Month: March 2015

“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.”

Paul has this amazing way of making a point and making it emphatically.  First, he tells us about God “embracing our condition” and making so great a sacrifice for us that everything else truly pales in comparison.  Then he tells us with so great a love that God has for us, how could it possibly be that anything at all could ever separate us from God’s love.  Nothing can.  This is an everlasting embrace.

“Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done! Sing him songs, belt out hymns, translate his wonders into music! Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs, you who seek God. Live a happy life! Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works; be alert for signs of his presence. Remember the world of wonders he has made, his miracles, and the verdicts he’s rendered— O seed of Abraham, his servant, O child of Jacob, his chosen.”

Are we doing this every day?  Or do we wait for special occasions or Sunday services to raise our voices in praise to God?  David, the Psalmist, urges us to live a life that actively and intentionally praises God and to always remember his goodness.

“Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.”

In order to fully understand this verse, it might be helpful to read the set of verses preceding this one, wherein Paul is putting things into perspective for his reader.  He says — and this is a paraphrasing in the same version of The Message — But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.  For the believer, you do what you do (or don’t do) out of love, not out of fear.  Doing it for any other reason is the wrong reason to do it and is a form of legalism.