While we are weak, God is still strong

Paul writes in his second letter to the church in Corinth, chapter 12 about that fact that God put a thorn in Paul's flesh in order to stop him boasting about his experiences. After Paul pleads with God three times in verse 8 for God to take it away, this is the response of God:

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." And Paul concludes in verse 10: "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

We are weak people. We are not strong enough to face the world alone. We try to of course, and speaking as a man here, we hate to be wrong, to appear weak in front of others, be it other men, or indeed in front of women. Men have an inbuilt, sinful desire to be top, and not appear weak. I hate looking weak, so I and I'm sure many others are prone to arrogance.

When we are battered by the sin and suffering around us, and feel like we cannot go on, we need to remember the words of God in verse 9. For His grace is sufficient for us. He works through our weaknesses for His glory. When we suffer, God is working, when we are tired, God is working, when we are happy, God is working. God, in His mercy, is always working in our lives.

So students, when you feel tired from all your work, and feel like avoiding questionairring and flyering for a lunchbar, or chatting to a friend about Jesus, don't. For God uses our weaknesses, and the devil would love nothing more than for you to lie down, admitting defeat and not getting God's Word out to the campus.

So men, when you feel so scared of exposing yourself as weak, remember you are weak, and God still uses you.

Praise be to the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, who in His mercy has saved us, undeserving as we are, by His grace alone, and uses us, weak, sinful human beings, for His glory. After all, as Paul later writes in His letter to the Philippian church, chapter 4, verse 13 :"I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

The easily-forgettable truth of God's Sovereignty

It's easy to forget that God is completely in control of abseloutly everything. Trials and pain will come our way, and we will easily forget that we have a loving God that is completely in control. This is yet another tactic of the satan to try and undermine and destroy God's kingdom, by preying on us weak sinful human beings to make us forget about God, and try and forge our own path.

But we can do nothing without God.

A friend and I are currently going through a Bible Overview course together. So far, we have seen a perfect God make a perfect world just by speaking (Genesis 1). We've seen God make man and woman in His own image, tasked to work the land, fill it and subdue it (Genesis 1), under God. We however did not like that arrangement, and rebelled against God (Genesis 3), and were cast out of our relationship with God, hopeless without Him.

However, God in all of this is completely sovereign, and never gives up on His people. When He floods the world in Genesis 6-9, He puts in a rescue plan for Noah and his family, the only ones who are listening to Him. Here we see already God justly judging the earth, and at the same time providing and instigating a salvation plan for His people, in the form of the ark.

By Genesis 11, the people who are united against God by trying to build a tower to make themselves great above God, are scattered by God, homeless and hopeless without Him.
In Genesis 12, we see God in complete control, making promises to a man called Abram (later known as Abraham), of land, people and blessing. This is the turning point in the Bible, the point where God, despite the continuous rebellion and faliure of humanity, decides to reverse the Fall, our rebellion against God, by instigating these promises. These promises are God's salvation plan for His people. They are a gathering by God of a people He has chosen as His, to live in a land He gives them, under His rule and blessing. These promises make up God's kingdom: God's people, living in God's place, under God's rule and blessing. God promises to keep these promises, no matter what He has to do to do it. Even keeping our side for us (Genesis 15)

Amazing times!

Now we come to the book of Exodus, one of my favourite books in the Bible which completely demonstrates the Sovereign love. The beginning sees God's people (for by this point the promises are showing signs of fullfillment already) in a land that is not theirs, Egypt, and as such they are slaves. God hears the crys of His people, and tells a man called Moses that God is going to save His people. Moses doubts this initially, as do the people.
Exodus 2-6 is a hard read. We see the great juxtoposition of an amazing, sovereign God making promises of salvation for His people from slavery, yet when times are hard for them they grumble, blame Moses and therefore God. They forget the promises, and neglect the only response we as humans can possibly do, that is trust.

God does not make those promises as a target for us to work towards, nor because He owes them to us. Mankind does not deserve part of God's kingdom, and yet He gives it to us, freely, by His grace alone.

Exodus displays that God is sovereign, and that we need to and always fail to trust in Him. It's a pattern shown throughout the Bible, and always God mercifully saves. For you see, despite the doubt, despite the fear, the lack of faith and trust, which is the only and right response to God, He does save. For in Exodus 12, to save His people from the judgement on the Egyptians and from their slavery, God instigates and provides His salvation plan, that is, taking an unblemished lamb, killing it, and smearing it's blood on their door frames, so that when God strikes down the Egyptian firstborns for the enslavery of His firstborn, His people, they may be spared and rescued.

Sound familiar?

For those promises are true. God provides a salvation plan for His people, from their slavery to sin and rebellion against Him, by dying for them. God promised that He would keep His promises, whatever the cost. And the cost was Him, God the Son, come down to earth as jesus Christ, a perfect man and God, called an unblemished lamb, who stretched out His arms and shed His blood in death on a cross, so that we may be saved. We cannot work to such things, nor earn that right. God holds the safety line out to us as we drown in the sea. We cannot swim, we must grab that rope and trust that God holding the other end will pull us in.

For if we do, we are a part of God's kingdom, God's people in God's land under God's blessing. This will be finally seen when Jesus, having risen again from the dead, returns, where this earth, this tainted creation will pass away to make way for a new one, perfect and unspoilt. God's land, with us, God's people who have trusted in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, their only way out, under God's blessing, living with God as God over our lives, our relationship fully restored, for ever (Revelation 21-22)

It's easy to forget that God is sovereign, yet it is also easy to see God is sovereign. The Bible shows it, and so can our lives.

To use myself as an example. Some of you are all too aware of the fact I was supposed to get married on Agust the 8th this year. However, a lack of jobs prevented us. It looked hopeless, and there were many, many times where I felt there was no hope, that there was no direction now, that it had all gone wrong and there was no way I could fix this mess. See what I did? I forgot that God was in control, and tried to think of my own way out. Everybody does it, don't feel guilty, don't trust in yourselves, trust in God, for He does provide.

Even though I am not married yet, nor will be for some time, God is still sovereign. He has provided me with a house, food, clothing, all in Lancaster so that I cans still serve my church family at Moorlands Evangelical Church. I am not stuck somewhere where I do not want to be, and I have a job starting soon, with room for it to become permanent. God is so good, He has never stopped being so good. It just takes us a while to remember that.

God is in control, completely in control. Remember that as trails come. He is at work, do not cry "WHY!" but "How can I serve you in this situation?" It's hard to remember, so fight to remember, the God of the Universe has never stopped being in control. He is awesome and deserves all of the credit, for He is our hope, our salvation and our joy. We can, and have done nothing without Him. He is good, please fight the satan to remember this. God is great, praise
Him!

