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Of Filthy Rags And Transformed Hearts

Salvation is by Grace and by Grace Alone

UNSHAKEABLE: Our righteousness — and let’s be clear, we do have to be righteous to be acceptable to God — comes from Christ alone. You see, God sent his Son to die on the cross — hanging there as our sin — to pay the just punishment for sin that we deserved. Our only hope is that Jesus became sin — our sin — and in so doing, he likewise became our righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says it beautifully, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” How dishonoring to God’s grace and Christ’s atonement when we, therefore, try to save ourselves by our acts of righteousness and our efforts at moral perfection.

2023-03-24 Of Filthy Rags and Transformed Heaerts

Unshakeable Living // Romans 10:9-10

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

You cannot be saved by your good works — no matter how hard you try, your “good” is not good enough for the perfectly holy and completely righteous God who alone grants salvation out of his grace and mercy.

Nor can you be saved by your moral perfection — no matter how moral or how perfect you are. As the Old Testament prophet Isaiah points out, your righteousness is about as good as a “snot rag.” (Isa 64:6). I have actually cleaned that up a bit, because the Hebrew words for filthy rags, ukabeged ehdim, literally means, “like as rags of menstruation.” (NIV Study Bible Notes)

Sorry if that disgusts you, but it’s Scripture — so blame Isaiah. The point is, both our acts of righteousness and the quality of righteousness that we hope they produce are disgusting to God. So if you are disgusted by Isaiah’s language, think of how God is repulsed by our efforts to get him to save us.

Then what hope is there for our salvation? Well, no hope resides within us. None whatsoever. Ephesians 2:1 says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” All a dead person can do is lay there and be dead, let alone try to be righteous before God.

No, our righteousness — and let’s be clear, we do have to be righteous to be acceptable to God — comes from Christ alone. You see, God sent his Son to die on the cross — hanging there as our sin — in order to pay the just punishment for sin that we deserved. Our only hope is that Jesus became sin — our sin — and in so doing, he likewise became our righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says it beautifully,

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

How dishonoring to God’s grace and Christ’s atonement when we, therefore, try to save ourselves by our acts of righteousness and our efforts at moral perfection. The sooner we realize that the sooner we will, like Paul in Philippians 3:8-9, “consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them [our best efforts] rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”

It is only through the power of Christ’s resurrection and our death to self (Phil 3:10-11) that our heart — the core of who we are, that which represents every fiber of our existence — will get transformed. And it is out of a transformed heart, and only that, that our tongue can confess Jesus is Lord.

Then, and only then, are we saved.

So relax about trying to be righteous and morally perfect! Jesus did it for you. God accepts Christ’s efforts on your behalf as good enough, so you don’t have to be good enough. All you must do is accept it, believe it, and conform your life to it!

Get Rooted: Memorize Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” For Your Consideration: read these verses, as well as the immediate context (Romans 10:5-13) from several different translations (I would recommend the NIV, The Message, and the New Living Translation). Why are these verses such a centerpiece of the Christian message? How does your own view of salvation line up with what Paul has written? Do you think your Christian friends have a good grasp on what it takes to be saved, and if not, how can you engage them in a spiritual conversation about this matter?

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The World’s Most Difficult Person

Watch Out For Misplaced Zeal and Unquestionable Sincerity

UNSHAKEABLE: The world is full of sincerely wrong people. And in some cases, they make the world a very dangerous place. If you doubt that, look at any radical bent on having his or her way — a suicide bomber, an anti-abortion assassin, a jealous spouse ready to commit murder-suicide. Each of those people is convinced their cause is righteous and is ready to go to extreme measures to ensure that it’s “my way or the highway.” Of course, most sincerely wrong people you and I know are not a physical threat to anyone, but they certainly can be dangerous to the emotional and spiritual health of those they influence. They are especially dangerous when it comes to faith. And that danger most often takes the form of a theology that adds works of righteousness to salvation by grace through faith. Keep a watchful eye on them!

Who is the world's most difficult person?

Unshakeable Living // Romans 10:2

For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.

Who is the most difficult — and dangerous — person in the world? Is it not the one who is convinced they are really right when they are really wrong?

Do you know anyone like that? I do — I have friends who would have to rank as some of the sincerest people on the planet — sincere in their faith, convinced in their doctrine, determined in their witness — but being sure and sincere are not the hallmarks of accuracy. In fact, the louder and more aggressive the sincerity, the greater the likelihood their sincerity is misplaced and wrongheaded.

