Thursday Morning: 28 Mar 2019 – Romans 8:12-30 ~ waiting patiently and confidently

Thursday Morning

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Almighty God: to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid; cleanse the thoughts of my heart through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that I may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name, through Christ my Lord. Amen.
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Morning Reading – Romans 8:12-30 (NLT)

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

The Future Glory

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.
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Morning Reflection:

“We know that God causes everything to work together
for the good of those who love God
and are called according to his purpose for them.” – Romans 8:28

Yesterday a distant friend of mine attended a presidential Medal of Honor ceremony for his son who was killed in Iraq. His son’s act of heroism and self-sacrifice saved the lives of several of his fellow soldiers.

I don’t know about my friend’s faith, but I do know about my own anxiety when my USMC son served his tour of duty in Iraq during the same time period. Every day this verse – Romans 8:28 – was a comfort to me. But then, I never had to face the dreaded knock on the door; my son came home safe and sound.

What is it in Romans 8:28 that enables believers to wait patiently and confidently? It is certainly not freedom from the pain and suffering of this world. What is being promised?

We believe that God is in control of life’s events,
and that God works through them to achieve what’s best for us,
whether we understand it now or not.

Life experiences: Every experience of our life God has allowed. Each experience in our past God is working together with every other experience in order to bring about our good. Whatever experience in our past we think has been devastating, God meant it to develop us.

Personal failures: No sin can ever wipe out the Christians’ hope for the “good” for which God has chosen us and to which He has appointed us. We may fail. We will fail. For this we may very well suffer. But God’s purpose will never fail. Our failures will never separate us from God and from the good He has purposed.

What God does in us while we wait is as important as what it is we are waiting for. – John Ortberg

Questions for consideration:

Romans 8:28 is intended as a comfort for believers? Are you a believer in Jesus Christ? Please explain. (If you are uncertain, click here.)
Have you gone through a devastating experience in your life? As you reflect on your experience, do you find comfort in Romans 8:28? Can you see any good coming out of your experience, or are you still waiting? Please explain.
What are you waiting for at this time in your life? What is God doing in your life while you wait? Please explain.

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Morning Prayer:

Heavenly Father: Comfort your children with the assurance of your sovereign mercy and goodness, especially in our times of great suffering and heart-ache. Unlock your Spirit within us to strengthen us in our weakness and give expression to our groaning, that he might intercede on our behalf. Fill us with an eager hope of glory, when we will receive our full inheritance as your adopted children. And help us to wait patiently and confidently in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. All for your glory. Amen.
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“It Is Well With My Soul” – Audrey Assad

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Closing:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, and protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Daily Reading: 18 July – Paul to the Churches: More Than Conquerors – Romans 8:1-30

Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

E100:17.a – Paul to the Churches

More Than Conquerors – Romans 8:1-30 (NLT)

Life in the Spirit

Romans 8 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

The Future Glory

18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

Sealed by the Holy Spirit Meenu Jakkula Currently displayed at Hill Country Bible Church Art Gallery — Sealed by the Holy Spirit
Meenu Jakkula
Currently displayed at Hill Country Bible Church Art Gallery

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.
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“More Than Conquerors” – Rend Collective

Closing Sentence

We are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us. Romans 8:37

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Holy Trinity Sunday: Dt 4:32-34, 39-40; Ps 33:4-6, 9, 18-20, 22; Rom 8:14-17; Mt 28:16-20 ~ the rich mystery of God’s inner life

Holy Trinity Sunday

Today we celebrate the most Holy Trinity, the rich mystery of God’s inner life. This remains a mystery beyond all understanding for us while we live in this world, even though the veil which covers it is lifted ever so little. The Bible assures us that not only is our God a personal God, but that God exists as three interactive, loving Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, while yet remaining one divine reality, one God.

+ In the name the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentence and prayer:

Full of joy on this morning, we adore and glorify the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
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Father almighty, You sent the Spirit of Your Son into our hearts: fill us with Your Spirit, that we may be Your heirs and co-heirs with Christ. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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A Reading from the Old Testament: Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40 (NLT)

“Now search all of history, from the time God created people on the earth until now, and search from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything as great as this ever been seen or heard before? Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire — as you did — and survived? Has any other god dared to take a nation for himself out of another nation by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, a strong hand, a powerful arm, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, right before your eyes.
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“So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other. If you obey all the decrees and commands I am giving you today, all will be well with you and your children. I am giving you these instructions so you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”
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A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 33:4-6, 9, 18-20, 22 (NLT)

For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does. He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.

The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.
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For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.
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But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.

We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield.
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Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.
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A Reading from the Letters: Romans 8:14-17 (NLT)

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

The fresco at Holy Trinity Church in Lorain, photographed after Wednesday morning mass, August 26, 2009.

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A Reading from the Gospels: Matthew 28:16-20 (NLT)

Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him — but some of them doubted!

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
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Intercessions:

God our Father, You revealed the great mystery of Your godhead to mankind when You sent into the world the Word who is Truth and the Spirit who makes us holy. Lord Jesus Christ, You sent the Paraclete from the Father’s side to be your witness: make us also Your witnesses before men.

+ Holy Father, of ourselves we are nothing. Give us the Holy Spirit – may He strengthen us in our weakness and intercede for us before Your face.

+ Son of God, You asked the Father to send the Comforter to Your people – may He, the Spirit of truth, remain with us always.

+ Come, Holy Spirit, and give us an abundance of Your fruits – make us loving, joyful, peaceful, patient and kind; give us integrity, forbearance, gentleness, faith, modesty, temperance and chastity.

Help us to grow in Your Truth and worship You in Spirit: three Persons, eternal in glory, one God, infinite in majesty. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Benediction:

Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; to God who is, who was, and who is to come. (Rev 1:8)

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

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