Month: April 2026

As he approaches the question of suffering we see how Paul first draws attention to our relationship with our Father God. From the security of that intimate relationship we are in a position to deal with the question of suffering.

”Not only are you invited into an intimate relationship with Me, but you have as a Brother, Priest and King, One who has experienced the full depths of rejection and suffering. Who is able to understand, teach and comfort each one of you as you face the inevitable times you will suffer, so that the suffering does not separate you from My love but should actually draw you closer to Me.”

As we start this important subject of suffering let us move slowly and carefully to get the maximum benefit from Paul’s teaching. Please Read Romans 8:16-25.

The context then is Paul’s discussion on what can make us feel separated from God’s love. The first important subject has been sin and the desire to be saved by the law. The second is the question of suffering. Suffering can have devastating effects on our perception of whether God truly loves us or not, however for many it has the effect of drawing us much closer to Him. As I said earlier he launches his discussion from the position of reminding us, as God’s children of the intimate relationship we have with Him.

The opening statement in vs 18 is extremely important, as it sets the basis on which we must view suffering. Paul is telling us that we need to get our thinking right before we dig into the details. So all suffering needs to be seen through a lens which tells us this is only temporary and cannot be compared to the glory that we are going to experience one day. All the thinking and teaching and experience of suffering takes on a different colour seen against the background of the incredible glory which is to come. We have to practice reminding ourselves of this reality, since suffering is so real and ever present while the glory remains an often considered distant hope. We need to keep telling ourselves that it IS real and based on the eternal unchangeable promises of God.

The next thing Paul wants to remind us of is that suffering is universal. We have already seen in vs 17 that there is a specific suffering which Christians experience because of our relationship with Christ. But we must understand the universality of suffering. He reminds us of the result of God’s curse in Eden and uses picturesque language describing the frustration and vanity creation is experiencing. He likens this to the pains of childbirth vs22. As we look around us we can see everywhere how this is being played out. So we too (vs 23) are not exempted from this bondage to decay. It affects us as much as it affects creation, which we are just actually a part of. Notice he uses the word groaning which is just shorthand for suffering.

Way back in vs 19 he pictures the creation as waiting eagerly to welcome the sons of God, who will then be revealed. So, in a mystical way creation is being prepared to welcome us when we go to be in God’s glory.

So that is the reality that we must embrace. He is going to tell us more about how to deal with our suffering, but the first step is to get our thinking right. He will go on to emphasise the importance of hope, but that is just building on what we have seen today. See you all next week.

Worthy is the lamb, the Darling of Heaven crucified! The Lion of Judah on a cross. To God be the glory!

”Draw close to Me to see the wounds on My face and limbs, to see the blood running out of them, all for you, for each one of you so that you can draw close to Me – the barrier of sin, represented by the imperative veil in the temple, torn from top to bottom. Draw near that you may appreciate the relationship opportunity I have created and notice – relationship means contribution from both sides. So experience this huge blessing I have given you through the shedding of the blood of the “Darling of Heaven” when He was crucified.

Paul is continuing to unravel the battle every Christian experiences with the sinful nature, which can lead one to feeling separated from God, described in 7:25b. He has come to the argument via the discussion about the law and he is going to give us a timely reminder of the fact that we as Christians are not involved with religion but rather the expression of a real, vibrant relationship with our Creator through His Son Jesus. The law represents religion of any form, where one is called upon to perform and act according to certain prescribed ways to please a God who is waiting to act in judgement upon those who fall short.

Read Roman’s 8:12-17. Having described how we are set free from the burden of the law through Jesus’ sacrifice to be able to serve through the work of the Spirit, Paul reminds us that we cannot just “let go and let God”, but we rather have an obligation to actively serve through the power of the Holy Spirit.

He then adds an additional layer to his teaching by moving and from vs 15 to describe the effect of the work of the Spirit. Those who are led by the Spirit have the huge privilege of being brought into a close family relationship with the Creator God Himself. Flowing from this relationship he draws the logical result that we are therefore also heirs, co-heirs with Christ of all God has given Him. We are treated like full family members, just as true adoption gives the full privileges of being family to the adoptee.