Don't get me wrong, it is going to be hard, and it is naive to think that the satan is not active. God is supreme, but that does not mean that life is an easy happy-clappy time. The kingdom of God in it's ultimate fullfillment has not come yet. Life is going to be hard, full of great pain. It is naive to think that because God is in control, that life will be easy. It's hard, but it's not permanent, for again, those promises stand, we will see them fullfilled one day.

God is in control, life is hard. Keep these truths both in mind as you face your inevitable and painful trials. The outcome is secure, FACT. Fight to remember that we are more than conquerors, thanks to the love of God, shown most in the cross of our Lord and saviour Christ Jesus

Grappling with guilt

"6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:6-8)

We are given a chance to escape the wrath of the God of the Universe, which we deserve, by trusting that Jesus died for us on the cross, which we do not deserve. There is nothing we can do to escape the reality that we are rebels against God. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves from that wrath. All we can do is completely surrender ourselves, our sinful, rebellious natures, and nail them down to the cross with Christ Jesus, who took the punishment for that very nature by dying a death He did not deserve. The guiltless made guilty, making the truly guilty completely guiltless. It is all God's doing, His salvation in Christ, nothing to do with us. It is for the glory of God to fulfill His plan in bringing His people under Him as God, we are a part of that plan because God wants us to be, nothing at all to do with us at all.

So why do we feel guilty?

If we think this through, it is thoroughly illogical to feel guilty now, because Christ died for us. He took that punishment, so that we can be free. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" says Romans 8:1. We are free, not because we deserve to be, but because Christ conquered sin and death by dying Himself, and later rising again as endorsement from God, that victory assured and complete.

Yet, we still feel guilty. I feel guilty. In fact, it's something I can greatly struggle with. Guilt is a very dangerous feeling, a redundant feeling, yet not one we can simply brush under the carpet and dismiss anyone feeling guilty as a weak person who needs to read the Bible properly. We all fall into THAT category!

Guilt is a tool of the satan, the accuser. Defeated at the cross of Jesus forever, the satan now seeks to undermine the progression of God's Word in the world by attacking the most vulnerable point, us. We know our grace is utterly undeserved, and we are not led to forget that. Unfortunately, the accuser sends us the other way. We feel responsible for the death of Christ, and when we mess up again and again as people under that grace of God, our thoughts of remorse and guilt consume us. We forget that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. While it is of course a right response to recognise our sinfulness, it is dangerous to neglect the flip side of the coin, that though we are sinners, we are washed clean of our sin by the blood of Jesus. He died so that we may live, and one day be made righteous and perfect with God (Ephesians 1:3-10), and nothing we do changes that.
If we adhere to the Biblical truth that God set us apart before the creation of the world, in order to be one day made holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4, 5, 11, 2:1-10, Romans 8:28-39, Romans 9:14-29; Acts 13:48; John 6:44), we find great comfort in many facts:

Firstly, the Sovereignty of God, who saw fit to unite His people, sinners as they are, under Him, to be made Holy and blameless, achieving this by the cross of Jesus Christ and that alone.

Secondly, the cleansing of God's people. Sinners though we are and will continue to be until the New Creation (Revelation 21-22), the blood of Christ has cleansed us from our sin. We are not perfect now, but we are forgiven now.

Thirdly, the permanence of the truth. Jesus died once, and for all "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God" says 1 Peter 3:18a. This death was not a case of dying for specific sins, and some being outside of it. This death was for the forgiveness of sin, past, present and future. You can't commit a sin and not be saved by the blood. If you commit something on purpose and do not repent, then you are not trusting in God and are outside of the promise anyway. You would not do that if you knew the score, for, as Romans 8:38-39 states: "38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

So we see, we need not feel guilty, for Christ has borne our punishment, permanently, as part of God's Sovereign and merciful plan in uniting us under Him, which He decided before we existed. What I am NOT saying however, is that this is an excuse to sit back and dismiss the active sin in your life. It is important to maintain a balance in this case between focusing on the grace, and always repenting. If we trust in Christ, then naturally we will want to live for Christ. Don't let guilt be a stumbling block. Keep repenting out of love for the God who died for you.

I often struggle greatly with guilt. For me anyway, part of it is indeed a pride issue, wanting to do the right thing, say the right thing, be righteous, basically. What a wrong attitude though. All we do is tainted with our sinful desires and motivations behind it. We are imperfect made worthy by Christ's blood alone.

Thinking back to a time about half way through my third year of university, I was greatly struggling with guilt, of how rubbish I was, and worthless, not deserving to be counted amongst the saved. At the time I was attending a conference on the cross of Christ, a subject so key to our understanding of what we believe, and yet a subject I had not given much time and study for. Being refreshed on the doctrine of the cross, there came a most wonderful feeling of relief that rushed over me as I was again reminded that Jesus died for me, and took my guilt and shame away. What a love, what a cost! (For further reading I fully and warmly recommend my favourite Christian book outside of the Bible, The Cross of Christ, by John Stott)

If you struggle with guilt, I urge you to take time to sit down, take a deep breath, and reflect on the truth of the Bible. We are all sinners, you are not alone. Those feelings of worthlessness and that you are the worst Christian around are echoed by many others, me included. Yes we are rubbish, but not worthless, for Christ Jesus died for us to make us worthy. Yes we are undeserving, but yes we are made righteous, more than conquerors by the sacrifice of Christ, and Christ alone. Reflect on the passages in this section, and pray to our Heavenly Father, in the name of the Son, by the Holy Spirit to guard you against guilt, keep you repentant and keep you focused and reminded of the awesome truth of the gospel, that while we were still sinners, Christ did die for us. And that grace never ends because you keep slipping up. Keep recognising and repenting, keep trusting, keep fighting, for one day you will see perfection, by Christ.

If you know someone struggling with guilt, get alongside them and love them. Remind them of your own sinfulness, as well as every single person on earth's, and keep gently pointing them to the truths of the gospel. Any of the passages here will be good places to point them towards, and gently remind them of that grace that we put our trust in.

Keep praying, keep fighting, keep trusting in God.

Luke-the true Nativity

Now I hate Christmas. It's a sad fact of life, but it's something I'm known for. When I first became a Christian, Christmas, with all of it's commercialisation-the xmas generation, really, really gets on my nerves. Even to a point where this year, I exlaimed aloud how early decorations were being sold (SEPTEMBER-CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!).
The fact that my parents split up on Christmas day 2006 kinda puts a damper on things as well, I'll be honest.
Moorlands puts on a Carol service every year, which I do love, but I'll admit, it's the first time I'll hear carols in a year, and I do get very emotional to a point.
This year, I think I'm starting to love Christmas, what it's actually about at least.
In my daily Bible reading at the moment, I've just started reading Luke's gospel, a gospel I have not read in depth for a long time, and of course, the first two chapters concern the birth of Jesus, which we traditionally celebrate around Christmas time.
It's awesome going into a story I have known since a young age, a story that I have taken part in re-enacting for many years (my last nativity play was when I was 17!), but a story that is more than just kids in tea towels getting stage fright.

