ to save us from our sins,and to provide for our Eternal Security,these “passions” can still cause problems in my life-causing me to succumb to their ways of “brief/temporary gratification” that lead to destroying something in my life(the RIGHT relationships God intends for me to have;my peace;my joy;my confidence in Christ;the right kind of love for others;the role God intended my life to have in the life of others;etc.).Even though the CHAINS these things previously had on my life have been broken, that would’ve drug me to Hell,I can still succumb to their taunting.But these verses n Romans encourage us to not only be aware of these “tauntings”,but to be deliberate in the ways we “aggressively” defeat them(but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.)by reminding ourselves of what Jesus has freed us from,and then turning away from the tauntings coming from sinful urges & desires,and claim our identity in Christ as being ALIVE from the dead...the “dead influences” that the tauntings continue to scream for us to return to.Galatians5:1 says it this way-“For freedom Christ has set us free;stand firm therefore,and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery(to sin).”Even though we are FREE,we must determine to stand firm,& not to submit again.Dear Lord,I hear and sense these tauntings every day.My Your Grace remind me of the FREEDOM You have paid for me to have,and remind me of what these these tauntings truly represent->the very things that I was once CHAINED to that Eternally Condemned me to forever being lost to sin.

Romans 3-4

N Romans 3-4,Paul makes it plain that the only way to have a living relationship w God is through Faith in HIM,PARTICULARLY in what HE Says and how HE Leads,& especially in WHO HE IS!Paul is referencing Genesis15:6,where after demonstrating his faith in several ways,God says that Abraham’s faith is “credited to him as righteousness”.The picture of faith painted by Abraham’s life is what Paul is pointing us to!N Genesis14-15 Abraham had demonstrated his FAITH n God’s Sovereignty when he let Lot choose what “appeared” to b the choicest land to live in; Abraham trusted how God tugged at his heart when Lot & his family were caught up in a war involving 9 kings...he knew what he “should do” and did it when he depended on/trusted God & gathered up 318 of his men to rescue his nephew(miraculously experiencing a victory that 4 worldy kings could not);then Abraham turns away from worldly reward so God alone is honored&glorified;and then when Abraham comes to God w his doubts about God’s Promises,Abraham accepts/receives God’s Encouragement and has his faith stoked by hearing and believing the reminders of God’s Voice/Word n his life(Genesis15:1-6).This is a model of living the kind of “maturing” faith n The Lord that is the only way of being considered Righteous before The Only Holy&Righteous Eternal God.Abraham was far from

perfect.Yet the Faith Abraham came to depend on more and more n his life-faith in God’s Sovereignty;God’s Heart/Spirit;&God’s Word-is what Paul is calling us to n Romans3-4!This is a picture of the “well rounded Faith” that God is at work to build in those that turn to Seek Him&Trust Him only.This is the kind of life that brings Glory to God in ways that draw others to know the saving Grace & Mercy of Christ....just by “living” n&through this Faith.Dear Lord,I fail so many times to have the kind of faith that Abraham shows me...I fail just as Abraham did many times.But,I pray for Your help in giving me the same perseverance/persistence/resilience and FAITH of Abraham that fires up his desire to keep coming to You to be reminded of Your Mercy and Your Promises...and grow n FAITH as Abraham did.

Romans 2:25-29

Romans 2:25–29 reminds me of a quote from “Batman Begins”,which says,”It’s not what you are underneath,it’s what you do that defines you.”The first part of this movie quote is wrong and twisted,the second part is right..,but it looses its connection with what should be the first part.If the above verses from Romans were to be applied to our lives as Paul describes,our more correct  “movie quote” would be->”What lives inside you is defined by what you do.”These verses are saying that how we live;think;respond;love;work;play...defines whether or not we are truly lovers of God,& how deep&wide we love God....how much our lives are impacted by the life/suffering/death/resurrection/ascension of Christ;His Word;& His Spirit.This is also what Jesus is talking about when he tells the parable of the vine...and the fruit we bare(how we live;think;respond;love;work;play...etc.) revealing what we truly are.Dear Lord Jesus,this opens a window n my life for me to see many of the areas n my life that are not changed by You yet,and others that I may have “taken back”.I pray for Your help as this day lives through me...that the ways I live;think;respond;love;work;play,etc., be evermore reflections of Your Life;Your Word;& Your Spirit...changing me and living in me.

Romans 1:28-31

Romans1:28-31 says that any time we “exchange TRUTH of God for a lie”(ESV)/“not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God”(NIV)relative to absolutely anything,we run the danger of having our lives so infected by sinful thoughts/emotions/pride/etc.,that we may wade into a long list of evil,greed & depravity that includes: robbing others of life n any way;strife(exertion or contention for superiority resulting n bitter sometimes violent conflict or dissension);deceit(the action or practice of deceiving someone by concealing or misrepresenting the truth);gossip;slandering;turning from acknowledging the Heart of God;doing&saying wrong things that we justify 2 ourselves;insolence(showing a rude and arrogant lack of respect);boastfulness;not respecting parents;not seeking true Wisdom&Discernment;living lives(or parts of our lives) that demonstrate faith n anything but God;not seeking nor sensing God’s Heart about life;being more concerned about ourselves than others.The presence of any element of this list being n my life indicates an area n my life that I have exchanged a TRUTH of God for a lie/not deemed it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God about something that is important to God.Paul goes beyond this to say that if I even approve of these things around me,I am exchanging The TRUTH of God for a lie/not deeming it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, I am allowing my heart to not stir as God’s Heart would react to any of these things around me,and somewhere n my life I am allowing a dangerous EXCHANGE to take place.The boildown is to know and seek The Heart of God about all aspects of LIFE and have the way we interact with those around us,& speak;act;think;be as God’s Heart would be compelled...as HE reveals throughout His Word.This doesn’t mean that we become “Bible Thumpers”,but that we seek to know and live how Jesus demonstrates throughout His life.And never forget the enormous Patience;Mercy;Grace that God has shown to me personally.May the Life&Sacrifice of Christ...& the Patience/Mercy/Grace to God has shown me personally and revealed through His Word,be what changes my heart & life today...and every day.