The world is full of sincerely wrong people. And in some cases, they make the world a very dangerous place. If you doubt that, look at any radical bent on having his or her way — a suicide bomber, an anti-abortion assassin, a jealous spouse ready to commit murder-suicide. Each of those people is convinced their cause is righteous and is ready to go to extreme measures to ensure that it’s “my way or the highway.”

Of course, most sincerely wrong people you and I know are not a physical threat to anyone, but they certainly can be dangerous to the emotional and spiritual health of those they influence. They are especially dangerous when it comes to faith. And that danger most often takes the form of a theology that is different from what Paul is specifically teaching in this chapter about what it takes to be saved.

While Paul is very clear that salvation is by faith, through belief in the heart and confession with the mouth, these sincere spiritual zealots tend to choke over that equation when you articulate it to them. Just reading the first half of the last sentence sends them into orbit—and not in a good way. They can’t resist adding “plus works” (articulated in a more sophisticated and convincing form, of course) to what Paul has said. But they are missing the whole point he is trying to make in Romans 10:5-6,

For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven’ (to bring Christ down to earth). And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” In fact, it says, ‘The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” (The Message)

Did you catch that? “It is on your lips and in your heart.” In other words, the faith that produces salvation is not a result of any human effort but comes from believing in the core of your being — your heart — and confessing with that which reveals your truest belief as well as the overflow of your heart — your tongue (Luke 6:45). When the heart is transformed by the work of God’s Spirit, and the mouth speaks what the heart has experienced, there you find evidence that true salvation has occurred. For, as the Bible plainly reveals and absolutely guarantees, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” (Rom 10:11) Why? For this simple reason: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom 10:13)

If you are going to be a spiritual zealot, get zealous over that! In that, you can be sincerely right!

Get Rooted: Memorize Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” For Your Consideration: read these verses, as well as the immediate context (Romans 10:5-13) from several different translations (I would recommend the NIV, The Message, and the New Living Translation). Why are these verses such a centerpiece to the Christian message? How does your own view of salvation line up with what Paul has written? Do you think your Christian friends have a good grasp on what it takes to be saved, and if not, how can you engage them in a spiritual conversation about this matter?

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When God Doesn’t Make Sense

Your Trust In God Will Never Be Put To Shame

UNSHAKEABLE: When we call God into question, the problem is not with God, it is with our understanding. Our vision is clouded by ignorance, or pain, or self-preservation, or selfishness, or some other limiting defect brought about by the sin-altered genetics we carry around. But occasionally, we have a very clear picture of what God is up to and we just don’t like it. It seems unfair, inconsistent with a loving God, and incongruent with his good promises. But God has a purpose in everything he does — things we agree with and things we don’t; things we understand and things we don’t; things we like and things we don’t, and we would do well to stand on the promise that “the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” (Rom 9:33)

God has his reasons, and he doesn’t have to explain himself to us. Even if he did, we probably wouldn’t have the capacity to understand.—Ray Noah

Unshakeable Living // Romans 9:33

The one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.

Have there been times in your life when God hasn’t made sense? It happens to me all the time. Early and often, his purpose seems shaky, his logic flawed, his plan muddled, his goodness questionable — frankly, God just doesn’t make sense.

Guess what? He doesn’t have to. He is God and we are not!

In truth, most of the time when we call God into question, the problem is with our understanding. Our vision is clouded by ignorance, or pain, or self-preservation, or selfishness, or some other limiting defect brought about by the sin-altered genetics we carry around. But occasionally, we have a very clear picture of what God is up to and we just don’t like it. It seems unfair, inconsistent with a loving God, and incongruent with his good promises, a la Romans 9:14-18!

What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

In response to that universal complaint, Paul offers some sage advice that you and I would do well to embrace. It would save us a great deal of angst in trying to figure out what will never be figured out: The mystery of God’s ways (See Romans 11:33-36, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”). Paul’s advice comes in the form of a question:

But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? (Rom 9:20-21)

What is Paul saying? That God is God and you are not! If God wants to make one lump of clay into a “vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans” (The Message rendering of verse 21), who is the clay to argue with the Potter? God has his reasons, and he doesn’t have to explain himself. Even if he did, we probably wouldn’t have the capacity to understand. And if we did, his explanation most likely wouldn’t salve our uneasiness with God’s ways — which, just so you know, primarily arises out of our ongoing wrestling match with trying to settle the issue of godship in our lives.