Then comes the link to the next section, which is also a timely reminder. If we are to be regarded as a true brother/sister of Christ, it will be demonstrated by the fact that we will also share in His sufferings. It is an inevitable part of Christianity that the real sign of a true relationship with Christ is that we will also in some way share in His sufferings. In many parts of the world this is far more apparent than in our affluent Western society.

This statement then also leads Paul into the discussion of the other great reason that we may feel separated from God and that is suffering, which the next section of the chapter deals with.

As you read this I trust that each one of you experiences and practices this dynamic relationship with our Father God rather than trying to serve Him by obeying the law. God bless till next week.

How deep the fathers love for us – for me. Can I ever fully comprehend that love demonstrated so graphically on the cross?

”That Is a lifelong journey of discovery together with all the Saints to grasp how wide, how long, and how high and how deep my love is through My son Jesus and to know this love that passes all understanding. You may have flashes of revelation from time to time but you only really grow in understanding incrementally as you walk with Me and experience My love applied to you daily in all walks of life. The ultimate revelation remains far above and beyond every saint until you come to be with Me. But what you do know and understand should be changing you and motivating you every day.”

We have come now to one of the great chapters in the bible.(Ch 8). I am sure you have all turned there from time to time. What is the big picture? Paul has been sharing the role of the law and how it affects the believer, ending ch 7 with the picture of the great battle every saint experiences. This battle can cause us to feel that we are still under condemnation. In chapter 8 he answers that but also introduces the other great factor which can make us feel separated from God and that is “suffering”.

In today’s reading he introduces the role of the Spirit in the battle of 7:25, but the Spirit is equally involved in the other battle, that of suffering. Please read 8:5 – 11. He introduces the Spirit’s role by describing the difference between those who are “unsaved”, described here as those who live according to the sinful nature and those who are “saved” described here as those who live in accordance with the Spirit. Placing the clear distiction which is basic to the Christian faith, which he reiterates in 9b if the Spirit lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. Do you have the Spirit living in you?

The role of the Spirit in the battle to live the Christian life is fundamental and to illustrate this he compares the two classes of people. In fact standing back there are only two classes of people in the whole world. Those who are controlled by the Spirit and those who are controlled by the sinful nature.

He describes the one who lives according to the sinful nature, their minds are set on what that nature desires. Their mind is in fact death. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so, it is hostile to God, it cannot please God, such a one does not belong to Christ. You look at such people, often very nice people yet that is the description of who they truly are.

On the other hand there are those who live in accordance with the Spirit, they have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The Spirit gives life and peace. vs 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit. Is alive because of righteousness (which you have received through Christ) and the ultimate goal is eternal life (with Jesus), a resurrected body, and all this through the work of the Spirit.

So we can see that the work of the Spirit is integral in this “battle” within us. We have no chance of succeeding in living the Christian life without the help of the Spirit. Therefore it is so important to understand that when those who are living according to the desires of the sinful nature experience condemnation, it is real, because they are still under condemnation. So the promise of no condemnation is expressly applicable only to those who have received the Spirit.

Can you see how important the role of the Spirit is? But remember, receiving the Spirit is just part of the package when we become justified by faith through trusting in the work of Jesus on the cross. You don’t have to do something extra to receive Him. Can I ask all of you out there “Are you sure you have received the Spirit?”

Victory in the battle does not happen automatically, we have an obligation… And we will look at that next week. God bless you all.

This morning I just peacefully sit, like Mary, at Jesus the Master’s feet, to hear what He has to say.

”You have chosen the better way. All the feverish activity, both physical and mental has no value unless it spings from your relationship with Me which starts each day with worship, recognising Me for who I am, flowing to thanksgiving and then becoming quiet to hear what I would say to you. So, yes, listen to my voice and especially as it is written in My Word. However without the presence of the Spirit all that activity will simply be that and will fall short of actually making contact with Me and hearing Me speak to you.”

