Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1 (Life Application Study Bible)
Jesus Tells Us…This world is full of voices. Often, they are harsh and hurtful. They say, “You should have done better”; “Your really messed up this time”; and “You just don’t have what it takes.” They can crush you and make you feel worthless. These voices are not from Me. Even when you make a mistake, I don’t reject you or shame you. I speak words of love and forgiveness. I lift you up and tell you the truth. And the truth is that you do have what it takes, because I live in you. Listen to my voice and then let Me speak through you. When you find yourself in a tough situation, pause for a minute and let Me give you the words to say.
Jesus Concludes…Hasty words leave no room for Me. Let Me use your words to lift up those around you.
Romans 8:1; Romans 8:2; Colossians 1:27; 1 Corinthians 6:9 Study Notes
Footnotes Romans 8:1, “Not guilty. Let this person go free.” What would those words mean to you if you were on death row? In reality, the whole human race is on death row, justly condemned for repeatedly breaking Good’s holy law. Without Jesus, we would have no hope at all. But thank God! He has declared us not guilty and has offered us freedom from sin and supernatural power to do his will.
Passage Romans 8:2, Because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Footnotes Romans 8:2, This life-giving Spirit is the Holy Spirit. As the third person of the Trinity, he was present at the creation of the world, and he is the power behind the rebirth of every Christian. He gives us the power we need to live the Christian life.
Passage Colossians 1:27, To them, God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Footnotes Colossians 1:26-27, The false teachers in the Colossian church believed that spiritual perfection was a secret and hidden plan that only a few privileged people could discover. This secret plan was meant to be exclusive for an elite group. Paul said that he was proclaiming the entire message of God, not just a part of the plan. He also called God’s plan a “mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations,” not in the sense that only a few would understand it, but because it had been hidden until Christ came. Through Christ, it was made open to all. God’s secret plan is “Christ in you, the hope of glory”; God planned to have his Son, Jesus Christ, live in the hearts of all who believe in him, even Gentiles like the Colossians. Do you know Christ? He is not hidden if you will come to him. Have you experienced his liberating love? Don’t keep it a secret, share it with others.
Passage 1 Corinthians 6:9, Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men.
Footnotes 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Paul is describing characteristics of unbelievers. He doesn’t mean that all those who have indulged in sexual sin or who have been idol worshipers, adulterers, people who practice homosexuality, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, or swindlers will automatically and irrevocably excluded from heaven. Christians come out of all kinds of different backgrounds, including these. They may still struggle with evil desires, but they should not continue in these practices. In 6:11, Paul clearly states that even those who sin in these ways can have their lives changed by Christ. However, those who say that they are Christians but persist in these practices with no sign of remorse, will not inherit the kingdom of God. Such people need to reevaluate their lives to see if they truly believe in Christ, because their actions would certainly say otherwise.
Jesus Tells Us is from the Jesus Calling 365 devotions for kids.
THE WORLD…we see history
Aristotle Circa 384-322 B.C.
In the painting the school of Athens by the renaissance master Raphael, Graybeard Plato offers a lesson -on-the-go to his pupil Aristotle.
This is the original case of the brilliant pupil outshining the brilliant teacher. In ancient Greece, Aristotle began at age 17 to study under Plato, who in turn had been mentored by Socrates. The student-teacher relationship spanned two decades, from 366 B.C. until 347 B.C., the year Plato died. If Plato is rightly seen as the father of Western political and ethical thought, Aristotle, who disagreed with his professor on crucial points, was the philosopher who consolidated the new way of looking at the natural order. In perhaps as many as 170 books on all manner of subjects, Aristotle laid out his beliefs. He agreed with Plato that the universe was an ideal world, but felt that form and matter, were inseparable, this crucial departure was at the root of his theories on motion and change that, while not universally correct, would inform Western science for centuries. He divided nature into four elements, earth, air, fire and water, which wasn’t exactly fact, but pointed a way forward. In arguing ethical points, he said that goodness of a thing lay in its realization of its specific nature. He handed down these notions, beginning in 343 B.C., to the Macedonian king’s son, a young teen who would go on to become Alexander the Great. Aristotle would eventually find himself in opposition to Alexander’s imperial ways, and some historians maintain that this nearly cost him his life. Regardless, he influenced evolving political thought just as he influenced everything else, from astronomy to zoology. His books include Metaphysics, on the Heavens, History of Animals, On the Soul, Politics, Rhetoric, Poetics and Organon, which comprises six treatises on logic. Aristotle encouraged his followers to think for themselves and taught them how, and much of his philosophy became deeply embedded in subsequent Jewish and Christian tradition.