Category: Devotions

TUESDAY April 23^rd

Romans 8:37-39

‘No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

We continue with Paul’s thoughts here ‘nor angels nor rulers . . . will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

When it comes to angels, I guess we immediately think of the angels as we see them in Scripture, Gabriel, Michael, the seraphim, but we need to also remind ourselves that there are also those angels who we class as the fallen angels, those who rebelled alongside Lucifer and were cast out of heaven, the demonic realm.

Paul tells us that angels, whether good or bad cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thankfully, the good angels as we see from Psalm 103:21-22 are God’s messengers who are working for our good, ‘Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! Bless the LORD, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will!’ In fact, such is the mystery of the gospel that Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 1:12 that the angels long to look into, to discover, fathom out the wonder of it all.

But there are also those who we call fallen angels, demons who will try to do all that they can to hinder God’s people, and to frustrate the will or purpose of God, but we need to remind ourselves that they are not a match to the incredible power of God, they are doomed to destruction, while we who are saved are destined for eternal life and we remind ourselves ‘that greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world’ And the One who is in us is the almighty conqueror, the victorious Saviour, therefore not even angels, whether the good or the bad can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

But then Paul mentions rulers. The King James Version uses the word ‘principalities’ and it is continued with the words ‘nor powers.’ Well at this point we need to remind ourselves that our wonderful Lord and Saviour has because of his obedience in humbling himself and suffering through death on the Cross has been highly exalted. He has been given a name which is above every other name, we are familiar with the verses from Philippians 2 that one day every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.  But we need to remind ourselves that as we rejoice concerning that future day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, that now in the present, Jesus is already seated in heaven at the right hand of God the Father, and as we see in Ephesians 1:20-21 he is FAR ABOVE all rule and authority, power and dominion, both now in this present age and also in the age which is to come.

JESUS IS LORD, he IS far above all rulers, principalities, powers. Therefore whatever or however these things will seek to throw it hatred towards those of us who are the people of God, those of us as we have been reminded in this chapter (v16) who are the children of God, those who are no longer under condemnation (v1), it may be sticks and stones that will hurt our bones, but it will not, it cannot, it never ever will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

MONDAY April 22^nd

Romans 8:37-39

‘No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

We are nearly at the end of this magnificent chapter; it starts off in verse 1 by reminding us that we are no longer under condemnation and finishes by remining us that we are more than conquerors through Jesus who loves us.

The eternal love is can I put it this way, embedded into our lives as we have come to accept Jesus as our Saviour, therefore, we are more than conquerors, that is we can live victoriously knowing that there is nothing in all of creation that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In verse 38 Paul lists those things that humanly speaking we may consider as having the power to come between us and the love of God, he mentions first death and life, well, we know without any shadow of doubt that Jesus has shown us how to live victoriously in life, and he has demonstrated that he has given us victory over death, the closing verses of the great resurrection chapter, 1 Corinthians 15 says ‘But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ’, so the moment we who have put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ breath our very last breathe here on planet earth, because of the amazing victory that Christ has gained, death will not cut us off or separate us from the love of God, we can say that we will actually begin to experience it more powerfully than ever, for we shall be in his presence.

The reality of this was so powerful in Paul’s life and testimony that in Philippians he could say ‘For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain’, Philippians 1:21. As the sons and daughters of the living God we are in a win win situation, he blesses us in life, and we are blessed in death, for to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

So, nothing, absolutely nothing whether in life or in death shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am reminded of the words of the psalmist in Psalm 23, ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me . . . Surely goodness and mercy (steadfast love) shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.’

God so loved, he sent his Son, as we have come to respond and to receive this incredible love through surrendering our lives to Jesus at the Cross, his love surrounds us, fills us and his love is with us in life and through death, so we need not fear death, for it is but the glorious entrance into the eternal presence of God.

FRIDAY April 19^th

Romans 8:37-39

‘No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

Well, following on from yesterday, Paul could make this conclusion for himself, ‘No, in all these things I AM more than a conqueror’. Can we say the same? As I mentioned in the previous devotion, I can imagine Paul thinking back to the time when the Lord sent Ananias to him, and hearing the message concerning how he MUST suffer for the sake of the name of Jesus. He would recall how he had been towards those who followed in the Way, he would have known what the cost was to follow Jesus, he would then have suddenly realised, ‘now it’s going to happen to me’. Not it may happen, but it will happen for the Lord had said ‘how much he MUST suffer for the sake of my name’.

And Paul immediately proclaimed the name of Jesus, for Acts 9:20 says ‘And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying “He is the Son of God.”’