For it concerns the God of the Universe reversing the effects of our own rebellion against Him, by stepping into history as a human, Jesus Christ. A boy born of a virgin, therefore most likely classed as illigitimate by those around Him, a boy born in a manger, not in a room. A boy born to die.
Jesus is described, before He is even born, by the angel Gabriel as "the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:32-33).
To explain where we are in the Bible at this point. Since Genesis, the beginning, God has promised to send someone to sort out our rebellious mess (Genesis 3), which He has expanded upon by making three promises to a man called Abraham, promises of land, for a people of God, who will live under God's blessing (Genesis 12). God's people grew out of Abraham's family, called the house of Jacob, or Israel, who after being rescued by God from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 1-15, particularly looking at chapter 12) settled in a land. They were given God's Law to live by, as a way of standing out as God's people (Exodus-Deuteronomy) and a way to live under God's blessing.
They still rebel, again and again, and we see judges and kings established by God. (Judges-2 Chronicles) Some obey God, and others do not.
One of these kings was David, who did listen to God, and God promised that David's line would continue as kings forever. People thought that this promised one God would send would be like David.
Israel as a nation would become split in two, conquered and exiled from their promised land as part of God's judgement, but God would bring them back as the Old Testament closes.
Now God has been silent for many years, Israel has been conquered again, by the Roman Empire, and they still await the sending of God's promised one, who will be from David's line, and will be king forever.
Jesus is born, from the line of David. Jesus is described in Luke 2:29-32, by a man called Simeon, one who was promised to see God's Christ (Messiah, Saviour, the title that Jesus has always been associated with). This man sees Jesus the child, and proclaims thus: "Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel."

To explain. Jesus is the one whom God has sent, whom the world has waited for, the one whom God will use to reverse the effects of our rebellion against God; to die on a cross for us. This for all, not just Jews, for Gentiles are anyone who is not of Jewish blood.

This is what Jesus came for, to die for us. And here we see the origins, the beginning of the end. When I appeared on songs of praise, I described Christmas as "not about the presents...it's the beginning of our salvation [through Jesus' death], and that is what we should be celebrating."

This is the story of the Bible, the culmination of God's salvation plan for His people, a plan made before the world, the sacrifice of Jesus. Christmas is the beginning of the end of that glorious plan. THAT is why it is awesome.

Some thoughts after seeing some billboards-the X Factor

So, the X factor...
I confess I generally avoid it, except the first third of the series, which is generally watching some funny auditions. After this, I lose interest, and wait until the winner will release their one and only single, to then vanish. Who has heard anything by Steve Brookstien lately? Or G4? Shane Ward? Andy Abraham? Or indeed, if we go throughout the many reality TV shows, we find that out of all of them, it's only Girls Aloud that are doing much these days...
Anyway, on the bus this morning a billboard for the X Factor caught my eye. This is what it said :"Make the biggest decision of their lives." That was all. It's obviously trying to get people to vote.
Now that is interesting. For one, it's not at all down to those involved. They all have talent, one is not better than the other, they cannot guarentee themselves a place in a recording studio. Neither can the judges, who have taught and mentored them. They have their opinions, and indeed predictions, but they can't do a thing for them either.
It is down to the viewing population of Britain. They cast the votes, and to be honest, it's not always about who is the better singer, which it actually should be about. People vote on looks, personality, talent, and indeed in my dad's case, whether they are Welsh or not (It's going to be a dilema for him this year...with no less than 2 Welsh finalists)
That billboard encourages you to help cast a person into fame, or back to their day jobs.
Interesting isn't it?
When I looked at that billboard, I thought about the most important decison of my life, the decision to follow Jesus as Lord. That decision was made for me, according to the Bible, have a look at Romans 8:28-30:

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."

(For more on Romans 8, see my earlier post http://storytimewithaled.blogspot.com/2009/09/some-thoughts-on-romans-8.html)

These verses tell us thus. Firstly, God is Sovereign. He is at work in this world, for His glory, and therefore our good. He has known from the beginning, indeed predestined us from the very beginning to be saved by Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Secondly, God is merciful. He has predestined us, called us to Him, and justified and glorified us by the blood of His Son Jesus Christ.

Therefore, it is not up to us that we are saved, for if it were, some of the glory would go to us and not God.
God gives us the decision, made, by His mercy in sending Jesus to die for us. "Make the biggest decision of their lives", Jesus has already done it.!

For some more Bible truths of predestination, check out Ephesians 1:4,5,11, 2:1-10; Romans 9:14-29; Acts 13:48; John 6:44)

Dealing with depression

It's not something we talk about much is it?
Depression is one of those things we like to brush under the carpet and not talk about, nor want to get involved with. When you tell someone you have it, immediately their behaviour towards you changes, you are now treated like you are a ticking bomb ready to go off as soon as something is said.
Be prepared, this is not easy reading, nor indeed easy writing, but hey, depression is a fact of life for so many people, so many students as well as non-students. You are going to come across it sooner or later. I pray so much that you will never experience it, but you will probably know someone who has it, or has had it. Those of you who know me fall into that category.
I can't put a definite time line on when I had depression from, but I can make some educated guesses. I apologise now, for the next few paragraphs are going to be about me, my struggle with depression, and how God has brought me out of that struggle. I write this to make people aware of depression, and how they can encourage those Christian brothers and sisters they know who are struggling with it.

