Walk of Freedom and Life

Prepare: Who can be adopted into the family of God?
Read: Romans 8:9-17

This chapter is one of the most interesting and precious portions of the sacred Scriptures. Some parts of it are hard to understand; but its main scope and design is apparent to all. The resurrection of Christ is the most significant event in all of history! Our hearts still rejoice when we remember the day, the stone was rolled away from the grave where Jesus lay, which is the evidence that assures us of our own future resurrection.

Martha and Paul adopted a little girl, Alice. Alice's dark skin tells that she was not born to her new parents, who are white-skinned, blonde and blue-eyed. Martha and Paul love Alice very much. "Alice is truly an important part of our family." Martha fretted one day that they are not rich, hence Alice will not inherit great wealth from them, but her husband said with a smile, "when we are adopted into God's family we become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ." God gives us authority to overcome all the power of the enemy and enjoy all the spiritual blessings in Christ. (Eph.1:3).

The Aramaic word Abba is fairly close to our very familiar, warm and intimate nickname "Appa." Jesus addressed His Father in this manner. Through Jesus we are made heirs to a magnificent inheritance, into the Father's family. We enter God's family by the new birth, not by adoption (John 3).

Respond: We are free, but we are still debtors to the Lord.

Way to Freedom and Life

Prepare: When God saved you, He gave you a new life, not a new law.
Read: Romans 8:1-8

People attend church for many reasons. Some seek social status or companionship; some go out of habit or a sense of duty. Some go to worship God with other people. God is pleased when His people get together and worship Him. Still, many people leave a service with the same burden of sin and despair they hoped to leave behind. Believers sometimes feel unfulfilled. We should remember Paul's words about the tug-of-war that goes on between the flesh and the Spirit.

Those who live in accordance with the Spirit keep their mind centered on the things of the Lord and seek to please God in all things. The words No condemnation means, that the gospel does not pronounce condemnation like the Law; the object of the gospel is to free a person from condemnation, and to set the soul at liberty. The reason is this: that Christ hath undergone the penalty, and satisfied the Law in their stead.

A man whose purpose in life is to gratify his corrupt desires, cannot be a Christian. Unless he refuses to gratify his flesh, he can have no evidence of piety. If a man has the fruit of the Spirit, as seen in Gal. 5:22-23, he is a Christian; if not, he is a stranger to religion, whatever else he may possess. For to possess and cultivate the graces of the Spirit, to be led where he would guide us, is the design of our existence, and is the only path of happiness.

Respond: You can't please God if you are not renewed.

Depression

Prepare: How can we come out of depression?
Read: Psalm 42 & 43

All of us go through times when our prayers seem to fall on deaf ears, our worship appears dull and flat, and God seems far away. The writer of this Psalm knew feelings like that.

What he feels: It's like one of the most excruciating of human sufferings thirst. He speaks, not to himself, but to the God, for whose presence he longs. Inwardly his heart is echoing what his ears hear outwardly. 'Where is He then?' Do we care about God as deeply as this? Or do we sometime get through the day with hardly a thought of God?

What he remembers: Recollection can lead in one of two directions: either to melancholy, despair or self-pity, or else to a new resolution and purposefulness. He chooses the latter. The past is for instruction, not mere nostalgia. Do you keep alive memories of what God has done for you? You can recall them for encouragement.

What he learns: His 'where' turns to 'why'? Yet it is addressed to himself. It is not a question so much as a rebuke. Self-pity asks 'why me?' and stops there. Faith also asks why, but goes on to add 'why are you like this when you can do something about it?' The change in the way we feel may not be 'instant', but if we go on trusting God even when it's hard, things will improve.

Respond: Lord, help me to trust You even in difficult circumstances.

Out Came this Calf

Prepare: Do we yield to pressure in our decision making?
Read: Exodus 23: 15-35

Breaking the tablets: Moses broke the tablets in which the 'Ten Commandments' were written into pieces. He burned with anger; however the breaking of the tablets had other implications. He was unable to hold the tablets which obviously declared that they should not make any other gods, whereas they had created an idol and mere dancing before it. He couldn't comprehend the disparity between the commandment and the event and for Moses there was no other go, but to break the tablets. Paul is correct in saying when the commandment was not there, I would not have known sin (Romans 7:7).

