WHY DO WE WORK? Romans 8:15-17.

Everyone works hard, right? No matter the religion or culture, there are hard-working people everywhere. But what is their motive? 

Most work out of a sense of duty, like a legal obligation. Most are “slaves” in effect, to the boss, the bank, or whoever. But Christians serve as sons and daughters.

For example, my motives are different when I am at my mom’s hanging pictures or moving furniture, than when I am at the office drafting legal documents. 

Serving a parent as a son is totally different than working as an employee. Not only is LOVE a motivator, but also there is an INHERITANCE—by serving parents and family, I am serving myself. I am bought-in, fully vested in the family’s investments, the family’s future.

Paul points this out. Everyone else works like a slave. But it’s different for you:

“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” Romans 8:15-17.

THAT is why we serve with JOY, because we serve as part of the family, preparing a holiday meal, for example. We are happy to be together, serving with Christ and our brothers and sisters—and even if we are ALONE, we are not truly alone. We KNOW we are serving alongside the worldwide family of God.

And this keeps us encouraged. We don’t burn out because we operate from a place of love, joy, and even GRATITUDE, thankful for the opportunity. 

Walk with Him today, in all you do!

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THE ACCUSER OF THE BRETHREN. Revelation 12:10-11.

In the book of Job, the devil appears before God to slander Job. God taunts him, “trash talking” if you will: “Have you seen my servant Job? What a faithful man” Job 1:8. And the devil accuses Job of being faithful because God has blessed him. So God lets the devil destroy Job’s blessings. Then God points out Job’s continued faithfulness. So the accuser says Job is faithful because he is healthy; take away his health and he will curse you. So God lets the devil take Job’s health, and Job remains faithful. Job had no idea he was part of a cosmic battle for bragging rights over his soul!

The devil accuses us too. Imagine a courtroom: the Father is the Judge. The devil accuses us, prosecuting us for our sins. But Jesus is “our advocate with the Father,” 1 John 2:1, and “lives to intercede for us” Hebrews 7:25.

The devil, demons, and our own minds, accuse us CONSTANTLY. Have you noticed? Voices in your head always say you are a failure, that you will never measure up, NEVER be what you should be. Do you believe those voices? Well, DON’T! That is the voice of the accuser—and he has been defeated!

“The accuser of the brethren has been thrown out [of heaven], the one who accuses believers day and night. They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony” Revelation 12:10-11.

The accuser has been defeated! Don’t listen to the lies and accusations he whispers in your ear! Tell him: “the accuser of the brethren has been thrown down! I have conquered by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony.” Add Romans 8:1—“there is NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ Jesus!”

God, thank you for your VICTORY! Help us to walk in victory and replace the enemy’s accusations with truth from your word: NO CONDEMNATION! I am redeemed, restored, and cleansed in Christ; I can do ALL THINGS through you!

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NO CONDEMNATION. Romans 8:1.

What is Christianity to you? Rules and guilt? Yuck. No wonder you’re not excited about it!

Judaism was about rules—613 rules. Jesus rescued us from rules. If church or faith or conversations about God leave you thinking about rules, then your faith is still in elementary school. Let’s graduate: Jesus delivers you from rule-following—and He takes away your guilt! Church and faith and conversations about God should make you happy, because you are no longer bound by rules, judged for failures, and burdened with guilt like a backpack full of rocks.

Do you feel guilt for sins—both of omission and commission? Guilt has a paradoxical effect—instead of motivating you, it un-motivates you.

But there is a way out. Embrace God’s promise. MEMORIZE it:

“There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and of death” Romans 8:1.

Here are the basics: you and I could NEVER follow the law, our accounts are filled with sins, and we stand condemned. Jesus followed the law perfectly then offered Himself in our place. The Father applied the righteousness of Jesus to YOUR account. We are NEW creatures in Christ—HOLY creatures, guilty of nothing. There is no sin on your account. You are free!