I am not a doctor, so I do not have a medical definition of depression. It is an illness that completely consumes every fibre of your being. It is inescapable, and having it was the hardest time of my life.
I guess the roots of it first came about in 2003. I was not having a good time at school, I had been bullied for two or so years at that point, and I felt like there was no way out. I had not accepted that Jesus was my Lord at that point, despite what I may have told you at the time, and I therefore viewed my situation as completely hopeless, no way out. So I tried to make a way out, and harmed myself. Was it a suicide attempt? Well, I guess not, it was just a cry for attention.
I repeated that a further two time in that year, and I guess I just settled down, things got less intense, and of course, when I was 17 years old, God brought a friend into my life who told me the gospel, brought me to our school CU, and indeed, thanks to the fact we started dating, ended up making the same university choices, and eventually going up to Lancaster becoming a part of Moorlands Evangelical Church and Lancaster University Christian Union. I am so thankful to God for instigating that. It's so awesome to see and know that He is in control, and working all things together for His glory and our good (Romans 8:28-LOOK IT UP-GOD IS AWESOME!)
In between becoming a Christian and coming to Lancaster, there was a hard period of my life. That friend and I split up, and yes, that was hard. My first girlfriend, my first break up, it was horrible.
It was also at that time that I had been really challenged to read the Bible for myself, and take it seriously. This challenge had come from meeting my future Pastor, Danny Rurlander, on the Lancaster University open day, where all the conversations had been about God, the Bible, and the church.
I took that as a challenge to read the Bible, and therefore, during that long period of sadness, I got to read of God's goodness and wisdom, His sovereignty and complete control, both in the book of Job,and the Psalms.
God, by His Spirit is constantly at work in our lives, changing us and growing us to be more like Christ (Romans 8), and by the time I reached Lancaster in the autumn of 2006, I had grown, but was still fragile.
My parents split up on Christmas day 2006, and I thank God that I had been at a Bible-teaching church for so long at that point, otherwise I don't know where I would have been. God is good, and I am not. My initial reaction as I stood in my parent's bedroom hearing all of the lies, the rows, and now the fact that their marriage was over, was to walk to my own room, and stand there for a while, and decide NOT to read my Bible that day, nor for the next 5 days.
That was a bad move. When we suffer, how can we turn from the God of all comfort? (2 Corinthians 1:3-11). By God's grace, I picked up my Bible again, and was encouraged by glorious future we have who hope in Christ (Revelation 21-22)
I returned to Lancaster, shattered, but still standing, by God's grace alone. As news from home kept coming in, I was being battered. What was an awesome encouragement was the reaction of Moorlands.
When one is depressed, it is vital to get alongside and support them. And that is what my church family did.
I had emailed Danny about it over the holiday, and the first Sunday I got back, I had so many people come up to me, offering their support and prayers, and it was awesome. God is awesome.
That term flew by, and thanks to God through Moorlands and the CU, I was able to get by. That was the term that Jo and I got together, and there were such happy times.
Then I went home for Easter.
On reflection, I am quite surprised that not once during that holiday did the theme tune for Eastenders blare up during the many nights at home, it really was just like a soap opera. Previous marriages that my parents had had came to light, doors were slammed, I was even close to being thrown out at one point. My younger brother was finally told that my parents were splitting up (!) and at the end of the holiday my mum moved out.
I was lucky, I had Lancaster to escape to, I had a loving Church Family and CU who reached out to me with open arms as I returned. Most of all, I had the God of the Universe who had stepped into history as Jesus Christ to die for me. My brother had none of those things. He is still an unbeliever, and that is so hard...
Here comes the turning point, from bad to worse, for it is at this point that I think depression came, and to a certain extent, it was my fault.
I returned to Moorlands, hard and cynical, just not vocal as of yet. That was my choice. God had done nothing wrong, He never does. Although we may not know why we suffer, it is not a vindictive God inflicting us, after all, we live in a fallen world with fallen people. Suffering is a given, especially as Christians we are to stand out for Christ our Saviour. Suffering is inevitable, it is how we react that we need to focus on. Not 'Why God?' but 'How can I glorify you God?'
That first Sunday, the sermon was on Psalm 22 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'. "Very apt," I whispered to Jo, and her face bore a look of horror.
This was my active rebellion against the God who had died for me, and it was from here I began to succumb to my own selfish thoughts and desires, which, combined with harder and harder external events cemented depression in me.
This would last a long time. Sermons would go over my head, my Bible time, though continuing, was again going in one ear and out the other. It is indeed by God's grace alone that He used me as a CU small group leader at the time.
The summer came and went, and back again for a second year. Now, my work ethic has never been exactly brilliant, at all. My apathy in second year however, reached new heights. i barely attended any lectures or seminars, did no work, and ended the term earning four zero's for all my, not done, coursework.
At this point I must note, with pain, that my behaviour was atrocious. I got sickeningly drunk, twice, in the space of one month, and I was taking out all my frustrations out on Jo, my own girlfriend.
Again, it is God's miracle that He used me as a CU leader at the time. To be honest I should have been sacked, but thankfully God uses for His glory. We can do nothing without Him.
We are now at around February time, I was using Jo as basically an emotional punchbag, while turning my attention on to other things, and hating my own church.
A paraphrase of an MSN conversation that Jo and I had at the time, when she asked what was wrong went something along these lines. "This is my life, I go on unscheduled set up, ending up standing alone and threatened with excommunication if I don't talk to people. Talk unhelpful, stand alone and go home. Then back for Real Food [our small group Bible study] again unhelpful. Then I go back to my academic week which I love so much...do no work, feel crap, and then we are back to Sunday again...because I know [Moorlands] hate me, and want me out of their church, and to be honest, I may just give them the satisfaction."
This is depression, getting sucked into your own negative thoughts and feelings, getting extremely paranoid, and losing your focus on God. A depressed person is a haven for the devil, accusing us and burdening us with our guilt so we forget God's grace, and focus on what we want in a desperate bid to be happy.
I mean, look at me, I had an amazing church, which I was saying such horrible things about!
Everything culminated around that time. It was obvious now how I was treating Jo, and how my behaviour was frankly shocking. Danny called me round to his house one Wednesday morning, and laid it all out for me. He never shouted, not once, he clearly pointed out what I was doing, and why it was wrong. I shouted, I blamed him, I blamed Moorlands, I blamed everyone except myself.
Danny told me that the best thing to do was finish with Jo, as I was treating her badly. I did not want to, I begged not to. But it was the best thing. So that evening we finished, we needed space, and I needed to do a lot of thinking and doing.
I saw a doctor, and was put on anti-depressants.
That week I read the Bible, and prayed, I was challenged to change, and by God's ultimate grace, I was able to repent of nearly a year's worth of pain, of hurt, of sin.
God brought me out of that dark place, and by the summer, I was off the drugs, and God has been strengthening me always. Even though times now are so hard, postponing the wedding, stuck in unemployment, not knowing what will happen, I know God is in control. "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21).
God is the God who made the world, gave us life, took the punishment for our own rebellion by sending Jesus to the cross, and is bringing us together under Him, a new land, His people being blessed by Him. One day we will live with God as God, sin will be no more. There will no longer be any pain or crying. Jesus blood has washed away my sin. All those horrible things I did when i had depression, all that guilt, we need not feel it, for God has rescued us, and we will be made perfect by Him.
We are part of His plan, chosen from the beginning to be made perfect by Him, through Jesus' blood, bringing about God's ultimate plan in uniting all under Him, for His glory. And we have His Spirit in us, the guarantor of that promise. (Ephesians 1:1-14).