The sin of Aaron: It's right on the part of Moses to blame Aaron for the sin of creating the idol and allowing the people to dance before it. Aaron should have kept the people from sin in the absence of Moses. Because of yielding to the pressure, he not only created the idol but also let the people get out of control. Aaron tried to save himself by saying, "I threw the gold into the fire and out came this calf!" The calf did not just come up. Aaron cast the gold into a mould of a calf and later chiseled it with a tool.

We may find ourselves in the shoes of Aaron and yield to various pressures in our life. We may have the same theory of Aaron: out came the calf.

Respond: Lord, when our Aarons misguide us, raise Moses to confront us. 

Golden Calf

Prepare: Do we have any idols set by ourselves?
Read: Exodus 32:1-14

The rebellion of God's people: God had called the people pf Israel to be distinct from other nations. But they always wanted to imitate the surrounding nations. God told them at Mount Sinai that they should not make any idol for themselves to be alongside their God (Exodus 20:3,4,5,23). But within a short span, when Moses was away, they made an idol and began to worship the idol. They even declared, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." (32:4)

The present day Christendom has the same problem. God has called us to walk in distinctiveness as His children. But we always look at the world and try to imitate the patterns of this world. The world has setup many idols like success, power, greed, luxury. Unfortunately, Christians become victims of these idols and consciously or unconsciously long to worship these idols. God has called us to be His disciples. But we have adopted a disoderly lifestyle. We are looking for our own Moses to lead us away from these idols.

Moses, a proven leader: God prepared Moses for the task of leading the people of Israel from the Egyptian bondage to the Promised Land. Moses proved himself to be a worthy leader. When God told Moses to leave the people alone so that He could destroy them, Moses proved his maturity and interceeded for the people. He was thoroughly a breed of God's choice.

Respond: Help me Lord, to leave my idols and make a strong choice of You. 

Every Good Gift is from Above

Prepare: If any one lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously (James 1:5)
Read: Exodus 31:1-11

God's own selection: The passage clearly tells how God fore-ordained people to fulfill some important tasks. God chose Bezalel and Oholiab and filled them with necessary wisdom to prepare the materials for the Tabernacle. He also filled the craftsmen with necessary skill and wisdom to do various jobs. God not only gave the plan to Moses, He also supplied specially talented people to fulfill the task. What a marvelous God we serve! Hudson Taylor must have realized this to the fullest sense to make his famous statement, "God's work done in God's way, never lacks God's resources".

God prepares people to gather around to fulfill His specific purposes. We may have to ask God to reveal His specific plan for each of us. Rick Warren in his famous book, The Purpose Driven Life writes, "You were made by God and for God and until you understand that, life will never make sense. It is only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance and our destiny. Every other path leads to dead end". We should be careful enough to know that whatever we do should have the approval of God: education, training, work, business, etc. and we fit-in in the plan of God. Bezalel, Oholiab and other craftsmen were aware of the greater picture, and they fitted-in accordingly.

Respond: Lord, help me to understand my role in Your plan and align my life to fit-in.  

Importance of Prayer

Why It's Important to Pray - Benny Hinn

Morris Cerullo World Conference Nashville, Tennessee, January 6, 2012

Prepare: Prayer should be constantly offered by God's children.
Read: Exodus 30:1-10

One of the casualties of the present day Christian's spiritual life is prayer. Andrew Murray calls this as 'sin of prayerlessness'.

Altar of incense: The tabernacle contained an altar of incense separate from that of the altar of sacrifice. God said to Moses that this altar of incense should have an exclusive function and should not be used for any other purpose. The altar and the poles that were used to carry it should be covered with pure gold and the altar is most holy to the Lord. Aaron should burn incense both morning and evening each day. Most importantly God said that He would meet with Moses at the altar of incense. In the gospel accounts we can note that Zechariah was visited by an angel when he was burning incense on this altar (Lk.1:11).

Prayer, an essential part of life: The altar of incense symbolizes the prayers of saints. God invites us to come to Him, to converse with Him, to ask from Him such things as we need, and to experience the blessings in fellowship with our God. What a privilege! However, what do we make use of this heavenly privilege? We simply do not have time to pray. Prayer is the pulse of spiritual life and by it the condition of relationship with God is diagnosed. When we do not pray, we know that our spiritual heart-beat is low and it's time to set right our priorities.

Respond: God, forgive us our sin of prayerlessness and revive us so that we might be revived. 