The bottom line is that God has a purpose in everything he does — things we agree with and things we don’t; things we understand and things we don’t; things we like and things we don’t:

I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth (Rom 9:17)

So if that is the inexorable purpose of God, then here’s what I am going with: trusting God. And what is the promise to those of us who will take that approach, even when — especially when — God doesn’t make sense?

The one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. (Rom 9:33)

Yes — God is God and I am not! And I am okay with that.

Get Rooted: Take a moment to reaffirm your trust in God.

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Big “C” Christianity

Acknowledging Jesus As Lord With Our Lips and By Our Lives Is Required

UNSHAKEABLE: Since Jesus Christ is God, therefore, he has every right to rule over our lives as Lord. We are to obey what he says, do what he commands, serve his purposes through our lives, extend his renown throughout the world, and love him with our whole hearts. That’s what it means to be Christian—big “C”!

In America, our national documents guarantee us the right of religious freedom, to believe what we want — but our national rights don’t guarantee that what we believe will be spiritually right.—Ray Noah

Unshakeable Living // Romans 9:5

Christ is over all, the eternally blessed God.

On a fairly regular basis, surveys are released to the public revealing the current state of spirituality of American “christians.” No, “christian” is not a typo. I have used the lowercase “c” deliberately.

A 2008 survey, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life,

“The fact that most Americans are not exclusive or dogmatic about their religion is a fascinating finding,” said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum. “Most people will be surprised that a majority of adherents in nearly all religious traditions, including a majority of evangelical Protestants, say that there isn’t just one way to salvation or to interpret the teachings of their own faith.” (https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/about/news-room/press-releases-and-statements/2008/06/23/new-report-from-the-pew-forum-on-religion-public-life-finds-religion-in-us-is-nondogmatic-diverse-and-politically-relevant)

That can either be taken as a positive sign of growing religious tolerance or more likely, that a high percentage of evangelical Americans dismiss or don’t know the fundamental teachings of their own faiths

In America, our national documents guarantee us the right of religious freedom, to believe what we want — but our national rights don’t guarantee that what we believe will be spiritually right.

People who claim Christianity as their faith have the right to believe that there are many ways to salvation and eternal life, but at least they ought to be intellectually honest enough to admit that their opinion is neither what the Bible teaches nor even what Jesus claimed about himself. It is not even close.

A lot of people may say they follow Jesus Christ, but they are not truly following the way Jesus called them to follow: “If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily.” (Mat 16:24) Likewise, he said, “if you love me, you will do what I say.” (John 14:15) Furthermore, he made the astounding claim in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Sounds pretty intolerant, exclusive, and narrow-minded, wouldn’t you say?

Clearly, from Jesus’ own teaching and from the teaching of Scripture, only those who have fully surrendered their lives to his Lordship are truly Christian.

A great majority of those who say they follow Jesus are simply self-deceived or misled — or both. Their “christianity” is perhaps a cultural one and not a spiritual Christianity. Some believe themselves to be “christian” by virtue of being born in America or having been raised by parents who took them to a Christian church twice a year — Christmas and Easter. But going to church or being born to a Christian family or growing up in a “christian” culture doesn’t make you a Christian any more than stepping onto a dance floor makes you Fred Astaire or Ginger Rogers.

A great majority of those who claim Evangelical faith might even be sincere. But sincerity is not an indicator of truth. There are a lot a sincere people in the world, but they are sincerely wrong.

Being a Christian means recognizing that Jesus himself claimed to be God. Not just a god, or one of God’s offspring; not just a good moral teacher or an influential spiritual director. No, Jesus is, was, and forevermore shall be God. In fact, that’s what got him crucified — his claim to Godship. We are called to recognize, accept and surrender to him as God.

That’s what it means to be Christian — big “C”!

Since he is God, therefore, he has every right to rule over our lives as Lord. We are to obey what he says, do what he commands, serve his purposes through our lives, extend his renown throughout the world, and love him with our whole hearts.

That’s what it means to be Christian — big “C”!

And he is to receive praise from our lips and from our lives. Everything we think, say, and do is to bring glory and honor to him. Our whole existence, our everyday, walking around lives, are to be an offering of praise that brings eternal glory to Jesus Christ.

That’s what it means to be Christian — big “C”!

That’s the kind of Christian I want to be!

