Romans 8 – in easy to understand language

by Wendy | Feb 5, 2021 | Bible Paraphrased, Bible Simply Understood, Devotional, Faith Blog, Romans, Shop

Romans 8

Before Jesus came to the earth, we didn’t have any hope. We were lost in our sins. When we give our life to Jesus, our sins are forgiven. God does not condemn us. He loves us.

Ever since God gave His law to Moses, we have been trying to obey that law – trying and failing.

Our sinful, human bodies kept doing what was wrong.

This is why we could never be saved by following the law – we simply could not follow it. Our fleshly impulses and desires always got in the way.

But when Jesus came to the earth, He was tempted to sin just like we are, but He overcame temptation and did not sin – not even once. And because He did not sin, Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf and this set us free from it.

Instead of having a written law, God wrote the law on our hearts.

When we give our life to Jesus, God fills us with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit reminds us of the law that God has put in our hearts and He also gives us the strength to withstand temptation.

While we live on this earth, we still struggle against sin, but now we have help, because the Spirit of Jesus has come into our hearts and he leads and guides us.

But we are not perfect. We will not be made perfect until Jesus comes and takes us to Heaven.

At that time, He will take away our old, sinful bodies and give us brand new bodies and a brand new nature – one that will never sin again. We will be free at last. We patiently wait for that time.

In the mean time, we still live in a sinful body and this means that we still do sin.

But now, all we have to do is ask God to forgive our sin in the Name of Jesus, and we are instantly and completely forgiven. In God’s eyes, it is as if we never sinned.

As we walk with Jesus every day and follow the leading of the Spirit, we become more like Him.

When we love God, we will still experience hard times because we live on this sinful earth, but God promises to take every hard situation and bring good out of it. What a comfort this is.

When you have God on your side, no-one can successfully come against you. They might try, but they won’t succeed.

God does not condemn us. He loves us and He sent Jesus to save us. Now Jesus is in Heaven, working continually on our behalf.

There is nothing at all – not any amount of trouble or hardship – that can separate us from God’s love.

There is no need to worry

by Wendy | Jan 31, 2021 | Devotional

Bible Text

Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 “My Grace is sufficient for you.”

Life Application

Sometimes, it can be really hard not to worry about the future, especially in these uncertain times, but in Matthew 6:34 Jesus says to us “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”

Why does Jesus say this?

Because He gives us His Grace (his help, his strength, his wisdom) just at the time we need it, not before.

When we spend our time worrying about the future, it is like we are experiencing a future negative event over and over, when God hasn’t given us His Grace to go through it yet.

We may even be worrying about something that doesn’t even happen. So all that worry, stress and emotional pain has been for nothing.

I’m sure many of you have heard the acronym for FEAR.

F            FALSE
E            EVIDENCE
A            APPEARING
R            REAL

Personal Story

When our son was born with a condition called Achondroplasia (also known as Dwarfism or Short-statured), it was an absolute shock. Not only would he only be significantly shorter than everyone else, but there was a myriad of medical issues that we may have to deal with.

We were worried sick about his health, the possibility of him being teased at school and about what his future may hold.

My sister said the most helpful thing at the time.

She said to me “try not to look too far ahead and worry about the future. Just ask yourself, ‘can I handle him today?’ The answer was always ‘yes, of course I can’.
He was a beautiful, peaceful baby – an absolute delight. I could handle him today.

After that, whenever I started to worry about his future or our ability to cope in the future, I would ask myself ‘can I handle him today?’ And every time without fail, the answer was ‘yes, definitely’.

This brought my thoughts back to the present time. It helped me to stop worrying about the unknown future.

God gives us His Grace today for today.

Another example about God giving me His Grace just at the moment I needed it, was when we were going to a lunch for ‘Short-statured’ people and their families.

I knew it would be the first time we would meet adults with Dwarfism. On the car ride over there, we were so nervous about meeting them. We would be face to face with the reality of our son’s future.

But as soon as I knocked on the front door of the house, God gave me His Grace!!

He miraculously took the fear and worry away instantly. I was fully at peace, happy to meet these special people. And we had a wonderful day together. They were amazing people.

A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated our son’s 21st birthday. At the party, it was obvious that he is so LOVED!!! He has so many true friends who love him just the way it is.

And he has turned out to be a wonderful young man. We are so proud of him. He is completely comfortable in who he is. He is a mature, fun-loving, responsible young man with so many close friends. There has been some pretty serious medical issues along the way, but God has given us His Grace to deal with each one as they came along.

Looking back now, we realise that we worried for nothing!!!

This is why Jesus says not to ‘worry about tomorrow’.

Conclusion

God is faithful. He will always give us the Grace we need for any situation at just the right time, not before.

Trust God today. Rest in His Grace today. His Grace will be there for you tomorrow.

Prayer

Dear Loving God,

I’m sorry for worrying instead of trusting You. Today, I choose to trust You completely, no matter how impossible things look. Please give me your Grace for this one day.

In Jesus Name, Amen