There is absolutely no doubt that Paul was going to count the cost, follow Jesus and no turning back. As we saw in the previous devotion from 2 Corinthians 6, he did suffer for the sake of the name of Jesus, in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 Paul gives another comprehensive list of the many ways in which he had suffered, ‘Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labours, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.’

How on earth did he cope, how on earth would we? As I have mentioned previously, we actually understand very little of what it truly means to suffer for the sake of the gospel, or for the sake of the name of Jesus, I actually feel ashamed when I stop and consider the silly little things that I may have got uptight over, or upset about, or frustrated about, they are insignificant in comparison to how Paul suffered and of how many of our brothers and sisters have suffered over the years and many are suffering today in many parts of the world.

Well to answer the question as to how did Paul cope, one answer follows on in the next chapter in 2 Corinthians, it follows on from when Paul had what we call a thorn in his flesh, he had pleaded with the Lord to take it away, and this was the response in verses 9-10 ‘But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.’

The grace that SAVES us is also SUFFICIENT for us in times of trial. The amazing, abounding, astonishing grace, the grace of God.

THURSDAY April 18^th

Romans 8:35-36

‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”’

When we started looking at the life and the ministry of Paul in these devotions you may recall that immediately after his conversion while heading for Damascus, that Ananias was sent to tell him that he was going to be used to take the gospel to the Gentiles, to kings and to the children of Israel. The narrative continued with these words ‘I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name’, Acts 9:16.

Well, as Paul penned these words here in Romans 8, he knew exactly what he was talking about, as he listed the various things, tribulation, distress, persecution, etc. he himself had experienced these things, just as the Lord had said he would when he was converted. He really had known what it was to suffer for the sake of the name of Jesus, and however many years later it was that he considered these things as he pondered back over his life, he concluded that not one of these things had succeeded in separating him from the love of Christ.

It is in 2 Corinthians 6 that Paul says the following ‘. . . but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labours, sleepless nights, hunger . . . We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.’

Wow, as a pastor, I have it so easy, but also as a local church we all have it so easy, and yet I wonder how quick we are to moan or groan about the simplest, and smallest of things, we have to sacrifice a little time here and there, imagine having to go through hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonment etc. for the sake of the gospel and on account of the fact that we hold to the name of Jesus.

A word of warning—we may not have it as easy as we move forward, the world around us is changing quicker than I am sure that any of us ever expected it to change, the world is becoming increasingly more hostile towards those who hold onto the name of Jesus, it is becoming  more anti-God and anti-Christ almost on a daily basis, none of us know what lies ahead, should the Lord tarry, therefore we need to ensure that we position ourselves into the place where we will be found under the protection of Almighty God, we need to let go of the world and it’s ideologies that are anti-bible and anti-God and anti his righteous ways and position ourselves into the safest place available which is the incredible everlasting love of Christ. We cannot flirt with the world, it is a far too dangerous position to be found in, for the enemy, the devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. We MUST RESIST him, we MUST be FIRM in our faith remembering that ‘after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.’ (1 Peter 5)

I end with a challenge to each one of us, as we review the week, maybe this week we are going through or the week that has just passed, and consider how we spent our time, how much of it was spent on that which really offers us absolutely nothing in regard to the safe keeping of our soul compared to that which was helpful and beneficial to building us up spiritually, ensuring that we are being kept safe in the love of Christ. ‘Nothing shall separate us’ means that we must, we need to be in the position of being found in the love of Christ.

WEDNESDAY April 17^th

Romans 8:34

‘Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.’

I have returned to verse 34 as it is a great verse to remind us that there is only one who can stand in the presence of God on our behalf, and his name is Jesus.

In 1 Timothy 2:5 we read: ‘For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and men’, Paul then continues to immediately tell us who this mediator is, it is ‘the man Christ Jesus’ and then continues to tell us how Jesus qualifies to be the mediator, ‘who gave himself as a ransom for all.’

A mediator is one who acts as an intermediary between two people or two parties of people, and the man Christ Jesus stands in the presence of God on our behalf as our mediator, as our intercessor. On the one hand we are sinners, on the other we have the holy God. In and of ourselves we cannot even begin to dream of standing in the presence of God, we can try to be as good as we can be, we can try to earn our way, but we will never succeed, but Jesus came and ‘gave himself as a ransom’, he stood in our place, he died in our place, he has done everything that needed to be done and after his resurrection and ascension, he was exalted to the highest place, and an aspect of his exaltation is that he has become the ONLY mediator between man and God.

It is important to note the many times when we are talking about Jesus that we use the word ‘only’.