Get Rooted: Read Romans 9:1-33. Memorize Romans 9:33, “As it is written: ‘See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For Your Consideration: Ponder the difference between “Big C” and “Small c” Christianity — and honestly evaluate your own faith? Obviously, God desires us to be fully on board with our Christian faith. In reality, maybe you are not 100% there. On a scale of 1to 10, with 10 being “fully devoted to God,” rate yourself in the following areas—and then ask yourself how you can take strategic growth steps toward full devotion: 1) My Moral Life, 2) My Relationships, 3) My Finances, 4) My Service to God, 5) My Personal and Daily Relationship with Jesus Christ

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Inseparable!

Nothing Can Come Between Me and God’s Love

UNSHAKEABLE: While the work of God to redeem and remake you is inexorably marching toward a glorious conclusion, we are still trapped in the sinful flesh, living in the sin-infested world, under the assault of the king of sin, Satan. And often our sense of reality is that sin — our sin, the world’s sin, the unrelenting pressure of the sin-maker — is dragging us in the opposite direction of our redemption. But the greater reality is that while that may seem to be true, God is at work in us, working out His eternal purposes. And here is the good news: His work is unstoppable! Moreover, while we are living in that dual reality between the awful pull of sin and the unstoppable work of redemption, we are inseparable from the stubborn, persistent, irrevocable love of God.

God’s effort to redeem us from sin, remake us into the image of Jesus, and ready us to fit into His eternal purposes is unstoppable! —Ray Noah

Unshakeable Living // Romans 8:35, 38-39

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? … For I am convinced that 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.

Thank God for Romans 8. It is chock full of encouraging theology that reminds us of the great and unstoppable effort God exerted to redeem us from sin, remake us into the image of Jesus, and ready us to fit into His eternal purposes. Among many other reasons, this is so encouraging because often, on the surface of things, it seems as if precisely the opposite of redeeming, remaking, and readying us for glory both in this life and especially in the next is the farthest thing from what is actually happening.

You see, we live in a dual reality. While the work of God mentioned above is inexorably marching toward a glorious conclusion, we are still trapped in the sinful flesh, living in the sin-infested world, under the assault of the king of sin, Satan. And often our sense of reality is that sin — our sin, the world’s sin, the unrelenting pressure of the sin-maker — is dragging us in the opposite direction of our redemption.

But the greater reality is that while that may seem to be true, God is at work in you, working out His eternal purposes. And here is the good news: His work is unstoppable! Moreover, while you are living in that dual reality between the awful pull of sin and the unstoppable work of redemption, you are inseparable from the stubborn, persistent, irrevocable love of God.

Did you catch that twice in these verses Paul reminds us of this glorious truth — that between you and God’s love, the only thing that stands is the word “inseparable”? What is it that can separate you from God’s ever-abiding, redeeming, providing, sustaining love? Nothing!

Within the category of “nothing” is an exhaustive list of things that cannot come between you and God’s love: trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, the sword; not even 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. I think that pretty much covers it, don’t you?

Yes, not even your sin — past, present, and future — can come between you and God’s love. Christ Jesus made sure of that on the cross.

Inseparable!

Get Rooted: Re-read Romans 8:1-39, then memorize Romans 8:32, “Since God did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all—won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?” Meditate on how this verse is to be understood in light of your sinful past (Romans 8:1), your moral weaknesses (Romans 8:5-13), your spiritual identity (Romans 8:14-17), your circumstances, past and present (Romans 8:28), and Satan’s attempts to separate you from God’s love (Romans 8:38-39).

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What Else Could He Do?

Let Jesus’s Death and Resurrection Settle the Issue of Your Confidence in God

UNSHAKEABLE: The grand prize in the cosmic conflict between God and Satan is you! And that battle is most fiercely waged on the field of your trust in the goodness and sovereignty of God. And whoever lays claim to your confidence will command your emotions, capture your thoughts, color your behavior, and very likely, control your destiny — in this life, for sure, and very possibly, in the next. One of the most potent weapons Satan unleashes in the fight is to get you to doubt God’s love and sufficiency. But why would you ever doubt God’s care and competence and unstoppable love when he didn’t even spare his own Son for you? Let Jesus’s death and resurrection settle the issue of your trust and confidence in God.

whoever lays claim to your confidence will command your emotions, capture your thoughts, color your behavior, and very likely, control your destiny — in this life, for sure, and very possibly, in the next. —Ray Noah

Unshakeable Living // Romans 8:32, 35

Since God did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all — won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?

The great thinker C.S. Lewis made a profound observation:

There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.

