A Life Worthy

…neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39).

Of course there’s nothing in the physical world that can separate us from God.  Outer space or ocean floor, you can’t get beyond his reach.  You already knew that.

But what about the emotional world?

What about when life is fantastic, and I get so caught up in my own amazingosity that I forget God?

What about when “I make my bed in the depths,” so depressed and beaten down that I can’t muster the strength to lift my head to Heaven?

Emotions are within his sphere too, Beloved.

All Creation is under his sway, and he has promised us, right here, that none of it can separate us from the love of Christ.

There is only one uncreated being in all the cosmos, only one who would be capable of erasing God’s love from your life, and he’s the one making the promise.

So I think we’re safe.

You are safe.

Take that into your week, Beloved.

Happy Monday

…neither angels nor demons… (Romans 8:38b)

I would love to see into the spiritual world.  When I read of Daniel’s visions, or those of John the Apostle, I get hungry, wondering what it will really be like to see into that world.  I know that it’s there, and filled with unimaginable power, but I can only perceive the tiniest fraction of it.

And yet, interesting as it may be, ultimately the world of angels and demons has little effect on our eternity.  My life—your life—is hidden with Christ in God.  It’s a done deal.

I don’t really know why or how an angel might want to separate me from God.  That’s beyond the scope of this brain to comprehend.  I can understand why a demon might—and what tactics might be involved.  I’m sure that I have even experienced the attempt, though I may not have realized it at the time.

Doesn’t matter.

You may stand at the center of a spiritual melee, but you are secure.

You may swim in a whirlpool of spiritual attack, but you will not be pulled down.

God’s got you, and nothing can take you from him.

It’s Thursday–and you are Beloved.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37).

Some days I feel like a conqueror; some days I feel like the conquered.  Those “things” that Paul mentions—persecution, famine, peril, sword, and all the rest—are ever so much tougher than anything I’m likely to face today, and yet sometimes I feel defeated before I even set foot outside my door.

Three words to notice this morning: are, through, loved.

Are Do you notice that God doesn’t say that we feel like conquerors?  He says we are.  The Lord of the Universe knows our emotions—he created them.  He knows the power they have to motivate us to goodness; he also knows the power they have to confuse, to distract, to deceive us.  We say, “I feel.”  God says, “You are.”

Through When God first sent the Israelites into the Promised Land, they balked.  The enemies they saw were too many, too big, and too fierce, and they refused to go fight them.  So God rebuked his people, telling them they would stay in the desert for the rest of their lives, and their children would take the land.  At this, the Israelites had a change of heart and went up to battle—against God’s instructions.  They got whipped.  Of ourselves, we are alone, small, and afraid.   Through Christ, living in His power, we are unstoppable.

Loved We always seem to end up here, don’t we?  He loved us enough to give his Son.  That redeeming love has brought us into his family, made us his in ways that we can never fully grasp.  He has conquered sin and death—past tense, even though it may not always feel that way—through and because of his great love for us.  For you.  If you are his, you conquer with him.

You are a conqueror.  

Wrap yourself in his love and charge into your Tuesday, Beloved.

My daughter and I are in a local production of The Hiding Place, a play based on the life of Corrie Ten Boom.  Corrie and her family were followers of Christ who hid Jews from the Germans during World War II.  They were discovered, captured, and imprisoned. Only Corrie survived the camps.  To call it a powerful story is an understatement of the highest order.  This week I am taking a look at some of the lessons we can glean from this story.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?…For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is Christ Jesus our Lord  (Romans 8: 35-39).

You know, it’s so easy for Corrie to quote this verse.  All she had to face was a Nazi death camp.  I have to…

Oh. Wow. Yeah. Never mind.

Beloved, chances are good that your Friday will not include Nazis or famine or swordsmen.  

‘Course, you never know.

Still, this day is just stuffed with things that want to get between you and Jesus.  It starts with your own sin and basic patheticosity, moves through this broken and selfish world, and culminates in a whole host of spiritual forces dedicated to your destruction.

Hmm…maybe the Nazis aren’t so bad after all.

Nope…they’re so bad.

Point is, none of it can pull you away from Christ.

Not the darkness outside.

Not the darkness inside.

You are his.  He has chosen you, in spite of…you.  He has claimed you as his own and he fiercely protects you.  He is stronger than anything you will face today or tomorrow or ever.

Breathe that in, Beloved of Christ.  Soak in it.  Let it lift you up and carry you through whatever today holds.

Happy Friday