A Desperate Petition

Prepare: What do we do in our desperate conditions?
Read: Psalm 38:1-22

This psalm is considered as one of the penitent psalms. Here the Psalmist, probably David, seems to be in a desperate position, appeals to God for relief from severe painful illness. He feels that the painful illness is because of his sin against God. The guilt surrounds him and drains him of his strength.

It seems that in this crucial hour his friends and companions have deserted him and that adds pain to his situation. Many who were benefited by his goodness try to recompense with evil. And many hate his without any reason. His enemies try to usurp the opportunity to take advantage. He is unable to express his grief and unable to hear anything. He has become deaf and dump. His pain increases as his enemies gloat over him at his unexpected slip in life.

In life's situation when our relationship with God goes wrong, it may look that all things go wrong. But what is the solution for this problem? The solution is nothing but the confession of our sins. Though David is desperately looking for consolation, the most important thing that he chooses to do is confessions of his sins and transgression. He pleads to God to come quickly and rescue him from his calamity.

We know it's God's assurance to forgive us if we confess our sins to Him (I John 1:9)

Respond: God is well please with penitent hearts and we need to be reminded that we should have a periodical check up of our spiritual condition. 

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

Prepare: So do we realize that we fulfill the requirements of law in a far superior way in Christ?
Read: Romans 7:7-13

Can we say that the law is bad?: As Paul repeatedly urges the Jewish brothers and sisters that we have better option than the law of Moses in Christ, he feels compelled to explain his perception about the law. He clarifies his position about the law and says that the law as such is good. First of all, the law was given by Moses at the instigation of God Himself. Moreover, Christ also said that He came to fulfill and not to nullify the law. Paul being conscious of these facts clarifies his position, stating that the law as such is holy, just and good.

The enslaving and manipulating power of sin: The core of Paul's arguement is that until the law arrived, people were not conscious of their sin. The law demarcates between good and bad, right and wrong, holy and unholy. Paul once again contends about the enslaving power of sin, by stating that sin taking advantage of the opportunity of the law made life miserable. One who becomes conscious of the good and evil through the law, ends up more and more convinced of the helplessness to fulfill the requirements of the law.

Paul sympathetically puts forward the truth about the law to his Jewish brothers and sisters. Law was given for good only; however, the tragedy is the law can only convince, but cannot liberate anybody.

Respond: Lord, unless You help us with Your Holy Spirit, we will also be enslaved by the power of sin.

Secret of Christian Life

Prepare: Is there any way a wife can be freed while her husband is still alive?
Read: Romans 7:1-6

The analogy of marriage: Paul urges the Jewish believers to ponder on their new union with Christ as something unique. He was aware of their commitment to the Mosaic law due to the covenant with God through Moses. How can they follow Christ when they are bound by the Law of Moses?

Paul knew well that Jews were bound to live with their laws. But Paul comes out with a unique interpretation to a familiar analogy, the analogy of marriage. In a marriage relationship, a wife is not free to break the marriage bond. Death of her husband is the only means for her to be relieved from the relationship. Paul introduces a remarkable way for the wife to be relived from her husband-that is the death of the wife. Paul wants the Jewish Christians to realize that when they accept Christ, they die not only to their self and sin but also to the law and thereby they are freed from the Mosaic law to live for Christ.

Paul, a true apostle of Gentiles: Whenever the Jewish Christians confronted the Gentile Christians to first become followers of Judaism, Paul defied their counsel. For Paul, Gentile Christians have nothing to do with the law of Moses. It was not to invalidate the law, rather he was sure that the grace of Christ is far superior to fulfill the requirements of the law.

Respond: Father God, I thank You for the freedom that the Spirit gives me in Christ.

Who is Our Master?

Prepare: Bible does not talk about open ended freedom without any control.
Read: Romans 6:12-23

Two kinds of masters: Today's passage clearly talks about an either/or option:Either surrendering our lives as slaves to sin or to Christ. Paul personifies sinas a master because of its potential to enslave anyone. Conversely, he encourages the believers to walk a moral life. His line of reasoning is that believers are now in a better disposition because of their union with Christ.

A Christian is one who wholeheartedly chooses Jesus as his/her master. Paul gives thanks to God, for the opportunity He has provided to the believers to live as slaves of righteousness.