Do we have duties—things we should do or avoid doing? Yes. Adult Christianity is walking by faith, motivated by grace and gratitude. God has cleansed me and welcomes me. I’m going to do my best for Him. “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable” 1 Corinthians 10:23. There is no sin or guilt on me. But some actions are not profitable. I’m going to avoid those actions. Other actions are important and valuable, like Bible reading. I’m going to make those actions habits.

MEMORIZE Romans 8:1. Resolve to NEVER again feel guilt as a Christian or think your faith is about guilt!

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Daydreaming About Romans 8:28.

As a little boy I was sensitive, artistic, bored, and bullied. I was in trouble ALL the time.

But I had amazing parents—and a wild imagination. And there was this one crazy daydream that stuck with me, a theme I came back to constantly: I imagined that I was the center of my own “SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY.”

I would imagine that I was the center of a secret celestial world where God would have meetings and assign parts to everyone. The bully would do something to me on Monday. My teacher would be told to punish me unjustly on Tuesday. My parents had duties. My younger brother Dennis had assignments. There were jobs for the preacher, celebrities, strangers, my next-door neighbors—everyone. And why did the universe get together and talk about what they were orchestrating in the life of Steven every week?

Because God knew the only way I would grow up to be all that He created me to be was if I were challenged by all the right problems. So God gave assignments to everyone to create problems for me—knowing that those problems would make me stronger.

Of course, I knew none of this was true. I was NOT the center of anyone’s universe. BUT—God IS sovereign, and though He does not make people hurt each other, He USES it. My daydreams were not completely false.

So when I was a teenager and first heard Romans 8:28, I GOT IT. I understood the verse IN MY BONES. Of course, God controls everything and uses it to grow me up. I memorized that verse immediately and it has gotten me through thousands of problems.

“For we know that God causes ALL THINGS to work together for GOOD to those who love God and to those who are CALLED according to His purpose” Romans 8:28.

Thank you, God, that you are IN CONTROL! Remind me that You can use EVERYTHING to mold me into who You designed me to be. I trust You—even with my problems! Thank you that You turn them ALL into GOOD things!

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YOUR MIND IS A GARDEN. Romans 12:2.

YOU are the gardener. Pull up the weeds—the bad thoughts, and PLANT good, BIBLICAL thoughts, Romans 12:2. You will reap what you sow, that is, you will harvest what you plant. So plant God’s truth in your mind, so that you will harvest a great future with God. Here are some thoughts to plant in your mind:

1. I am in God’s Story. It is not ABOUT me, but I am in His Story. We are invited to join Him in His adventure.

2. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139. He knows what He is doing in me. His work making me is awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping! His work inspires WONDER. I am a unique picture of God. I bear His image! 

3. My life has PURPOSE. The Maker had a reason for making me! I am not random, or expendable! God put me here for a noble, Godly purpose. I am here to show His glory.

4. The Cross has the Final Word. Jesus looks at the sin and destruction in your life, your need for salvation, and says “IT IS FINISHED.” God is GOOD, and God is TRUSTWORTHY. You are a person of GREAT WORTH to Him.

—We often struggle with thoughts of being UNWORTHY, UNLOVELY, and NOT GOOD ENOUGH. But God says look at the CROSS! God says you are beautiful, worthy, and good!

5. I serve at the pleasure of the KING. He chose ME! Plant that thought in your mind!! Let that seed grow to harvest!

6. Jesus IS LORD! He sits on THE throne, with NO rival. He is the one and only, ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGN. And He welcomes us into His presence, where every soul that ever lived will say “He is Lord.”

7. My God turns evil into good. He will cause ALL THINGS to work together for good! Romans 8:28. Is there evil and suffering around you? God will bring GOOD out of that! 

Keep pulling weeds, eradicating bad thoughts and planting good thoughts, and you WILL HARVEST good fruit!

Your mind is a garden. Cultivate it! Fill it with the WORD!

