Whisper Of God Ministries

During this week’s reading we see a transition in Paul’s writing. In the first 11 chapters he writes to us about what we are to believe (doctrine), and beginning in chapter 12 shifts to instructing us how we are to behave (personal responsibility). Basically, he moves from theological teaching to practical guidelines for living as Christians.

Look with me at chapter 12 verses 1 and 2. “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Paul is teaching us here that our lives are to be about the Lord. Why? To answer this “why”, we must look at end of chapter 11. The “therefore” indicates to us to look backwards. Chapter 11 verse 36 says “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” This truth comes at the end of a chapter in which Paul has beautifully written the simplicity of salvation and reminded us that God will not reject his people and He will save a remnant for Himself.

So because God has provided salvation for us through His Son and from Him, through Him and to Him are all things, then we are to present ourselves as living sacrifices to Him. Do you live your life in this manner? Do you wake up each day with the Lord on your mind thinking that your life belongs to Him and not you? We are to worship God throughout each day by living a holy life that is obedient to His commands.

I love that Paul doesn’t leave us hanging with such a daunting task. He explains to us that we can do this by not conforming to the world, but by being transformed by the renewing of our minds. This is only accomplished through God’s Word. Reading, studying, knowing and living out God’s Word is how our minds are renewed and our lives are transformed. Why are we to do this? Paul tells us “so that we may prove what the will of God is” and clarifies for all that God’s will is good, acceptable, and perfect.

So if there is ever a question of whether you want to be in God’s will, it is answered here. God’s will is good, acceptable, and perfect. His will can be nothing other than what He says it is. So at those times when your mind knows God’s will, yet your heart questions it and your actions delay it, ask the Holy Spirit to remind you to question no more and delay no longer, for God’s will is good, acceptable and perfect.

Ashley Jones

Living Victoriously

This week’s reading covered three chapters in Romans and yet I feel that I’ve been in a theology class for an entire semester! As I read this week, I was very encouraged by God’s Word as I hope you were. Truly, our God has done so much for us and He explains us so well to ourselves through His Word. Chapter 7 discusses the ever continuing struggle that we as believers have with sin. Even with God’s Spirit living in us, making His abode in our very bodies, we struggle with sin and it is ugly. Then, Paul encourages us in chapter 8 how we have victory over sin. Hallelujah! I know you echo this highest praise to our God who has given us victory over sin only through His Son, Jesus Christ. Chapter 9 completes our reading this week and we begin to read Paul’s commentary on Israel’s past, present, and future.

Let’s go back to victory over sin. Do you live a life victorious over sin? What does such a life look like? I think Paul tells us this way, “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (8:3-4) He continues in the following verses to tell us about two kinds of people, those who follow the flesh and those who follow the Spirit. Verse 10 says “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.” Herein lays the beginning to a life victorious over sin. It is a simple if/then statement. If Christ is in you, then your spirit is alive because of Christ’s righteousness. Believing by faith what Paul writes in verses 3 and 4 assures us that Christ is in us and therefore, God’s Spirit is alive and active in us helping us to walk after the Spirit which leads to victory over sin. Scripture is clear that walking in the flesh leads to death.

God the Holy Spirit is our key to living victoriously. MacArthur says it this way, “the Spirit provides the energy and power to continually and gradually be killing our sins, a process never complete in this life. The means the Spirit uses to accomplish this process is our faithful obedience to the simple commands of Scripture.” What does a life victorious over sin look like? It’s the one that allows the power of God’s Spirit to live through him by obeying the Word of God on a daily basis. Impossible in the flesh, victorious in the Spirit!

I pondered another question this week as I read God’s Word and applied it to my life. Do I live my life with the purpose of being an offering (a sacrifice)? Read again verses 3 and 4. No one could fulfill the law. The law shows us God’s character and His will for His people. The law revealed to man the reality of sin. The law could not save man from sin or make us righteous. So what the law could not do, God did! He sent His very own Son to save us, not to condemn us (John 3:17). Jesus took on a body (the likeness of sinful flesh, meaning He looked like us) and offered Himself as payment for sin. God’s condemnation was poured out on the sinless flesh of His Son. Why? According to these verses, it was so that the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. So here’s my thinking. For the rest of our lives, we are being conformed to the image of Christ. We are to live as Christ. We are to follow Christ as our example. Our lives are to mirror His life. So if His entire life was lived for the purpose of being an offering for sin, then our lives should be lived with the purpose of being an offering or sacrifice for Him and His Kingdom? Of course, all this is done only through the power of the Holy Spirit. What would happen if we lived with our main purpose as being an offering for the Kingdom? May we walk in the power of the Spirit living sacrificially and victoriously until we see our Jesus face to face.
Ashley Jones

Gateway to Peace
This week we have been in chapters 3-6 of the book of Romans. Many people choose to avoid Romans because it can be difficult to read and understand. I hope that you will take the daily small sections of reading and pour over these verses until they become part of you. Romans is a great gift to the church.

In chapter 5:1-2 we read, “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” From just this one small section we gather several important points, but the one I want to look into briefly today is the fact that in Christ, we have peace with God.

How important this is in today’s turbulent times. The stock market continues to rock and roll, and we all feel the pains of our economic troubles. As we listen to the news, read the newspaper, or stand around the water cooler – all news seems to be bad these days. With the election fast approaching, we wonder who or what will pull us out of the mess in which we find ourselves. Our wealth in this world, which so often exists just on paper, seems to vanish and yet Paul tells us we have peace and hope and joy. Where is that peace and hope and joy in today’s crazy times?

That peace with God, that joy in our spirits, and that hope in which we stand is in Jesus Christ alone. As we are swept up in the spirit of the age, we often forget that as Christians we are anchored to the Rock of Ages. Our ship may be battered and blown but we hold firm because our dependence is not in this temporary and fleeting world but in the world to come that is eternal. Our gateway to peace is Jesus who died on the cross for our sins. His blood washes us whiter than snow and he gives us his righteousness so that we can stand before God Almighty as blameless heirs to the Kingdom of God.

I admit that it is hard to listen to any news these days on the TV. Perhaps that is a good thing. Turn it off and open your Bible. There you will find the answers to the issues and problems of this world. Peace, hope and joy are available today in these difficult times. They are found in the love of Jesus Christ for you and for me. Lean on him and not your own understanding because he is able to keep you. Do not be overwhelmed by the temporary bad news of this world but rejoice that your eternal citizenship, eternal wealth, and eternal prosperity is in Heaven. Indeed, the best is yet to come.