Rrrrromans 8

In the beginning of this chapter, Paul talks about Christ having been sent to save us from our sins. Perhaps God sent us someone like us- a human being- to show us that it is possible for us to live according to God's will without falling into temptations.

One verse that I don't really understand is verse 17: "Now if we are children, then we are heirs- heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Reading verse 18, I think I'm getting a sense of that verse- that we may struggle now with our sins and worldly desires, but that all leads to our eternal life.

I really like the last ten verses of this chapter. I remember hearing verse 31, "If God is for us, who can be against us?", from a teacher when people asked which verse to think of when we are fearful. This verse ensures us that, when we believe that God protects us, nothing can come in the way. In verse 38, it says, "...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 in Christ Jesus our Lord." I love this verse because Paul tells us that, once we accept God into our hearts, our relationship with him will be so strong and intimate that nothing in the world or no power can separate Him from us- He'll always stick with us.

Good point denise, about that having God in are sides that nothing can seperate us...

So i had the same thought about this chapter....One thing i found in this chapter is that it talks alot about the spirit in us.

Romans 8 says,

"You however, are controlled not by sinful nature but by the spirit,if the spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteuosness. And if the spirit of him whoi raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from dead will also give life to your mortal dodies through his spirit who lives in you."

In this passage, God is telling the world that once we accept Christ, we will be saved from the holy spirit. Once we die as humans, we will rot into the ground but, our souls will be up in heaven. Since we have the spirit in us we will have eternal life. It says that our spirit is alive because through righteousness. And if the spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, the lord will live in you. That once we have the spirit in us, we the son of God. In verse 14 it talks about the sons of God, that God is the father of all in the sense that he created all and his live and provinential are are extended to all. But not all are his children. He says this to the ünbelieving jews that"You belong to your father, the devil". It talks about it in the book of John 8:44 says, You belong to your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding the truth, for there is no truth in him. That to have relationship with God, you must have faith in him.

"For i am convinced that neither death nore life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the furute, nor any powers neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to seperate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. "

As i read through this verse, i felt so protected. That nothing can ever hurt me. Once we have Jesus in our hearts, nothing in the world that God has created can seperate the relationship with God. So once we go into heaven we cannot be seperated because that is a place where evil does no exist. So i am thankful for God being on my side.


AMEN.......


Have a good day guys, and may God be with you...

You're right, Joe. This chapter really does make me feel more protected.. I actually have so much hope after reading this chapter.. Especially from that section on hope itself. Paul talks about how we as creation are born with pain, suffering and frustration. And even within our bodies, that we are 'groaning in expectation of the redemption of our bodies'. This really describes all of the struggles that we face in life, and the frustration that we may feel trying to be a Christian in a non-Christian world and trying to give up our bodies to God when the world tells us to give it to other thigns. But we wait expectantly with hope because we know that we will be saved - that one day we will be able to completly break free from suffering, and even though we've never seen this sort of redemption, that we keep hoping because of our faith in God. So let this be a reassurance - instead of getting frustrated that God's not 'taking away our problems' lets rememebr taht we can't hope for something that we already have. And so God can't give us redemption now because then we wont' have anything to hope for, and then we wont know the different between eternal peace and suffering.
26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
This verse sort of lets us know that it's okay to be lost and weak.. Sometimes we don't even know what to pray for - we dont know where to start or what we want with our lives or how we want God to move around us - sometimes in frustration we might even wonder if we want to ask God at all. But the Spirit is there to help us - the spirit can speak for us in a way that we can't - the way that words can't even explain. And this sort of reassures me in knowing that God knows everything about me - even more than I do. He knows every fleeting emotion, he knows my innermost dreams and struggles that I'm not even completly sure of. God really is there and a part of us:)

31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Ahhhh when i read this verse i can actually hear Sam preaching this . hahah i love it! Even though humans are at the bottom of the spiritual food chain, we can even have more power than angels and demons because we have the special privilege of God on our side. No matter how powerless we may feel, it is with God that we can achieve all of the strength, and all of the power in the world because God is fighting for us and with us. So no matter what kind of spirtiual warfare that we may be experiencing in our day to day lives, we DO have the power to overcome whatever Satan tries to throw our way. And let us not only be comforted in knowing this, but be given strength and the courage to do fight back, instead of just giving in.