—from Louie Giglio’s sermon “Seven Supernatural Thoughts.”

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Do You Have Afflictions? Romans 5:2-5.

Are you suffering from afflictions? We all do. This year I have suffered with allergies, a twisted ankle that took months to heal, an apparently arthritic elbow that has bothered me for over a year and only seems to get worse. Things on the job have been unusually difficult due to a recent merger, and there is another merger coming. I have spent a great deal of money on home repairs due to aging appliances and recent storm damage. I buried two dogs in one weekend. My life is filled with challenges. So is yours. What afflictions are you facing?

Take a minute to pause and count some of the hardships you face at present.

Now here’s a question: Are you thankful for your problems?

Thankful? Why would anyone be thankful for problems?

Consider this: are you excited about the glory of God? Do you set your hope on God’s glory? Do you cheer for God’s glory? Do you long to see Him lifted up? Affliction will get you there. Affliction—your sufferings—will increase your love for God and His glory.

“We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, And not only that, we rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint” Romans 5:2-5.

Paul just listed three great reasons to rejoice in suffering—because suffering produces endurance, which produces proven character, which then produces hope:

Problems give you Endurance.

Endurance gives you Proven Character.

Proven Character gives you Hope.

But a fourth reason, the best of them all, precedes this chain. That reason is that Paul was talking about hope in the glory of God, Romans 5:2.

Let’s explore this churchy expression. What is this abstraction we call “the glory of God”? It may not sound interesting, but it is!

Think of God’s glory as the ultimate, infinite fulfillment of all the greatest beauty and joy you have ever witnessed in His Creation.

Have you seen an astounding sunset, a dramatic mountain range, or the power of an electrical storm? Each reveals God’s glory.

Have you eaten an incredible meal, feasted on beautiful music, traveled to amazing locations? Each reveals God’s glory.

Have you stared in wonder at the full moon? Have you gazed at the Milky Way galaxy and pondered the seemingly infinite universe? Have you watched a meteor shower or the Northern Lights and realized your own infinite smallness? Each reveals God’s glory.

Have you been overwhelmed by young love? Been smitten by your firstborn child? Been moved by your love–or even your grief–for a parent or grandparent? Each reveals God’s glory.

Again, God’s glory is the ultimate, infinite fulfillment of all the greatest beauty and joy you have ever witnessed in His Creation–though it brings glory not to His Creation, but to the Creator Himself.

And Paul’s point is, when you suffer adversity, God will use it to help you to hope in God’s glory. Thus, there are not three links in the chain, but four:

Problems give you Endurance.

Endurance give you Proven Character.

Proven Character give you Hope.

And that Hope is rooted in the Glory of God.

When a Christian suffers while walking with Christ and taking his problems to the Savior, that Christian is transformed into a person with endurance, greater character, and a hope that rests in the excitement of seeing more of God’s glory.

In other words, as you suffer, you become more like Jesus as He fills you with a desire to see more of His glory. He will use every moment of suffering, every tear you shed, to make you more like Him, and to fill you with a stronger and stronger hope rooted in the heart of the Father and the revelation of His glory.

Suffering does not simply “make you grow.” Suffering makes you more like Jesus! Rejoice in your suffering.

God, give us the courage, the hope, and the discipline to rejoice in our afflictions. Fill us with your hope and a greater love for your glory. 

Take the time to actually thank God for your afflictions. List your problems and give thanks for each one, knowing God will use it to make you more like Him.

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Each Biblical Plague Rebuked a Specific Egyptian Idol. Exodus 12 and 13.

When Moses returned from Midian–the 80-year-old prophet who had been raised in Pharaoh’s palace, then fled a murder charge at the age of 40–the Hebrews were pleased. At first. But then Pharaoh told his task masters to make the Hebrews build bricks just as before, but with no straw supplied to them. The bricks were basically mud and straw in a square frame, left to dry in the sun. The straw is the fiber, the “skeleton” that holds the bricks together. Now the Hebrews had to find their own straw—without making fewer bricks. They were angry at Moses for bringing this problem on them.