When one has depression, they are apathetic, not enjoying what they usually enjoy, always sad, feeling worthless, like they want to die, feeling so far from the God who died for them. We need to get alongside our suffering brothers and sisters, and care for them. We need to keep gently reminding them of that eternal hope that we have, the gospel, keep loving them and supporting them as the grapple with the horrors of their own thoughts and feelings.

Romans 5:8 says "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." We are loved and cherished by the God of the universe. We are hated by the devil, who poisons our vulnerable minds with his accusations. But we have that eternal hope, that blessing, that love that will NEVER be extinguished: the love of God, through Christ, to choose us before the foundation of the world, to set us apart to be made holy and blameless, and share in that painless New Creation, all because of God's grace for God's glory, not by anything we have done, or will do. The love of God surpasses any suffering we can ever face. One day we will see it fullfilled. Reflect on my favourite psalm "Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!" (Psalm 27:14)
God is in control, keep reminding each other with that, take sufferers to the Bible, and assure them, not with glib words or oft-quoted verses, but sit with them, love them, and point with them to the Bible, and show them again, the good news of Jesus Christ.

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." (Romans 5:6-11)

We are sinful scumbags, whom God in His love died for us in Christ, so that we can be reconciled with God, safe from His wrath, safe in the knowledge that one day, we will see sufferings cease, sorrows die, the end of depression, the end of evil, for God has promised it, and He is God, trustworthy, reliable, awsome and merciful. Look at the ways He has been merciful to me, what I did was awful, yet God has kept me His, kept me going, used me, grown me, put me and Jo back together after everything, allowed me ears to hear and understand sermons, and strength to say no to those thoughts. Sometimes I'll fall into a slight relapse on a bad day, but I praise God that it is slight, that I can repent in an hour rather than in a year, and I praise the wonderous God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, the God of all comfort and reconciliation, the God of grace, our Rock of Ages, our Saviour and Redeemer, for laying His life in Christ down for me, for us all, for His glory, and for our good. Thanks forever be to God, for He has cleansed me and clothed me in righteousness. And I am no different from you, why should He save me and not you? Get repenting, get believing, get trusting our might, sovereign God.

Oh, and don't treat people like time bombs about to go off, it makes it feel worse. Love them by showing them the love of God in His word and in your life.

Living and speaking for Jesus

Up until the beginning of last year, I never thought of myself as a competative person. The sad truth is, I so am.
At the White Cross weekly pub quiz last night, as usual, I was striving to get all right, got cross when corrected, sulked when we got answers wrong, and felt a bit light headed afterwards (maybe two pints was a bit much). All in front of someone I did not know, whilst wearing a CU t shirt.
I confess I am a very prideful person (just count the amount of I's so far...), it's something I struggle with a lot actually: hating being wrong, hating being corrected, hating the fact I have to type this...
It's annoying, and it's wrong, it is typical human behaviour, wanting to be God instead of letting God do it, and to top it all, doing it in a very, very visible way.
I hate to lose, especially at something I consider myself good at, and I like to be in control, not being told what to do. However, I am not perfect, I am not God, I have to surrender my pride, nail it to the cross with Christ, and follow my Lord.
It isn't easy, and ironically enough, it really bugs me when other people do what I do, being prideful, putting people down. I do it all the time, and I hate it when others do it to. I'm a hypocrite, then again, to a point, most of us are. We hardly practice what we preach.
At the prayer supper that Moorlands holds the first Sunday evening of the month (last sunday) we looked at 1 Peter 2:9-12, which reads:

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation."

The big challenge that this passage presents is that God has chosen us as His people by sending Jesus to die for us, so we may proclaim Jesus, and live for Jesus by abstaining from worldly things such as drunkeness, sexual immorality, which of course is going to cause conflict for us. We are to mark ourselves by our behaviour as Christians, so that the non-believer may see us, and glorify God when Jesus comes back.
Now that is hard, and I think we're often focusing on one thing or the other. We're either seeking oppertunities to tell the gospel, but in practice not living as Jesus has called us to by His own blood, or we are trying to live for God, but not actually doing it so people may see it, or not telling people why we are doing it.
You'll find at university that you will be surrounded by so many people, and all eyes will be on you. It's natural, everyone is out for themselves. Plus, if your known as a Christian, they will be watching you to fall.
That is why it is imperative to remember the challenge of this passage, as the slogan of UCCF (Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship-the support group for University and college CU's throughout Britain) says, how they want to encourage students to live and speak for Jesus during their time at university.
If the book I am writing ever gets done, that is my aim too. As we have seen and I will constantly tell you, I am rubbish at both living and speaking for Jesus. I am a hypocrite who needs one to preach, and two to practice what he preaches most of the time! However, because of Jesus, I am made worthy by His blood, His grace alone, and I want you all to know the importance of living and speaking for Jesus, especially during your time at university. With God's help and strength, by His grace, how can you live and speak for Jesus today? What needs to change?
That is your challenge from the Bible.

Music and baptisms

What is the soundtrack to your memories?

When it comes to music, I'm deffinately someone who puts songs over bands. I don't have a favourite band, I have favourite songs. These are often based on memories I have that go with them. For example, I am currently listening to my favourite piece of music. It's a 6-8 minute guitar/drum solo called 'The Prophet' by Gary Moore. Its not one of his most well-known songs, which is a real shame because it drips with raw emotion. The song has a simple riff, in a 3 beat (hark at me the guy who plays a conga and a melodica!), and it evokes deep emotional meaning for me. It remides me of the first time I heard it, sat in the passenger seat of a vauxhall vectra estate, driving through some trees on the side of Windermere in the Lake district. The sun is going down, and I'm with very treasured friends.
The song was introduced to me by a good friend called Phil Rixon, who will serve as one of my ushers when the wedding actually happens, and it always reminds me of good times with him and friends up having fun in the Lake District.
There is just one example of a song that evokes great memories for me, it would be on a soundtrack of my life if I ever made one. Of course, there is plenty more, like the songs 'You are My Sunshine' and 'Holding Hands', which remind me of Jo, and the amazing times we have had together these past few years.
I'm quite geeky like this, but I'm a big fan of film/tv soundtracks as well, like Doctor Who, James Bond etc. I like listening to them as I walk down a street, especially if I'm bored, makes the walk more exciting anyway.
You won't often see me without my ipod really, I hate being alone with just my own thoughts for too long, it's so boring I find. Whatever floats your boat I guess.
Here's a question, if you had to make a CD soundtrack to your life, it can be no more than 20 tracks and no less than 10, what would you put on it?

