Book: Romans

Jesus Christ changes the way we live. Christ living in us & through us should transform us from the inside out. The presence of Jesus should radically change how we relate to other people.

God’s purpose is unchangeable, His power is unchallengeable, & His love is unconditional, so there is nothing I have to fear. The Who of my salvation is greater than the who of my opposition and I am more than a conqueror.

We can hold on when we’re hurting because glory is on the way. We can trust God to work it out because we are sheltered in His grace as He works all things together to make us more like Jesus. He weaves His way & His will for His supreme glory & our ultimate good. You.

To get through your groaning, focus on the glory to come.

We are heirs of God but the full benefits of this will not be poured out on us until eternity. Our present grief prepares us for promised glory. Now we are to share in the sufferings of the Savior. Since Jesus suffered, we should be prepared to suffer ourselves. Suffering doesn’t get the last word. The story of God ends with glory! Because we suffer with Him, we will be glorified with Him.

Do you know who you are? You are not what you do, what you are doing, or what you’ve done. You are not what’s been done to you. What you do doesn’t determine who you are, who you are determines what you do. Therefore, you are who Christ says you are.

The world cannot take away what the world cannot give. The world cannot take away what it cannot give to us. The world cannot take away deep rich promises because the world cannot give deep rich promises. The world can’t take away your security, the world can’t take away your peace because the world cannot give security, and the world cannot give peace. It can’t take away this hope that serves as an anchor for our souls, because this world was never designed to give us hope. Not that kind of hope. The world can’t take away what the world can’t give. And you can’t lose what only Jesus gives. He gives life, you can’t lose it. Love, freedom, joy, salvation, you can’t lose it. He gives peace. He gives promises you can’t lose. He gives assurance you cannot lose. What Jesus gives Jesus, the Rescuer of His people, gives hope. The world can’t take that away. What the world can’t give, and you can’t lose only Jesus gives. This is the story of Christmas, the hope of Christmas. It’s not a feeling. It’s not a desire. Hope is a person. He is Jesus the Rescuer, the Savior of His people.

If you ever get fed up with you. And if you ever get fed up with something that seems to control you. If you ever get fed up with the self-destruction that you bring on yourself and the self-destructive habits that destroy the relationships that are most important to you. Christmas is a standing invitation from your Father in heaven. You have been invited into a relationship where sin no longer has to be your master, because you’re not under law, you’re under grace. You are a candidate for the gift of Christmas.

God staged a demonstration and documented it so the world would know. Because He knew we needed to see it to believe it. And it wasn’t enough to say it. He had to send His Son to pay the price that we owed in such a way that once we embraced the truth of the story, and once we embraced who Jesus was, we would never, ever, ever, ever doubt God’s love for us. He had to be with us so that we could know He was for us. We needed a demonstration.