Good day dear friends.
Please join me in praying for The Rev. Frank Alegria, senior pastor
of First UMC in Beaumont, TX, who underwent a biopsy yesterday. We
pray for healing for he, strength for his wife and family during
these days.
I still have not heard about any local arrangements for Rev. Gladys
Kearney. Once I find out I will let you know.
We continue to affirm that we are God's and here is our study guide
for today.
Thursday: Please turn to Romans 8:1-17. Read there the instructions
of Paul to the believers about living in "the Spirit" as opposed to
living in "the flesh." Make a list of those things that the Spirit
offers to us versus that which the flesh offers.
Here is that passage from the NRSV: Romans 8: 1 There is therefore
now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law
of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law
of sin and of death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by
the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of
sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4
so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us,
who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the
things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set
their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 To set the mind on the
flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
7 For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to
God; it does not submit to God's law—indeed it cannot, 8 and those
who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the
flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to
him.
10 But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin,
the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him
who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ
from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his
Spirit that dwells in you. 12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are
debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for if
you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit
you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all
who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did
not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have
received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" 16 it is
that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are
children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with
Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be
glorified with him.
Here is my list of what God offers:
1. No condemnation. No use living with the thought that we're
damned to hell, we're not - if we're living according the God's Holy
Spirit.
2. Freedom. We're free from the law of sin and death. Christ paid
the price and broke the chains.
3. The just requirement is fulfilled in us. Christ took care of
the requirements of the law; He set us free to follow His Spirit.
4. We set our minds on the things of the Spirit. As Paul says
later in verse 6, we set our minds on life and peace. No longer
should we be bogged down with thoughts of unrest and despair,
Christ's invitation to us is to enter into His fullness.
5. We have life through the Spirit. See what Jesus offered us in
John 10:10, "life in abundance," a fullness and joy of life as lived
through Him.
6. We can call God, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit gives witness that
we have been adopted as God's own children.
What an impressive list from God through Paul for us. May it speak
to us as to who we are and what God makes available to us. May we
no longer be guided or tied down to those things that are not of
God. May we seek to live our lives in the fullness of God's love in
a way that gives testimony to others about how wonderful God is.
PRAYER: Holy Father, we call you Abba. May our relationship reveal
to others that we indeed enjoy that closeness that allows us to call
you this dear term. We pray for those whom we have listed in our
public and private prayer lists. We pray for healing for our
brother Frank Alegria. We pray for comfort for the family members
of Gladys Kearney. And we thank you for Julie Lusby's healing. We
thank you for listening. And we praise you, in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.