Here's mine for the moment:

1. It is Finished-Charles Wesley
2. There is a Hope-Stuart Townend
3. Be Thou My Vision
4. And Can It Be
5. We Trust in You Our Shield and Our Defender
6. Before the Throne of God Above
7. The Prophet-Gary Moore
8. You Are My Sunshine
9. Holding Hands
10. 500 Miles
11. James Bond theme
12. Doomsday-Murray Gold
13. Walking in the Air-Aled Jones
14.You Know My Name-Chris Cornell
15.Gravity-Embrace
16.Everytime-Britney Spears
17.Supreme-Robbie Williams
18. You Raise Me Up
19.Blessed Be Your Name
20. You Are Holy

Typical me will think of loads more as soon as I've finished, and this is nowhere near a clear concise list.

To explain a few, 'It is Finished' is a song written by Charles Wesley, which talks about the great truths and accomplishments of the gospel, the death of Jesus on the cross for us. Here are the lyrics:

It is finished!”the Messiah dies,
cut off for sins,
but not his own;
completed is the sacrifice,
the great redeeming work is done.

Yes, finished! All the debt is paid,
justice divine is satisfied,
the grand and full atonement made;
God for a guilty world has died!

The temple curtain is torn down,
the living way to heaven is seen;
through Christ the middle wall has gone,
and all who will may enter in.

The ancient shadows are fulfilled,
the Scripture prophecies prove true,
the sinless Lamb of God is killed,
the promised covenant made new!

The reign of sin and death is done,
and all may live, from sin set free;
Satan and his pretended throne
are swallowed up in victory.

Saved from the curse of God I am;
my saviour hangs upon a tree!
See there the meek and silent Lamb;
his final breath he breathes for me.

In Christ accepted and brought near
and clothed in righteousness divine,
I see the path to life made clear,
and all your merits, Lord, are mine.

Death, hell and sin are now subdued,
all grace is now to sinners given,
and so I plead the atoning blood
and claim the title deeds of heaven.


The first time I remember singing this was the day I was baptised. Baptism in the Bible is one's public declaration of Christ as one's Lord and Saviour, He having died for us on the cross. It is the admittance that we are sinful rebels that can do nothing to save ourselves, and it is the public declaration by God-given faith and consent for us and others watching that we will follow Christ with God's help, as we are immersed in water. The baptism itself bestows nothing miraculous, but it is a public demonstration of God's saving grace.
I was baptised at the end of my first year, at my church, Moorlands Evangelical church, along with three other church members, one of whom had first explained the gospel to me. It was a rainy day, and as the church met at Lancaster Boy's Grammer School at the time, we had no facilities to hold a baptism inside, so we were baptised in a very large paddling pool, in the school's car park. It was raining softly, and after we had all been immersed, and I stood there in a dripping wet Superman t-shirt (quite unorthodox but hey-the red towel added a moment of comedy gold), we as a church stood in the car park, and sang this song together. It was an amazing moment, God has saved me in Christ, and that's awesome to sing about!

What music do you put to events?

Perspective on a bad day

I'm listening to an one of my all time favourite songs at the moment. It is called 'There is a Hope' by Stuart Townend, and it is a song based on two chapters in Romans: chapters 5 and 8. Chapter 5 talks of the gospel, what Jesus has done for us on the cross (taking our sins upon Himself and dying a death He did not deserve). And chapter 8 talks of the awesome privelidge and hope we have as Christians because of that gospel. (For more thoughts on chapter 8, and the lyrics to 'There is a Hope', see my eariler post (http://storytimewithaled.blogspot.com/2009/09/some-thoughts-on-romans-8.html)
The past 24 hours or so have been some rough ones. Two job rejections, and a possibility that I have been wasting my time on the boom i have been writing. Prayers about those would be ace!
In the midst of all this though, when times are hard, it is imperative to be reminded of the gospel, that hope we have thanks to the grace of God.
I have (to my complete surprise) recently joined Twitter, and I am currently following the ESV daily (http://twitter.com/esvdaily). Just as an aside, the ESV is the English Standard Version, a very literal translation of the Bible that I fully and warmly recommend to use.
Todays verse that came up on my screen, just as I was feeling so awful and sorry for myself, was the following: "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."-Romans 5:8.
And it's just hit me. No matter how many hard times we face, no matter what is thrown at us, while we were still sinners, that is, active rebels against the God of the Universe, He sent Jesus who is God and man, to die for us.
That is the gospel, the hope that the song reminds us of. As Christians who face hard times, we need to keep that everlasting, non-changing hope in mind. God's truth does not change just because our circumstances do.

Some thoughts on Romans 8

As a Christian I believe the following:

1. The world was created by God, and we were created to rule the world under God
2. We did not like God being in charge, so rebelled. We want to be God.
3. God's just response to our rebellion, also called sin, is to want to get rid of sin. He hates it. Therefore, the consequences of our rebellion is our death and judgement.
4. HOWEVER-while we were still sinners, God stepped into the world as Jesus. Jesus was perfect, yet He died on a cross, taking the punishment of our sin and rebellion upon Himself. This was God's rescue plan for us.
5. Jesus rose from the dead three days later, endorsing the fact He was God, and will come again to judge.
6. We owe our lives to Jesus, and we should therefore be looking for ways to glorify Him, accepting God as Lord of our lives, and living for Him by doing good works. These good works do not save us. God has saved us by His grace by sending Jesus. We do good works as a grateful outpouring.
7. All this is written in the Bible, which is the word of God given to us.

In light of all this, here is some thoughts on chapter eight of Paul's letter to the Romans:


Romans 8 (English Standard Version)
Romans 8
Life in the Spirit
1There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Heirs with Christ
12So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" 16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Future Glory
18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
26Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
God’s Everlasting Love
31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.