From what I understand of God’s Word, Lewis was right. And the grand prize in this cosmic conflict is you! The battle is most fiercely waged on the field of your trust in the goodness and sovereignty of God. And whoever lays claim to your confidence will command your emotions, capture your thoughts, color your behavior, and very likely, control your destiny—in this life, for sure, and very possibly, in the next.

One of the most potent weapons Satan unleashes in the fight is to get you to doubt God’s love and sufficiency. If Satan can get you to question God’s commitment to you, to go wobbly on your steadfast belief in God’s care for you and waver in your belief in God’s competence to perfect everything that concerns you, you will live in something far less than the abundance that God desires for you. (John 10:10)

But why would you ever doubt God’s care and competence? How could you ever doubt His unconditional, immeasurable love for you? How could you be anything less than confident in His power to perfect His flawless plan in your life, no matter what your circumstances might be at the moment? What more could He do to prove to you that He’s got you covered?

If God didn’t spare His very own Son from death; if He allowed Jesus to hang for six torturous hours on the cross, receiving the wrath that was rightly meant for you, what more could He do to demonstrate beyond any shadow of doubt His all-sufficient grace and more than enough provision for you? I would submit to you that nothing will convince you if that doesn’t!

Hopefully, if you are in any way doubting God right now — about your past, your future, your sins, your hurts, your circumstances, your finances, your relationships, your place in God’s kingdom — this will be a powerful reminder to reject doubt and recommit yourself at the very core of what you believe to this inalterable truth: God loves you and has an incredible plan for your life! Period.

Get Rooted: Re-read Romans 8:1-39, then memorize Romans 8:32, “Since God did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all—won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?” Meditate on how this verse is to be understood in light of your sinful past (Romans 8:1), your moral weaknesses (Romans 8:5-13), your spiritual identity (Romans 8:14-17), your circumstances, past and present (Romans 8:28), and Satan’s attempts to separate you from God’s love (Romans 8:38-39).

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We Win!

Our Victory Has Been Secured

UNSHAKEABLE: I am not sure what I would do without this theology: God causes everything that happens to me, both good and bad, to work to my good and His glory. Now understand that Paul isn’t saying God causes all things, but that He causes all things that occur in my life to work toward his purpose for me. He sovereignly orchestrates every single event in my life — suffering, sickness, and yes, even my sin, along with my successes and accomplishments — for my good in this world and for his glorious life for me in the world to come.

While God works all things for my good, keep in mind that He gets to define what is beneficial for me. After all, He is God and I am not. —Ray Noah

Unshakeable Living // Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8 has to be one of the most encouraging chapters in the entire Bible. And this section, Romans 8:28-39, is the summit of encouragement. I hope you will read all twelve verses in it today — and perhaps every day for the rest of the week.

I am not sure what I would do without this theology — that God causes everything that happens to me, both good and bad, to work to my good and His glory. Now understand that Paul isn’t saying God causes all things, but that He causes all things that occur in my life to work toward his purpose for me. He sovereignly orchestrates every single event in my life — suffering, sickness, and yes, even my sin, along with my successes and accomplishments — to my benefit in this world and for the glorious life he has prepared for me in the world to come.

But keep in mind that He gets to define what is beneficial and good for me. After all, He is God and I am not. And what He has defined as good for me is found in the very next verse, Romans 8:29,

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

For the time being, put aside your questions about predestination and focus on the word “conform.” The word in the Greek text is the same from which we get our word, “morph,” or “metamorphosis.” What is the good that all things are being divinely leveraged in your life? Simple, yet profoundly this: That you are being chiseled by circumstances and events and interactions each and every day into the very likeness of Jesus Christ. And that is the highest good possible, my friend, because that lasts for both time and eternity.

That is God’s great and unstoppable purpose for you. He is committed to that as much as He is committed to anything in this universe. And therefore, “if God is for you, who can be against you?” (Rom 8:31) If God was willing for His Son to die such a horrible death on the cross just to morph you into that which was worthy of eternal life, what else could prove His both the depth of His indescribable love and the irresistibility of His divine purpose for you? (Rom 8:32) Is there anything in all of creation that can stop God’s love or thwart God’s purpose in remaking you into the image and likeness of Jesus? Nothing … nada … zero … zilch … zip! (Rom 8:33-39) The fact is, “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Rom 8:37)

Bottom line: We win! I mean, really win in the only way that counts — which is looking, thinking, acting and being just like Jesus!

You are a winner! Go with it!

Get Rooted: Read Romans 8:1-39 and meditate on Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that 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.”