Moses prayed, asking God why.

“But the Lord replied to Moses, NOW YOU ARE GOING TO SEE WHAT I WILL DO TO PHARAOH” Exodus 6:1.

Do you remember what followed? God brought to his knees the most powerful and arrogant man in the world. God proved to Pharaoh how big God is and how small Pharaoh is. How? By destroying the Pharaoh’s gods. Everything the Egyptians believed in was humiliated. The plagues were a judgment against Egypt’s idols, everything from the sun and crops to animals and insects.

“I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt” Exodus 12:12.

“The Lord executed judgment against their gods” Numbers 33:4.

Here are the plagues and the idols they humiliated:

  1. The Nile turned to blood. Egyptians considered the Nile to be the bloodstream of Osiris.
  2. Frogs covered the land. They worshipped two fertility gods with frog heads.
  3. Dust was turned to gnats or lice, depending on the translation. Egypt worshipped “Geb,” the god of the dust of the earth. (This was the final plague to affect the Hebrews. The other seven did not impact the land of Goshen where the Jews lived.)
  4. Flies covered the land. Egypt worshipped “Uatchit,” the fly god.
  5. Pestilence: Diseases caused the cattle to die. Egypt worshipped four “cow gods.”
  6. People were covered in boils. This showed the impotence of Egypt’s gods of healing and diseases, and was so bad, Pharaoh’s priests could not even come to court to speak to Pharaoh and Moses the next day. They could not stand on their feet.
  7. Hail. This was a slap in the face to gods of the sky and weather—and Egypt had never seen a hailstorm.
  8. Locusts devour grain. This was a rebuke of the gods of crops and “Serapia,” the protector from locusts.
  9. Darkness. A rebuke of RA, the sun-god, Egypt’s highest deity. It was pitch black for three days; so dark that “the darkness could be felt.” This must have seemed like the last straw, the final blow. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.
  10. Death of the firstborn of man and beast. This was a rebuke of Pharaoh himself. Kings are seen as the “first-born” of the nation, the way a President’s wife is called the “First Lady.” And 80 years before, a previous Pharaoh had ordered the killing of Israel’s male children (from which Moses was miraculously spared). Now God shows Pharaoh who really has the power of life and death. And God was merciful—He provided a way out, and God did not kill ALL male children, but only the first born.

Through all of this, God is merciful. Through Moses He says to Pharaoh, “I have let you live for this purpose: to show you My power and to make My name known in all the earth.” Exodus 9:16. After all, isn’t it better to suffer on earth—even ten Biblical plagues—than to live an easy life for 80 years, then spend eternity separated from God?

These horrible plagues were the perfect way for God to shake the Egyptian people to their core. By the time the Hebrews left Egypt, the fear of God had so overwhelmed the Egyptians that they sent the Jews away loaded down with jewelry and riches. And in case that seems unfair, remember that the Egyptians were rich because they had enslaved the Hebrews for generations. These riches—the “plunder”—was merely what the Egyptians owed the Hebrews.

So in the end, the Exodus was an amazing story for the Hebrew people, one that would enrich their culture and their worship for centuries—even many of the least observant Jews still celebrate the Passover today. But the Exodus is also a testimony of God’s faithfulness to the pagans of Egypt. I believe thousands and thousands of them must have converted to the monotheistic God of the Hebrews. Thousands must have finally dropped their idol worship and embraced faith in the one true god.

That is one of the most amazing parts of this story: Egypt suffered from history-making Biblical plagues. But Egypt was blessed by those plagues too, because the suffering helped many of them to discover the one true God.

Dear God, help us to love you and trust you even when we suffer. Remind us that you have amazing purposes, that you are telling an amazing story in our lives. Help us remember that you will “cause all things to work together for good, to those that love God and are called according to His purpose” Romans 8:28. Help us to love you more every day, and to have confident faith in any trial, knowing that you are at work and you are busy doing something great through our adversity. Mold us and shape us and make us who you want us to be. We love you.

