Quote from Forum Archives on May 13, 2002, 11:20 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

What can separate you from the love of God? A Brooklyn Tabernacle
choir tune asks that question, but actually, the question itself is a
question posed by the apostle Paul in his letter to the early church
in Rome. You can read up on the message in Romans 8, a passage
undoubtedly familiar to anyone who studies scripture, but possibly new
to some of you. If you're interested in reading it online, take a
look at
bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible?passage=Romans+8&version=NIV-IBS&showfn=yes&showxref=yes&language=english

What's the answer? Are there any qualifications to the answer? Here
is my interpretation: Verse 1 of Romans 8 says it plainly: "Therefore,
there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus". The
qualification to the passage is "for those who are in Christ Jesus".
The answer is that "there is now no condemnation", therefore, as seen
in verse 39 "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!"

Is that reason enough to return the love that Jesus Christ so freely
gives to us? I think so!

Now what can we do we that kind of confident love that Christ offers
to us? Neil Anderson provides some good suggestions in his message
today - we now have the freedom to be bold and courageous, for the
things that formerly hindered us are the very things that Christ's
sacrifice frees us from - the bondage of fear, cowardice, and
unbelief.

We may be inclined to get discouraged when things do not work out the
way we'd like them to. I confess that I have to battle that all the
time, particularly since I've been looking for permanent work for so
long. Even so, clinging to the promises of Christ and continually
renewing my mind with His Spirit provide the remedy for the things
that try to hold me captive; I need not remain bound to any of them!
Eternal thanks and praise to God for that!

SO I shere the comments and prayer that Neil offers today, and
encourage you to apply these same principles in your life, whether
things are going well or if the struggles are great. It's wonderful
to take hold of the continual promises of God and make them a part of
our lives!

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

Reply-to: "Neil Anderson" <neilanderson.UM.A.3.30676@lists.crosswalk.com>
Subject: Neil Anderson Devotional for Monday, May 13, 2002

N E I L A N D E R S O N D A I L Y D E V O T I O N A L
from Freedom in Christ Ministries

May 13

SPIRIT-INSPIRED BOLDNESS

Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the
LORD your God is with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9).

The third qualification for demonstrating authority over rulers
and authorities in the spiritual realm is boldness. A
Spirit-filled Christian is characterized by a true, godly sense
of courage and boldness in spiritual warfare. On the eve of
taking authority over the Promised Land, Joshua was challenged
four times to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9, 18).
When the early church prayed about their mission of sharing the
gospel in Jerusalem, "the place where they had gathered together
was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and
began to speak the word of God with boldness" (Acts 4:31).
Spirit-inspired boldness is behind every successful advance in
the church today.

The opposite of boldness is cowardice, fear and unbelief. Notice
what God thinks about these characteristics:

I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give
to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life
without cost. He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I
will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and
unbelieving and abominable and murders and immoral persons and
sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the
lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death (Revelation 21:6-8).

That's pretty serious--cowards lined up at the lake of fire
alongside murderers, sorcerers and idolaters! It should serve to
motivate us to exercise authority with boldness (2 Timothy 1:7).

A lot of Christians I meet fear the dark side of the spiritual
world. It's true that a little knowledge can be a dangerous and
frightful thing, but a growing knowledge of the truth is
liberating. Seminary students have told me, "I used to be afraid
of that stuff, but now I know who I am in Christ, and I'm not
afraid anymore." That's exactly the perception we should have.

Lord, increase my courage to light candles of truth and dispel
the darkness in Your name. I will fear only You today, not the
enemy.

-----------
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< devotionals.crosswalk.com >.
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Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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