What if you knew that everything you did and everything others did to you and everything that happened to you would turn out for your best? That would be amazing wouldn’t it? Well, for the child of God who is living a life devoted to his or her father, this is exactly what is promised. Now, of course, there are some important details that must be understood and accepted. This promise isn’t unconditional, and the good that is promised may not be the good that is comfortable. That’s why we must consider the promise of Romans 8:28-30 very carefully.

What causes us to do the things we do? What makes us get up every morning? The answer is that something or someone is motivating us. Motivation is part of the human condition. We need motivation in order to start and continue the things we do. This is obvious in the work that “puts food on the table." Most people are motivated to work by the paycheck that they will receive for their work and the provision that paycheck will provide. But motivation is not so obvious when it come to the work of the Gospel in the Church. Often the motivation that people respond to when it comes to following Christ is just wrong. Guilt, fear, and power, for example, are all possible and often common motivators. What should motivate us to serve Jesus as Christians? That’s the question we will consider as we unpack the next passage in the Deep and Wide series through the book of Romans.

“Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.” Stephen Covey’s profound axiom about human nature describes the importance of our thought life. Put another way, intent precedes content. The content of one’s life is the result of the intent of their thoughts. What you think about matters. What you think about a lot matters a lot. And what you are dedicated to with will define you. This is the power of intent. For the Christian there is nothing keeping us from making the intent of our lives God’s pleasure.

We’ve all seen the scene in the cartoons and movies where a character is faced with a decision. In order to help the decision-maker out, two new characters appear. One of them an evil angel or devil and the other a good angel. While possibly sitting on the shoulder of their counselee, they seek to persuade the person to see things their way and make the decision based on their counsel. To a certain extent all people have these two voices in their head. But for the Christian this struggle is much more amplified and real. We have two natures. The nature that we received at our first birth. This is the fallen nature or old nature. And the nature we receive when we are born again. This is our new nature. It is these two natures (also called the flesh and the spirit) that produce a constant struggle in the heart of a follower of Christ. While the struggle is real, so is the possibility for victory. Let’s find out more as we finish up the seventh chapter of Romans.

"You're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed you're gonna have to serve somebody. Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody." The chorus of Bob Dylan's song "Gotta Serve Somebody" describes a profound truth in a subtle way. The truth is that as human beings our only true freedom is to choose who or what we will serve. Pure autonomy(being completely free) is a farce. It's a lie. In Romans 6 Paul simplifies this reality even more by narrowing the options down to two: Sin or Righteousness. Later he will contrast slavery to sin with slavery to God. Described in a more personal way, our two options, as Dylan puts it, are the devil or the Lord. Let's consider what this means for us as Believers and how we can live like the slaves of Christ that we are."

God loves a cheerful giver. Meditate on that statement for any length of time and it should transform your philosophy about giving. There shouldn’t be any scrooges in the Kingdom. “When you give,” Jesus said, “don’t let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.” His assumption is that we would give. It is therefore not the fact of giving that is even Jesus’ focus but the attitude of giving. How far most Americans are in their giving from what God intends. Barna states that Evangelical Christians in America give, on average, 2-3% of their income to the local church. Their study doesn’t reveal this but it’s probably safe to say that anyone who is giving such a small amount to the work of God is not doing it cheerfully. Cheerful giving is generous giving. And It begins with the work of the local church but it doesn’t stop there.

God loves a cheerful giver. Meditate on that statement for any length of time and it should transform your philosophy about giving. There shouldn’t be any scrooges in the Kingdom. “When you give,” Jesus said, “don’t let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.” His assumption is that we would give. It is therefore not the fact of giving that is even Jesus’ focus but the attitude of giving. How far most Americans are in their giving from what God intends. Barna states that Evangelical Christians in America give, on average, 2-3% of their income to the local church. Their study doesn’t reveal this but it’s probably safe to say that anyone who is giving such a small amount to the work of God is not doing it cheerfully. Cheerful giving is generous giving. And It begins with the work of the local church but it doesn’t stop there.

When a monarch butterfly emerges from its crysalis there is no evidence that it once was a caterpillar. Practically speaking, the caterpillar doesn’t exist anymore, it’s gone. Dead is the word that Paul uses to describe the old self that is replaced by the new self in Christ. Dead, in particular, is the “body of sin,” as he calls it. And because the old self is dead, it no longer is under the reign of sin and death. What does this mean for the Believer? Let’s find out as we continue our verse by verse study of the book of Romans.

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. At least it should be. It’s the perfect combination of celebrating Messiah's birth, gathering with brothers and sisters, friends and family, enjoying unusual goodies, and giving and receiving extraordinary gifts. But so often all of what should be so amazing becomes a real bummer. The blessings of Christmas become the burdens of Christmas. This same possibility exists in the Christian life as a whole. Every believer has been saved by Jesus from sin and death and brought into grace and life. But too many saints seem to forget what they have. Like the “real meaning of Christmas,” we forget the “real nature of grace life.” Grace life has replaced sin and death. It’s abundant life, It’s overcoming life, and it’s everlasting life. Let’s make sure we are living it now and looking forward to it forever.