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ROMANS CHAPTER EIGHT. Romans 8.

Hey! Stop whatever you’re doing and read Romans 8!

Is that not the richest passage, filled with amazing promises for your life?

No condemnation.

The Spirit gives peace.

In Christ, we conquer sin.

The coming glory outweighs present problems.

God helps us, even fixing our prayers.

God causes good to come in all things.

If He gave you His son, He will give you everything.

Nothing can separate you from Him.

“In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” Romans 8:37.

Read, study, and learn Romans 8. It is one of the most encouraging, most amazing chapters in the Bible.

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My Favorite Verse. Romans 8:28

I suppose most of us have a favorite Bible verse. Since high school I have considered Romans 8:28 my favorite.

“For we know that God causes ALL THINGS to work together for good in the lives of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.”

I love the reassurance—no matter what happens, God will turn it into something good in my life if I am serving Him. Isn’t that amazing? He is the champion, He does not lose. He will win over everything, every bad, painful thing that happens. He will win, and I will win too. Maybe He will use the situation to help me grow, or to know Him better, or share His word with someone else.

I can trust Him to make good out of every bad thing.

That’s amazing. There are many other verses that offer answers and encouragement in hard times. I recommend you learn them in the good times, so you are ready for the bad times:

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance…” James 1:2-3.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks, for such is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

“You have need of endurance, brethren, so that after you have been tested, you may not lose what you have accomplished” Hebrews 10:36.

“In all these things, we OVERWHELMINGLY CONQUER through Him who loved us…” Romans 8:37.

“Be strong in the Lord … knowing that the same experiences of testing are being accomplished by your brethren throughout the world. You are not alone” 1 Peter 5:9.

There are encouraging verses about how to handle hard times in every book of the New Testament, and many of the Old. Paul’s letters are particularly rich in such promises. Learn those verses and principles during the easy days so you will be that much stronger when the hard days come.

You were never meant to go through tough times alone! Learn God’s promises and when hard times come, hang on to those words for dear life. No other encouragement can compare!

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MADE TO WORSHIP, MADE TO SERVE. Romans 6.

God gave us two deeply rooted drives: We are (1) driven to worship and (2) driven to serve.

Everyone worships—some worship God, some worship idols, money, dreams, or themselves. Similarly, everyone serves. Some serve God, some serve their appetites.

The Bible uses another word for “serve” and that is “SLAVE.” You can be a slave to God or to your appetites. And what do we call slavery to an appetite? An addiction.

So you face a choice: will you be enslaved to your addictions? Or enslaved to the God who loves you perfectly?

*A note for the skeptic—does every non-believer appear to be addicted? No. But addictions come in many forms, from the poisoning heroin addiction, to the socially acceptable addictions to online shopping, fast-food, gaming, or “a little wine in the evening to take the edge off.”

Jesus said it best: “He who sins is a slave of sin” John 8:34.

But you have a choice:

“When you present yourselves as slaves, you become slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness” Romans 6:16

Paul says that a widow, while married, is bound to her husband, and if she were to marry another it would be adultery. But if her husband dies, she is no longer bound, Romans 7:1-3.

Baptism illustrates this choice. We are bound to sin, but when buried with Christ, the part of us that was bound to sin dies, releasing us, Romans 6:3-5. In Jesus, we are free to serve HIM.

Do all believers immediately forsake sins and faithfully serve Christ? No. But God gives us time to learn to walk in this NEW LIFE, as a slave of Christ—and a slave to the JOY and PEACE He gives. (Another note—it is true that being a slave to Christ does not feel like slavery. But we WERE made to worship and serve, and are HAPPIEST when we worship and serve HIM.)

Years ago, a pastor and mentor encouraged me to memorize Romans 6. Try it!

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