Contrasting lifestyles: Once we were slaves to sin and our lifestyle clearly revealed the pattern of sin: impurity and everincreasing wickedness. However, as slaves of Christ, the present life should reveal righteousness, leading to holiness. The wages of sin is death and the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Though Paul talks greatly about the freedom that comes in Christ, he does not annul the responsibility of the believers. His repeated appeal to the believers is that Christian life is freedom with responsibilty. Freedom from the obligation of law does not mean that we can live a lawless life. Paul's exposition is that the law forced the followers to do things out of compulsion, whereas as slaves of Christ, we are expected to do those things willingly.

Respond: Lord Jesus, I invite You to rule and reign in me completely.

Believer's Life

 Prepare: I no longer live; but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:21)
Read: Romans 6:1-11

Buried with Christ in baptism: Paul's assertion, "the grace of God prevailed all the more over sin", does not give any concession to continue in our sin. The freedom that God gives requires us to move from sin so that the grace of God cannot be nullified.

The sure way ahead to fully avail of God's grace is by uniting oneslf with Christ. In the first century, baptism and conversion could not be bifurcated. They both were considered as two sides of the same coin. Baptism clearly has two facts: one is being buried with the Lord, the other being resurrected (rose again) with the Lord. The second aspect of baptism implies that we are now united with Christ and our old self is crucified with the Lord on the cross.

The believers' life is hidden in Christ: Paul urges the believers to understand that we no longer live in the old self, as we are crucified with the Lord. We should be conscious of the fact and this is the only way forward for us to live a responsible Christian life. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit who is given to be on our side will instruct us of our righteous living in the Lord. Paul is confident that baptism is a sure sign for us to be reminded that we are raised and united with Christ and our oldselves do not have power to sin.

Respond: Lord, help me to live out the truth of baptism in my every day life.

Christ vs. Adam

Prepare: How serious are we in our Christian walk? Are we sensitive to God's directions?
Read: Romans 5:12-21

Contrast between Adam and Christ: Paul delineates the results of Adam's disobedience and Christ's obedience. Adam's disobedience brought sin, guilt, judgment, and death. Conversely the obedience  of Jesus brought grace, justification, the gift of righteousness and life eternal.
 
The underpinning argument of Paul is that, if disobedience could bring terrible damage to humanity, the blessing that comes through the obedience of Christ can do much more than simply over-ruling the effect of sin.

God's marvelous gift of grace: Grace is God's gift to surpass the effect of sin. 'When sin increased, grace increased all the more' is a powerful expression to show that the disobedience of Adam and its consequence could not thwart the plan of God. God had a far greater way to overcome the disobedience of Adam and the consequence of sin. God does not give up on His creation, but works patiently to redeem the derogatory situations.

The insertion that the law was added only to increase the trespass is a shocking revelation; but that was only to reveal how derogatory our life would be without Jesus and what a blessed new life we have as the free gift of God.

Respond: Lord, help me to be mindful how my obedient walk can produce marvelous results.

Father of Many Nations

Prepare: Lord help us give glory to You, trusting in You.
Read: Romans 4:13-25

Without the law: Paul amasses all types of evidence to show how faith and faith alone is necessart for righteousness. He raises the question whether the promise to Abraham was given upon the Law. No. The promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations was given before the Law. Why? This is simply to show that all who are without the Law are also included in the promise to Abraham because it is faith that counts and not the Law. The Law only displays its violation. This point is picked up by Paul in chapter seven also.

Not weakening in faith: Paul emphasizes the fact that the promise to Abraham us for all his descendants through fatih and not merely for those with biological descent. Paul goes on to show how the promise of numerous descendants to Abraham was humanly and biologically impossible. This only underscores the importance of faith. Though Anraham and his wife Sarah were well beyond the child bearing age, they trusted in God's promise. Abraham believed that God could bring out what is humanly impossible and this trust or faith or believing in what God is able to do is counted as righteousness. This also brings us to the point that if believe that it was God who raised up Jesus from the dead which might have seemed a human impossibility, we also will be justified. Finally it is believing what God can do that saves us.

Respond: Lord help us believe.

Faith Alone and Faith Only!

Prepare: Lord help us recognize that our righteousness is without works.
Read: Romans 4:1-12

Works or faith? It is amazing how Paul proceeds to show how God's righteousness makes sinful men and women righteous through faith in what God has done for them. Paul takes up the argument of whether Abraham was saved by faith or works. To begin with, Paul shows that what is gained by works is not gift but wages. So if our salvation is God's gift then it cannot be gained by human effort. Paul goes right back to Abraham, the Father of the Jewish people. David is another ancestor of the Jews in whom they boasted. David also points out the blessedness of those who are forgiven, whose sins are covered and not reckoned. These two great forefathers of the Jews are enough to show how God counts human beings as righteous because of God's righteousness given to human beings through faith in Jesus Christ.

