And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.   Romans 8:38-39 (NLT)
If this is a familiar Scripture (you can say 75% of it without looking) I hope you will read it in a translation that you are not familiar. www.biblegateway.com can give you many options for translations to read. I suggest this so that when reading the more unfamiliar, you will slow down and really think about what a testimony this is.
Biblical history suggests that Paul may have wrote this letter from his jail cell in Rome as he was awaiting execution. Unless God intervened, Paul knew that his race (2 Timothy 4:7) was truly about finished. He had much to say and it wasn’t all joy!
I am a sinner. No matter how hard I try, I fall short of Jesus’ standard and where He is directing me to be. He doesn’t give up on me and continues to remind me of His great love. The Father was willing to give the best of Himself to be the perfect sacrifice that was needed to atone (make up) for my sins. He knew I couldn’t do that on my own either!
Despite my less than holy state, God does not condemn me for my sin. He wants me to come back to Him. A simple, “LORD, forgive me for _____†and He forgives and we are together. It is freedom that comes through His Spirit.
It is my choice to live in the light of that Spirit. I make the choice to stay in His light and turn away from the darkness that surrounds the life in this world. I have to live in this world but with good choices, God choices, I can walk in the presence of God and avoid temptation and the occasion of sin.
God’s love is a concept that I do not have full comprehension. His love conquers death, the worries and struggles of this world, even the powers of hell. There is nothing that can take me out of God’s hand which holds me.
Let us throw off the all the “junk†that pulls us down and drags our eyes away from Jesus. Let us take that step of faith and trust God for today and tomorrow. It may seem crazy. Maybe there are “reasons†for doubts. But are any of the alternatives that I have tried before, my way, done better for me? No, they haven’t. I choose today that nothing will separate me from my LORD. Take four minutes and receive the blessings in this song:
His Eye is on the Sparrow by Civilla Martin and Charles Gabriel (1905)
Performed by Lauryn Hill and Tanya Blount
