Redeemer West Side

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Romans 8:28-39

This passage doesn’t say all things are good. It says that God works all things for good for his people, culminating in their being glorified—safe with him in his kingdom forever as their truest selves. To know deep down that God is working all things for good provides hope and peace even as we walk through the fiercest storms.

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Romans 8:18-27

Paul never minimizes the sufferings Christians experience, but he does say that those sufferings pale in comparison to the glory that’s coming. There is a real, embodied, healed future coming for the people of God. Christians are those who live in the present shaped by confident hope in that coming future.

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Romans 8:12-17

The Spirit helps Christians experience their adoption, that a Christian has become a member of God’s family, his son and daughter, with brothers and sisters (new community). What the Spirit does is take that objective reality and help us experience in subjective ways.

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Romans 6:1-14

The gospel brings new power and new purpose for living. Through the gospel, a person is freed from living for themselves (sin) and is freed to “live a new life” in, with, and for God.

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE |  Romans 4:1-8, 4:22-5:2

Justification means not only that sin is forgiven, but being “credited” with Jesus’ own righteousness. Through the gospel, a person can be truly accepted and have a meaning in life that is unshakeable.

“This is my beloved son; in him I am well pleased.” 

Through the gospel, the verdict is in: justified in the only court that ultimately matters.

Given by Rev. Paul Yoo

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE |  Romans 1:14-17

Everyone is looking for salvation. “Interestingly enough, the majority of people who seek salvation today do not think of themselves as someone who seeks salvation. But they feel the need for it regardless. In his book, A Secular Age, Charles Taylor explains the experience of desiring a “fullness” in our lives that is not there, of aching for a life that could be and should be far better than it is now” (Tim Keller). In his introduction to Romans, Paul boasts in the gospel as the only way to experience salvation.

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE |  Habakkuk 3:16-19

The message of Habakkuk ends with the paradox of faith: even when everything is lost, the prophet can rejoice because he still has God. God cannot be lost. In this way Habakkuk is particularly helpful to persons going through suffering. The source of hope is not in the reversal of difficult circumstances, but an ever-increasing awareness of the God who is with you in the midst of them. Even when all is lost, God remains. Therein you may rejoice.

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE |  Habakkuk 3:1-15

In the midst of life’s hardest moments and in the midst of suffering, one of the resources that God’s people need is the cultivation of spiritual memory. Habakkuk is standing in awe of God’s deeds, God’s past work. The word deeds is an important word in the Old Testament. God’s deeds refer to his specific acts of deliverance on behalf of God’s people in time past. Habakkuk was living in a dark time for the people of God: but this wasn’t the first dark time they had had. Habakkuk knows that in dark times before, God delivered his people. He came to their rescue. And his deep awareness of God’s deeds in the past fortifies his faith and hope in the present.

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Habakkuk 2

After asking his hard questions, Habakkuk gets a response from God, even if not a satisfactory answer. God doesn’t explain all of his ways to Habakkuk, but he does remind Habakkuk of his glory: “The Lord is in his holy temple” (v. 20). In other words, God responds to Habakkuk’s hard questions by giving him a bigger vision of his glory. Therefore, as Habakkuk learns, “The righteous person will live by faithfulness” (v. 4). It’s trust in God, even when you don’t understand all that he’s up to, that anchors someone in the midst of suffering.

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Habakkuk 1

Habakkuk 1 describes a man asking God hard, uncomfortable questions, and being unsettled by the answers God gives. We need to start here—with hard questions—because experiences of suffering always raise hard questions. We need to encourage honesty in wrestling with a God whose ways are often confusing and frustrating. If we don’t help people know that it’s safe, even encouraged, to bring their hard questions to God, they’ll be more prone to deconstruct their faith when they experience suffering (in their own lives or the lives of those around them). What’s more, as Habakkuk brings his hard questions to God, he finds God to be so patient, gracious, and tender. By asking hard questions we experience a particular kind of intimacy with God, the kind of intimacy that mirrors Christ in Gethsemane: “Take this cup away from; nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.”