So, there’s obviously a lot to unpack!
Awesome grace (1-5)
One of the first things Paul says is that we have “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (verse 1). He is saying this as a continuation from chapter 7, which talks of being released from the law and of course, being saved through God’s grace: “Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.” (Romans 7:4). What a great delight this is! That if we were justified by our works, we of course stand condemned. But God in His grace has justified us by His work, His grace in sending Jesus Christ to die for us. Paul reiterates this in verses 2-5 “2For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
So this is the background to this section I think, the fact that by God’s grace we are saved, not by what we do. If it was vice versa we would be scuppered wouldn’t we? We are saved by the grace of God alone. As Paul exclaims towards the end of chapter seven “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25).
Awesome Spirit-living (verses 5-11)
We live in the world around us...and no, I’m not about to accept the prize for the most obvious statement of the year! The world we live in easily influences our behaviour. For the Christian, it can be all too easy to follow the crowd, live in the flesh as Paul puts it. Living for today, letting the worries of today, and even tomorrow take priority sometimes over what really matters. But what does Paul say here, have a look at verse seven “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”
Now this I think is mostly applied towards worldy thinking. Our minds quickly jump to pleasures; sex, drugs and rock and roll...whatever floats your boat really. I personally think (therefore may not be correct) that this can also be applied to worldly thinking in terms of ‘religious’ lifestyle, and also in terms of focusing too much on money and such things. Seeing as Paul has spent the last chapter on the subject of the law, and how it is grace NOT works that save us, I think there is room for this in Paul’s writing here.
For the mind of the Christian, these need to be denied, nailed to the cross with Christ, so we can pick up our own and follow Him. Be encouraged that you are saved by Christ’s blood, and deny those temptations to be worldy; “but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” as Paul says in verse six. Live for the God who has saved you, not for the worldy worries that surround you. In the world, not of the world. For as Paul says in verse nine, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.” Saved by grace, in the Spirit of God being regenerated and renewed, as promised back in Ezekiel 36:22-37 (Have a read of this, be encouraged how God has promised to change us and live with us as God, going back to the promises to Abraham in Genesis 12!)
In our passage here, in verses 10-11, there is great comfort to be seen. Our bodies are dead to sin, but made righteous in Christ. And that same Spirit of God, who raised Christ, that same spirit is at work in us: “he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
How amazing is that? Though our trails seem overbearing, God Himself by His Spirit, the very same Spirit who raised our Lord Jesus from the dead, having died to make undeserving sinners righteous, is at work in us, giving life to our mortal bodies. God is strengthening us for trials ahead. What an encouragement. What a God!

Awesome Father (verses 12-18)
So, as Paul has explained, and summarises here, we are indeed to live not to the flesh, for that leads to death. We are to put to death those deeds, by God’s Spirit. Again, we see it’s not by our strength, but by God’s Spirit. Take courage, God is most certainly in control, and indeed, has our best interests at heart? Why? Have a look at verse fourteen: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”
We are sons, and indeed daughters of God. Thanks to God in Jesus, we are made righteous. Thanks to God in His Spirit, we are being changed, as we see in Ezekiel. Thanks to God, we are dead to sin, but made alive in Christ. We are co-heirs with Christ as children of God. Millions around the world who have placed their God-given trust in Jesus are sons and daughters of God. So are you. You, Joanne Marie Muckle-Jones, are part of this new Spiritual family in Christ. We have the Spirit of God Himself inside us, working in us, making us more like Christ, strengthening us for suffering, and there’s millions out there, brothers and sisters in Christ. How awesome is that?!
Have a gander at verses 15, 16 and 17: “15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" 16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” We can cry Abba, which is a word as intimate, if not more so, than ‘daddy’, to the God of the Universe! God’s Spirit testifies we are God’s children! So do not fall back into worldly fear, the way of the flesh, but be remembering that jaw dropping awesome grace of our God.

Awesome future (verse 18-26)