Romans 8

verse 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.
This verse had a realy strong meaning to me because we are not controlled by sin. But we are all controlled by the spirit of God. In the last section it says that people who dont have the spirit of christ living in them they dont belong to him at all, I thought about that and I think it was a very strong think to say because What if your best friend didnt believe in jesus they would have to live there life alone. Unless we help them..
Like how Sam talked about we should help that one person to become christian soo you can see them in the future.. It would be say to lose someone forever because you couldnt use your time on the person. I learned alot from what sam said yesterday and Ill try my best to bring that special person to church..
I hope everyone of you can do the same so you can see them in the future,,,

-[Gt]undercover?

This is my favorite chapter in the Bible. It has a sentimental value to it

" 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."
I think at times, we PUT ourselves in a place to sin. For example. If we get invited to a party and we KNOW were going to drink or smoke, but we still go thinking "i wont do anything bad" i mean come on.... its going to happen right? Sinners think like sinners (obviously) but we have the holy spirit in us so we should think things that please God.
Denise i think this might clear up your confusion, its the New living Translation so its easier to understand :"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."
This chapter talks about being "eager". I remember mentioning how i love this word because it has a "need" or a "wanting" feeling to it. I think we should always be "eager" to play for God every Sunday and Friday. Eager to praise him and not for our benefit. right? yaya

I like this chapter especially the end where it says that NOTHING can separate us from God.

MONDAY IS OVER! Yay-ya! i hate mondays... michael please write me an obituary... aha

-Isaac

JUST LOSE IT ARGH ARGH ARGH ARGH ARGH

"So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus"

"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"

I fell that sometimes we confuse ourselves between "Discipline" and "Condemnation"

Discipline: A branch of knowledge or teaching

Condemnation: harsh criticism or disapproval

God never Condemns his children but he will discipline us. The main difference between Discipline and condemnation is "Guilt".

Discipline does not create guilt but condemnation does. Guilt sometimes drives us away from God, and God does not want you to suffer. Guilt in no way is from God. God said he will not condemn meaning he will never give you the feeling of guilt. Also God is saying don't let anyone sway you to feel guilty, or make you beleive that god is angry at you.

ROMANS 8

One of my ultimate-favourite chapters, namely because of one verse that's a personal favourite of mine!

There was a lot to work through with today's passages.

I love this chapter because it offers so much hope. It empathizes for all the hardships that come with being a Christian in a sinful world, and allows us to realize that we're not alone in all of this.

By the end of the chapter, I basically got the impression that the Spirit is my right-hand man, haha. You know how we've made those boyfriend/girlfriend analogies with being in a relationship with God? I think it's kind of the same thing if we take it one step further, and say that we should treat the Spirit like our other half. Verse 5 says that those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds sent on what the Spirit desires. If you have someone in your life that you TRULY care for, you naturally begin carrying a similar set of values and wanting what the other wants. So make it accommodating for the Spirit to do just that. If you do this, not only will it be much more natural for you to shun your sinful ways, but the Spirit will also intercede on your behalf when communicating with God, so its really just a win-win situation all around! BE BEST FRIENDS WITH THE SPIRIT.

Lastly, Romans 8:31 is one of my all-time favourite verses, as a sinner living in a sinful world.
"If God is for us, who can be against us?"

Years ago, this was a verse Martin recommended I say out loud to myself whenever I was alone and fearful. And it got me through.
I love the raw purity of the truth in this verse. If God is on our side and calls us His children and heirs, what on earth could possibly give us reason to fear?

- H

If God is for Us, who is Against Us?

One of my favourite verses, because it reminds me and protects me. It shows that i am nothing without God, but when He is with me, I am at the top with Him. This is where i want us to be as leaders.

ALot of this chapter talked about Hope.
You kno we're going to sing that song "I love you, All of my Hope is in You, Take All of Me"
What does it mean to hope? What does it mean to put yoru Hope into someone?
I learned that you can't hope for something you already have. Hope is somehtring you want, desire, someething you need to fill thatemptyness and what's a better way than putting it in CHrist?
I want us to put and lift everythign to him, Hope in him, Hope with Him, Hope FOR Him.
We hoped that we would be saved and through Hope, Grace came, and by Grace we were saved.
Thiink about it
Get excited! have a good Tuesday!