The following is a entry from one of my old journals. I have felt like I should share them with you all, hoping that you may benefit from them, but that I too would receive something by looking at what God has taken me through.
I hope you enjoy!
(For this journal entry I read Romans 7:7-25, 8:1-17, but due to the length of the passage, I am just posting the last few verses. I encourage you to look up this entire passage and let God speak to you through it.)
12….Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. -Romans 8:12-17
Romans 7:7-25, 8:1-17
We constantly struggle with sin…it is in our nature. The passage in Romans 7:15-20 explains this perfectly. We often do what we do not want to do, and do not do what we want to.We have this great desire to do good, but our natural nature constantly pushes us away from it.
I know for myself, I have this desire to do good, but just like Paul said, I cannot carry it out on my own. So who can rescue us from these bodies of sin and death? Thanks be to God!! Through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24-25).
Paul then states in Romans 8:1-17 that we have life through the spirit! Since Jesus Christ freed us from the law of sin and death through conquering it himself, therefore we are no longer condemned if we are in Christ Jesus. Though the mind of a sinful man is death, the mind controlled by the spirit is life and peace…and this is what we now shall strive for; a mind controlled by the spirit, not the flesh.
Paul ends this passage with such a beautiful thing. He reminds us that we have no need to fear, because we have received a spirit of sonship…WE ARE NOW GOD’S CHILDREN!!! We should not serve God out of obligation, but out of gratitude, thankfulness, love, joy, etc. We are now heirs of HIS kingdom.
I hope this journal entry sparked some thoughts. It was great for me to be reminded of how low we are in our natural state, yet how precious we are to God, that he would not only send his only son to die in our stead, but would also adopt us. I strongly encourage you all to go through your own journal entries, if you have them, to see where God has taken you. And, if you are willing, share some them with us.
If you did enjoy this entry, please be sure to share with us via a comment below. Also, let your friends know about LivingForJesus.com via the tweet or share boxes at the top of the page, its through you that this site gets exposed 🙂
In God’s Love and Grace,
Born in 1989, Colton (the author of LivngForJesus) is child of God, husband, soon-to-be father (baby on the way), the Outreach & Youth Director at Gateway Christian Church and a graphic/web designer. He has had a passion for ministry since his mid-teens....
yeah that is a great and simple way to paraphrase that passage. 🙂
Would you agree or disagree that the following paraphrase might fit this passage… Rom.8 vs.17… A mind controlled by the Holy Spirit is life and peace. A mind controlled by the flesh is death and unrest? Thanks for the feedback!