He is as we see in John 3:16, God’s only Son, he is the only one who has been sent from God to become the propitiation for our sin, he is the only one of whom it is said is the way, the truth and the life, he is the only one who has conquered death, rising as he did victoriously on the third day. He is the only one who has ascended to the Father and the only one who has been given the name which is above every other name, he is the only one who is declared as Lord to the glory of God the Father, he is the only one who is standing in the presence of God as the mediator and great high priest, he is the only one who is going to come again.

This is Jesus our Saviour, and as such he is the only one whom men and women can come to for eternal salvation, it is only through him that we can come to the mercy seat, there is no saint that can help, there is no other individual, no other means, not even through Mary, the mother of Jesus, or some earthly priest, it is through Jesus only.

Hebrews 7:25 ‘Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.’

TUESDAY April 16^th

Romans 8:32-34

‘He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.’

These verses are a continuation of what I already considered yesterday, that in Christ, that is of course as we remain in him, that we are eternally secure, for the One who died and who was raised for us, is also interceding for us at the right hand of God.

How can anyone or anything bring any accusation or charge against us that will have even the slightest chance of being upheld, when the One who died for and who was also raised for our justification stands in the presence of God? Well Paul says, nothing, nor no one, for it is God who justifies, and when he has declared the verdict ‘not guilty’, then it stands, it is final. The very presence of Jesus standing as the Lamb who has been slain in the presence of God is a constant and a permanent reminder (not that God needs reminding) that Christ has died and has risen, he has fulfilled what he came to do, therefore for all who come to a believing faith and trust in him, there is therefore now no condemnation.

I want us to read the words of the wonderful hymn by Charles Wesley who understood something of the wonder of this truth in Romans 8:34 that Christ is at the right hand of God interceding for us.

Arise, my soul, arise; shake off thy guilty fears;

The bleeding Sacrifice in my behalf appears:

Before the throne my surety stands,

Before the throne my surety stands,

My name is written on His hands.

 

He ever lives above, for me to intercede;

His all-redeeming love, His precious blood to plead:

His blood atoned for all our race,

His blood atoned for all our race,

And sprinkles now the throne of grace.

 

 

Five bleeding wounds He bears, received on Calvary;

They pour effectual prayers; they strongly plead for me:

“Forgive him, oh, forgive,” they cry,

“Forgive him, oh, forgive,” they cry,

“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”

 

The Father hears Him pray, His dear anointed One;

He cannot turn away the presence of His Son;

His Spirit answers to the blood,

His Spirit answers to the blood,

And tells me I am born of God.

 

My God is reconciled; His pard’ning voice I hear;

He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear:

With confidence I now draw nigh,

With confidence I now draw nigh,

And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.

MONDAY April 15^th

Romans 8:31

‘What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?’

We quote so many of these verses, but I wonder how often we stop to consider what we are saying, or more particularly what we are declaring as we quote them. This verse comprises of two questions. In fact, verses 31 through to 35 is made up of seven questions, and the answer to each one of them should take us back to the very first verse which to remind us of says ‘There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’.

For those who are in Christ, every sin has been forgiven, every charge that could have been made against us has been dropped, therefore any accusation brought against us cannot and will not stand. We have been justified, our sin has been washed away, we have been cleansed by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ who as the Lamb of God was without spot and without blemish (1 Peter 1:19).

We need to remind ourselves that God is for us—he has proven it by sending his Son into the world to bring about eternal redemption. When he banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, God could have just washed his hands of them and of all of humanity that would spring from them, but no, because of his everlasting love, he is not only a God of justice, but a God of mercy, he is a God who is full of grace and he had shown his compassion time and time again toward fallen humanity, but none better than at Calvary, where God showed us that he loved us enough to die for us, and not just to die for our sins, but to be raised for our justification, so returning back to verse 1 ‘There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’.

The enemy can throw as many accusations as he likes, they will fall to the ground, he can accuse us in the presence of God as much as he likes, and all he will hear back is God saying, “he or she (insert your name here if you are in Christ) is no longer under condemnation. Throw whatever you like against them, I remind you Satan that I have cast their sin into the depth of the sea (Micah 7:19), in fact try and work this one out Satan, as far as the east is from the west, that is how far I have removed their transgressions from them (Psalm 103:12), if you’ve got nothing better to do. Go and try and find them! You won’t, Satan, guess why, I’ll tell you, ‘I have blotted them out!’”

So, what shall we say to these things, that is everything that Paul has spoken of already in chapter 8, well I will start with this, God’s plan of redemption is wonderful. His love is amazing.

FRIDAY April 12^th

Romans 8:31-39

V37 ‘No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.’

As we come to verses 31 through to 39 of Romans 8, the ESV has the heading ‘God’s Everlasting Love’.