Please read Romans 7:24-8:3. Having dealt with the role of the law extensively in ch 7, Paul now comes to the great statement in 8:1. “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Why does he say that at this stage? Well the whole problem, especially with the Jew, is that living a life of trying to follow the law, will leave every person, as they fall short of complete obedience, feeling they are condemned, or lost. However Paul has reached a stage in his argument, in 7:24, where he calls out the great news that Jesus rescues those who recognise their need and come to Him for salvation.

So what is the problem? That lies in the second part of Romans 7:25. Although we have been rescued, we are nevertheless still involved in a battle. A battle between the saved mind and the reality of our sinful flesh. This battle can often feel as if we are failing and still under condemnation. It is to deal with this that Paul now turns to Ch 8. We will take his argument piece by piece.

We should be freed from any suggestion that we are under condemnation, because we can’t meet its righteous requirements: The righteous requirements of the law have been fully met in us ie those who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. V 4. This is what Jesus has accomplished through becoming a sin offering for us vs 3 – that took care of the requirements of the law for salvation or as a means to become “righteous”. That is what he means when he says because through Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Paul is trying to get us to understand that, in this battle we should not allow our feelings to tell us that we are condemned when we struggle and perhaps fail in the battle, described in 7:25b we must get our minds and thinking right as we focus on the facts. Paul will build on this in ch 8.

So what does this mean for us in practice? The Christian still lives in a broken and sinful world and although we have been saved spiritually. Nevertheless we still have this natural tendency to follow our own way and the Spirit helps us fight against that. So when we feel we have failed again and maybe even question whether we are really saved, we are to remind ourselves of the fact that Jesus’ death on the cross took care of any possible need to be obedient to the law as a way to be saved.

Two warnings: this does not mean we can go out and live without restraint. We now live by the Spirit who guides us in the way we should be interpreting the law cf Matthew ch 5, and applying it in our lives. But when we fail Jesus’ death has taken care of that. – therefore no condemnation should be felt.

Secondly, Paul repeats almost an aside, that what is being taught here is for those “who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit”. It is only once one has received the Spirit when they became Christian that this teaching applies.

I hope you all had a blessed Easter, see you all again next week.

This the power of the cross, Christ became sin for us.

”There was enormous power released in the world on that first Easter. The power released because My Son died on the cross becoming sin for you – so that your sins could be forgiven and the way opened up to Me. The huge black cloud of sin was towering over the world and it took all that power to neutralise it. It is so easy to say the words, but the actual process, the deed, the transaction. It was huge – remember this, as you participate in the memory of that first Easter. Appreciate every drop of blood, every pang of agony, every shaft of pain – all for you, you personally.”

Please read Romans 7:7-25. As we carry on from last week, remember Paul’s 5 steps in his argument about the law and its relation to us, having declared that the Christian has died to the law as any means of his salvation. 7:4. Last week we dealt with the questions in 7-11, Is the law in itself sin?and in v 13 Did that which is good become death to me? Today we will deal with the last 3 questions which lead Paul to cry out “who will rescue me from this body of death?”

Vv 13 -23 “The law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin”. This is proved by the fact that no matter how much we try to obey the law – we always end up doing the exact opposite of what the law requires. This is the great battle of the non-Christian. Paul is writing in the first person, but not speaking about himself. He is addressing the universal problem of those who are as yet unsaved.

Vv 24, 25 This battle brings me to be conscious of the desperate situation that I am in! Is there someone out there who can rescue me? And the wonderful answer: Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord! There is indeed Someone who can save us and after the way Paul has written this chapter we should all value Jesus’ work on the cross so much more this Easter.

V 25b There is more.The Christian now, is involved in a raging battle within. The spiritual part of me longs in its mind to obey the law, but there is still our sinful nature which is active and keeps dragging us back towards sin. Paul will now continue to unpack this thought. In ch 8.

Everyone of us, if you are a real Christian will be aware of this battle. This passage explains it very nicely.

May God draw close to you all this Easter and help you to appreciate anew all the events we will celebrate.