When thinking about what we are going through at the moment, it’s hard. I don’t need to remind you of that. Thinking of all this rubbish times we have, keep verses eighteen and nineteen in your mind. “18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.”
Ok, so this is coming from Paul, a man having given up the stable security of a career, and a family to go out and preach the gospel. This is the same Paul who was beaten up, flogged, jailed, stoned, ship-wrecked, bitten by a snake and eventually beheaded for the gospel. Yet he can still write this passage. It really puts things in perspective doesn’t it? Though we may have the hardest times of our lives at the moment, and indeed, many more to come. Yet no matter how rubbish it gets, it’s still absolutely nothing in comparison with the glory that we will see; the glory of God in the New Creation. Just for a taste, have a read of Revelation 21 and 22! We are going to see God’s glory, as God’s child, because of God’s grace in the cross of Christ, and the sending of His Spirit on every believer, who only believes because God has given them that belief, having predestined them before they even existed! It’s utterly mind blowing and absolutely amazing!
The world awaits for this, knowing the state of sin and corruption. We as Christians, as Paul puts it “23And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” Life is going to be hard, whatever decision we end up making, we live in a fallen world yearning for Jesus to come back and all things be made new. We don’t know when that will happen, but praise God for that future, that we unworthy, but not worthless, thanks to Jesus, will one day see it, and indeed live in it, with God as God, pain and suffering forgotten, forever. And don’t let the fact that we cannot see it get you disheartened. Read verses 24 and 25 “24For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
Awesome truth (verses 26-31)
Paul again in verse 26 returns to the awesome truth of God’s Spirit at work in us. We’ve seen we can do nothing ourselves, hence Jesus. What a comfort it is how we read of God at work in us continually: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
We see God’s Spirit interceding for us in prayer, that intimate chat we have with our Father, who by His grace we call Him Father, and pray at all. And the Spirit turns our feeble prayers into:“groanings too deep for words.”
Again, how awesome is that?!
Verse 27: “And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” God searches our hearts, knows our hearts, having made our hearts. We are the saints, the Christian believer, saved by God, and by His grace the Spirit intercedes for us according to the God of the Universe! It doesn’t get any better than this!
Then we come to one of my favourite passages in the Bible. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28). Now, we have seen how awesome God is: He has made us righteous, though we are rebels, by the blood of Christ Jesus on the cross, NOT by our sinful works. He has made us co-heirs with Christ, sons and daughters of God, with God’s Spirit in us, in order to live for Him, not for the flesh. He is changing us by His Spirit, until that day which we long for, the day He comes in glory, that by His grace we are allowed to see. We see in this verse that for the Christian, God makes all things work together for good, for those who have been called, according to His purpose.
What a comfort! The God of the Universe has called us, as we shall see later, and He makes everything work together for good for us. This is for His glory, and He lets us glorify Him as He works in our lives. God is ultimately sovereign, ultimately loving, ultimately just, ultimately merciful, and ultimately awesome! When we suffer, it is for God’s glory. What a comfort, that suffering is not meaningless, and that God is constantly at work in our lives, by His Spirit, for His glory, and therefore our good.
God calls us, says verses 29 and 30. We may often think, and are indeed encouraged to think that we are a totally insignificant, random aspect of a random series of events that are ultimately leading to absolutely nothing. Captain Jack Harkness sums up this frankly depressing ideology in Torchwood when he says, in response to being speculated too that the latest alien threat may in fact be the end of the world in Biblical terms: “You people just fail to see the randomness of creation.”
Well here we see something different don’t we? “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son,” says verse 29. Though we may feel insignificant and random, we’re not as far as God is concerned. We’ve reflected on already the awesome grace of God in sending Jesus to die for us, to save us from sin and death. Here we see a shocking twist in the plot of this chapter. God has predestined us. He knew, before we even existed, that we would exist, and that Jesus would die for us. We are to be shaped into the image of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. We have seen we are co-heirs with Christ, with the Spirit of God at work in us, changing us. We who are unworthy, but not at all worthless. God chose for us to be saved by His grace before we were created. Still think you’re a random creation of nothing? Like Jesus before us, we are raised to life, our death crucified with Christ, our sins forgiven, co-heirs, brothers and sisters with Christ, the new Adam, firstborn among many brothers in the glory of His resurrection. Verse 30 highlights just how loved by God we are, and all of this is done in Christ on the cross. “And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
Awesome Love (v31-39)
Verse 31 is a very-often quoted passage in scripture. Indeed it can be seen as an encouraging stand alone sentence, but, read it again, with everything we have seen so far in mind “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
What a love! God hand picking us out before Creation, coming down into human history as Jesus Christ, dying a horrific death, conquering death itself, saving us from our rebellion against God, using our trials, which are nothing compared to the glory we have the privilege of seeing, for His glory, placing His Spirit in us to work and change us, to mould us into the likeness of Christ, our Saviour and co-heir, choosing to work in us for our good because He has enabled us to love Him. All this, and so much more in mind then, NOW, as Paul asks, what can we say of these things? The natural and logical conclusion: “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
This same God, who gave up His Son for us, also gives us graciously all things, says verse 32. We’re set. I can end right here, God has given to us Christ, our life, by His grace, along with all things. What all these things are I cannot list, but looking back over what this one chapter of this letter says so far the list is pretty extensive!
Because of God’s grace, who can bring a charge against us? Yes we do wrong, quite frequently. I can bring some pretty shocking things to mind. But I’m forgiven, Christ has died for me. I’m free from the law, saved by God’s grace, the blood of Christ, just as verse one says “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The same is true for you, selected by God long ago, saved by the blood of Christ, not your own merit, so you are free from death, enabling you to live for Him, and He being a work in your life for His glory, and therefore your good. This again is not by anything you have done, will do and can do, after all, as this chapter, and indeed the entire Bible says all the way through: “It is God who justifies.” (verse 34).
It is God who justifies, God who died in Christ, God who rose in Christ, and God who intercedes for us still says verse 34. It is God alone. We are but human sinners, washed by Christ. Be encouraged the next time you feel guilty. There is no condemnation. God graciously gives us all, including chance after chance, even at the last minute, to repent.
This love of God, this jaw-dropping, mind blowing, overwhelming awesome love of God, is of course, unconditional, it is permanent. As verse 35 says “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Shall it be trials, or suffering, as Paul goes on to say. We know already God is at work in our trials, for the sake of God we are being killed all day long, sheep to be slaughtered. We face many, many trials that feel as if they will break us, will they break us? Will they separate us from the love of God, who died for us, equips us every day for battle, saving us by His grace not our works, and works in us always for our good, having predestined and called us for this?
Read verse 37, and take a deep breath at this: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
Wow. That’s my initial response. Wow.
The answer, joyously, is no. We cannot be separated from God’s love, let alone by trials we face. Paul has already said in verse 18 that he considers his present sufferings, and there were a lot of them, NOTHING, compared to the glory he would later see. And now, here we see that awesome truth. We are more than conquerors, more than overcomers. We smash down those trials. Not because we are good or have a special superpower to crush suffering into dust. No, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. We cannot deny the love of our God, our Abba in this passage, nor indeed in the whole Bible. This truth is affirmed, God sent Christ to die for us, and is at work in us now, by His powerful love and glorious grace, He works us in us, calls us to overcome. For how will we see His promises fullfill if we do not overcome? We do not overcome alone, we cannot. God takes us through it, though many times we just sit down and sulk. God takes us by the hand and drags us through, drags us through everything, so we may overcome and see the glories on the last day, which will knock the worst and indeed best times we have been through out of the park.
This is love, and this is truth. To recap. This passage is about the grace and merciful love that can come only from God Himself. This is God, He who deemed us worthy before we existed, He who stepped into history in Christ, to die for us, wash us clean by His blood, rise again the first-born of many-us, co-heirs sharing in the resurrection. He who set us free from ourselves and our failure to live for God, and therefore from the just condemnation of the law, He who puts His Spirit, His breath in us, to enable us to live for Him, making us more and more like Christ, interceding for us in prayer, He who takes us through any trial we face, and uses that trial for His glory, and our good, and therefore be always at work in our lives for our good, though we do not deserve it and do not see it as we ought to. This is awesome love and awesome truth from our awesome God, who permits us to call Him Abba, and too, finally, in verses 38 and 39 of this amazing passage, we see this love affirmed greater still. “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We have this love, and by God’s grace, it isn’t going anywhere.
Let me ask you a question, how can you now feel guilt or fear? For the love of God permanently holds you fast and strong forever. But you are human, you will feel guilt and fear. But never feel hopeless. As times are hard, as we face times of great trouble, remember the truths of this passage. As an application question:- How can you apply what you have learned today in your attitude towards suffering and trials?
One final thought to leave you with:-God is sovereign, He is in control, He died for us, and is at work in us, always for our good. This love He has shown since before you first opened your eyes has not stopped, nor will it ever, not ever.

Two songs come to mind, one is written around this passage, in conjunction with another great chapter, Romans chapter 5. The second song I came across while searching for the first one. Be encouraged, remember the truth of the gospel, the everlasting love of God, shown for us on the cross, our hope, our foundation.


There is a hope that burns within my heart;
that gives me strength for every passing day;
a glimpse of glory now revealed in meagre part;
yet drives all doubt away;
I stand in Christ, with sins forgiven; and Christ in me, the hope of heaven;
my highest calling and my deepest joy;
to make His will, my own;
There is a hope that lifts my weary head;
a consolation strong against despair;
and when the world has plunged me in it’s deepest pit;
I find the Saviour there;
through present sufferings, future’s fear;
He whispers “courage” in my ear;
for I am safe in everlasting arms;
and they will lead me home;
There is a hope that stands the test of time;
that lifts my eyes beyond the beckoning grave;
to see the matchless beauty of a day divine;
when I behold His face;
When sufferings cease, and sorrows die;
and every longing satisfied;
then joy unspeakable will flood my soul;
when I am truly home;

How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say than to you he has said
to all who for refuge to Jesus have fled.

In every condition - in sickness and health,
in poverty’s grip or abounding in wealth,
at home or abroad, on the land, on the sea -
as days may demand shall your strength ever be.
Since Jesus is with you, do not be afraid:
since he is your God, you need not be dismayed;
he’ll strengthen you, guard you, and help you to stand,
upheld by his righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters he calls you to go,
you will not be drowned in the rivers of woe;
for he will be with you in trouble, to bless
and work for your good through your deepest distress.

When through fiery trials your pathway shall lie,
his grace all-sufficient shall be your supply;
the flames shall not harm you: his only design
your dross to consume and your gold to refine.

The soul that in Jesus has found its repose,
he will not, he cannot, desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavour to shake,he’ll never, no never, no never forsake!