Blessedness of the un-circumcised and the circumcised: Paul further wants to emphasize the universality of the salvation received through faith in Jesus Christ and only through faith in Jesus Christ. He raises the question whether the righteousness spoken of as blessedness by David is only for the circumcised Jew. Paul holds in all his writings and arguments this salvation through faith is not only for the circumcised Jew but also for the uncircumcised Gentile. What is the support for this? Paul goes back to the great ancestor Abraham. When was he counted righteous before circumcision?

Respond: 'Simply to your Cross I cling'.

God the Justifier

Prepare: Lord help us recognize that You are the One who justifies us.
Read: Romans 3:21-31

Redemption in Jesus Christ: Verses 21-22 bring out how God's righteousness comes to us through faith in Christ. The Law, and the Prophets lead to faith in Jesus Christ. All these hang together. So there is no doubt about what God has done through human history and there is no contradiction between the parts. All have sinned and all may be justified through Christ. There is no distinction. 'Redemption', 'Sacrifice' and 'Atonement' are pictures taken from the Old Testament to describe the salvation that one may have through faith in Jesus Christ. The point that without the shedding of blood there is no salvation is also quite important. God passes over sins committed and justifies us. All that we may is: 'Thank you Lord'.

God of both Jew and Gentile: This plain of salvation only through faith in Jesus Christ and in what Christ has done for us by shedding His blood removes any boasting of anyone with the claim of human effort. All human efforts or claims to goodness are made nothing. We are not saved by works but by faith and faith alone. What a Savior, Hallelujah! This point that salvation comes only by faith brings us to the claim that God is God of both the Jews and Gentiles. There is no distinction. This upholds the fact that the Law teaches the way to God.

Respond: God of grace, help us accept your gift of redemption through faith is Jesus Christ. 

All are Sinners

Prepare: Lord help us recognize our sinfulness.
Read: Romans 3:9-20

None righteous: Paul firmly establishes that all are sinners whether Jew or Gentile. He quotes from the Hebrew Scriptures to bring out the unrighteousness of all human beings. The list grows: none righteous, none seeking God, all turned away, all worthless and none kind. The power and problem of sin has pervaded the whole of human race and every one is under its bondage.

All accountable: Paul not merely states that all are sinners but also brings out the seriousness of sin with Scriptural quotations. It is good to note the points Paul makes: killer throats, deceiving tongues, venomous lips, cursing and bitter mouths, murderous feet, ruin, misery, lack of peace. All these are underscored by lack of fear of God. This list may make us think that we do not display these 'so called' serious sins. In God's perspective, there is no distinction between 'serious' or 'not so serious sins'. Let us reflect how we may fall into these sins in the light of what Jesus says in Matt.5:21 onwards. Let us pause for a moment why Paul is so passionate in listing these serious issues. Do we recognize the root cause of human sin as lack of fear of God? What can we do about this human predicament?

Respond: Lord, as we recognize the seriousness of human sin, may we be led to turn to You, who alone can give us freedom from this serious bondage. 

God's Judgement

Prepare: Lord, help us be aware of Your kindness and forbearance.
Read: Romans 2:1-16

Without excuse: Paul is contending with an imaginary or representative person. We may surmise that his opponent in the argument maybe a Jew or a Gentile. Paul's argument is that the one who judges does not escape judgment himself or herself because the one who judges or criticizes others does the same things that he or she finds fault with others. Let us compare what Jesus said about judging others and trying to find a speck in someone else's eye while the critic has a plank in his eye. The arrogant person who judges others while turning a blind eye to his own fault is devoid of kindness, forbearance and patience. God is patient to allow even the critic to repent. Further, God the impartial judge, will repay according to each person's deeds: those who do good and those who do evil.

Judged by the law: Paul argues that the most important point is that we obey the moral law written in our hearts by our Creator God. Whatever standard God has given us, whether it be the revelation of God's laws given in the Mosaic Law or the moral law written on our hearts, God demands that we obey the revelation given to us. Jesus taught that we walk by the light that we have. When we fail to do that, we end up in darkness.

Respond: God of impartiality, make me fit to face Your judgment.