February 9 – No Condemnation

        Romans 8:1 – "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

        As a believer, this is one of the most encouraging verses in which we can trust and to which we should cling. We should memorize it and meditate upon it frequently. Here is why.

        Condemnation has to do with the end of second chances. It is final; it is utter ruin. It is being fit for nothing good, anymore. It is death, without any hope for a life in God's paradise. No one is finally condemned until after death. As long as persons live, there is hope for redemption. As believers, we are no longer self-condemned as John 3:17 puts it. And, since God himself does not condemn us, we should be thankful and excited to realize that God loves us more than we can imagine. Further in Romans 8, we read in verse 31, "...if God is for us, who can be against us?" Of course, lots of people and demons are against us. But Paul is stating that because we are in God's family, there is victory in life, now. and/or, ultimately. That in itself should encourage us to press on to know God more intimately, and to desire to be used for his purposes.

        Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35f). (Can you tell that Romans 8 is my favorite chapter in the whole Bible?) Not even sin! 1 John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins (at any point in our new life) that God is faithful and just to forgive us. And finally, Hebrews 4:16 gives us the confidence to always approach God, even when we have sinned. "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need."

        Thank you, God, for not condemning us, but purchasing us through the precious blood of Jesus, our savior.ca

March 13 – My Times (Part 2)

        Acts 5:3-5 – “Then Peter said, 'Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit...? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.' When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died...”

        My times are in God's hands. Does that mean that God knows the length of my times? And/or does God control those times? Can I sabotage my own life and cut short those times? The story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 is a story that gives pause, causing one to think that one could cut short his own life. It is a story clearly about the sin of deception, not about giving 100% of the profits from selling a piece of land.

        Ananias and his wife were believers, followers of The Way. However, they decided to lie to men and to God in order to appear as bigger givers than they really were. The consequences thereof turned out to be instant death, a clear, swift, fatal judgment of God. (I believe that God was making this an example for the whole church to take notice that he wanted purity in his early church.) Was their death God's ultimate will for their lives? I don't think so. Did he will them to sin? Definitely not! God will not cause anyone to sin, nor even tempt them to do so. This is why I believe that while their “times” were in God's hands, they also brought upon themselves this untimely, premature fate. God says that he will not share his glory with anyone else (Isa. 48:2). Ananias and Sapphira were trying to get more glory from something that they didn't do but said that they did. The positive side of this story, which can only be assumed, is that as true believers, they went straight to heaven to be in God's presence, regardless of the fact that they had just sinned.

        Just because God can see all of history before it happens, doesn't mean that he controls all of history, just to make it happen as he sees it. Remember that God sees my life to come; I don't. So I can make decisions to affect my future, while God sees all the possibilities of the choices I make, or could have made. Read the story of David in 1 Samuel 23 to get the full impact of this concept.

        The bottom line is this: If we keep seeking to obey God daily, we should have no worry about a premature death, even if Satan should bring us a fatal sickness to which we succumb. Our times are in God's hands. Let us live in full confidence, serving him, and eventually receiving all the rewards and inheritance that he has promised his sons and daughters for their obedience (Eph. 1:18; Rev. 22:12).