I wonder how often we have seen something advertised as everlasting. I recall when I was at school, we used to slip out at lunch time to the shop to buy some sweets, usually Bazooka Joe bubble gum, and they used to also have what were called everlasting gobstoppers! I brought some, but one thing is sure they were not everlasting! Yes, they were big, yes, they lasted for a long time, but the more you sucked, the smaller they became, till eventually they were gone!

Well, the Bible advertises ‘everlasting love’. And it is exactly as advertised! It is not a love that is based on human love which ebbs and flows, in love one day and out of love the next, it is not a love that is portrayed in soppy songs, it is love that springs from the One who is himself love, it flows from the very heart and nature of the Lord God, who alone is the true and the living God. And God’s love is eternal, his love because it is a part of who he is, has always been and will always be, he keeps giving it out, we keep receiving it, and it will never diminish, it will never come to an end, it is everlasting love. And in these verses Paul wants us to come to a place of rejoicing in how great God’s love really is toward us and for us to understand that as we remain in him, there is absolutely nothing that will separate us from his love.

His everlasting love means that as we come to trust in him, we will also receive everlasting life. These verses assure us that as we have come to receive these eternal gifts of love and of life that we should be able to live victoriously, conquerors over everything that seeks to throw itself against us until the day dawns and the shadows flee away and we will be found in his eternal presence.

Next week we will take a closer look at these verses.

THURSDAY April 11^th

Romans 8:29-30

‘For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.’

God has a definite plan of salvation which is all being worked out to the minutest of detail.

This plan was already purposed before the creation of the world, and the moment that man fell in the garden because of his disobedience toward God, God set this plan into motion. Redemptions story is seen throughout the Old Testament, there are the promises that God had made, the types that we see through the way that God worked through both the lives of individuals and the nation of Israel, till we come to the time when God sent his Son to be born of a woman, his mission to become the Saviour of the world.  In the words of Paul to Timothy, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:12).

As a result of Christ’s atoning sacrifice at Calvary, salvation has become available to all who will believe. And God has predestined, that is, he purposed in the past that all who believed would become a part of his wonderful family. And I do not subscribe to the teaching of those who would preach a limited atonement, that only a certain number who have been pre-determined by God can be saved. I without apology believe that God’s grace is available to all mankind, all can be saved, but sadly not all will be saved because not all will believe. God has given to us free will, and as we are presented with the truth of the gospel message, we can choose whether to accept it or reject it.

But Paul continues here to tell us that the plan of redemption, will continue once we have become saved, for those who have been justified will also be glorified.

Salvation lifts us out of the pit of sin and will eventually lead us into the eternal presence of God, where we will know what it is to be glorified, miraculously transformed into the image of his Son, the Lord Christ.

In Philippians 3:20-21 we read ‘But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.’ Again, in John’s first epistle we read ‘Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is,’ (1 John 3:2).

What a wonderful story redemptions story is. We have not only become new creations in Christ in the here and now, but one day we shall be utterly and completely transformed, and what a day that will be, well, it will be more than a day, it will suddenly become eternity and we shall be like him.

We shall be like him, when he shall come in glory;

Like him forever, thro’ riches of his grace;

O what assurance to all God’s children given,

We shall be like him when we see his face.

WEDNESDAY April 10^th

Romans 8:28

‘And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.’

The phrase ‘all things work together for good’ is an important phrase, and we need to understand what it really is saying. Because the sad and sometimes difficult to understand reality is that there are often and perhaps at times we may think too often, those things that happen in our lives and in our circumstances which we would call anything but good.

It may be a bereavement, sickness or ill health, the loss of a job which may even lead to long term unemployment, a breakdown in a relationship, for these things happen to both the righteous and the unrighteousness. Being a believer does not mean we have suddenly received immunity from the struggles and the difficulties that life on earth throws up.

The difference is that being in Christ, and knowing what it is as we have seen already from this chapter in knowing the Spirits indwelling, as we love God, he will work everything out for our good, he can take the difficult, the hard, that which we consider as bad, and he will knit everything together for good; he will ensure that everything that happens will dove tail together to bring about that which is his purpose for us.

It is always important to compare scripture with other scripture and alongside this verse in Romans 8:28 is the importance of our being conformed to that which is his will and purpose for us, (Romans 12:1-2). God has not made us as if we are robotic and he presses all the buttons and we automatically do that which is in accordance with his will, he has created us with free will, we can choose to seek his will and obey it, or decide to work against it and to do our own thing. It is only when we obey his will and walk in obedience to his will that we can be assured that all things will work together for good.

Here are the other verses from Romans 12 ‘I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.’

In the words of a hymn by H. Tee:

Thy blessed will divine, with joy I make it mine,

My heart shall be thy throne, and thine alone.

Choose thou the path I tread and whither I am led,

Help me to follow on, O mighty Saviour.