Day 205 Bible Readings – Romans 8: 26-27 (ESV)

Hosea 10 & 11, Romans 8: 18-39, Psalm 109: 1-20

Romans 8: 26-27 (ESV)

“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. 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.”

Verses 26 and 27 from Romans 8 shows Paul describing how the Holy Spirit helps us. Christ said he will send the Holy Spirit to help us with prayers to God. Paul tells us the Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we don’t know what to or how to pray for what we want. I have been learning this year to rely on the Holy Spirit for prayers and to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. I used pray only to God and Jesus Christ only and thinking of them as interchangeable, until my pastor preached on reaching out to the Holy Spirit earlier this year. It feels like I now have extra help when talking to God. Now that I couldn’t talk to God on my own, but it’s nice having the Holy Spirit there as well to convey everything that I cannot say or forget to say. Jesus Christ said there is a trinity of God, himself, and the Holy Spirit, and I now know exactly what he meant.

Day 204 Bible Readings – Romans 8: 5-8 (ESV)

Hosea 8 & 9, Romans 8: 1-17, Psalm 108: 6-13

Romans 8: 5-8 (ESV)

“For 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. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 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. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Verses 5 through 8 from Romans 8 is Paul’s advice to find out if we walk with God or with sin or flesh. If you walk with God, your mind will be set on the things of the spirit. If you walk with God, you will have life and peace. If we do not walk with God, our mind is set on things of the flesh which leads to death and no peace. The person whose mind is set on flesh is hostile to God and does not submit to God’s laws because they cannot. Paul argues that a person who does not walk with God, cannot please God because their mind is set on things of the flesh.

I think these verses are important for those who have faith in Christ. You will know if you are walking with God, if your mind is set on things of the spirit. Since your mind is set on things of the spirit you are not hostile to God, since you will try to please God by submitting to God’s law. In your submission to God’s laws, you will please God, have life, and most importantly of all peace of mind.

Day 203 Bible Readings – Romans 7: 24-25 (ESV)

Hosea 6 & 7, Romans 7: 7-25, Psalm 108: 1-5

Romans 7: 24-25 (ESV)

“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”

Verses 24 and 25 from Romans 7 is the conclusion of Paul’s question of whether the law is sin. Paul argues that sin eventually leads to death. Even if we are saved in Jesus Christ and given a new life, we will still struggle with sin. Paul writes “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.” Even though we may delight in the law of God, we will always face a struggle within ourselves between our body and our mind to commit sin. Paul argues that the only way to win this inner struggle with sin is to rely on Christ. We cannot face this struggle alone. Faith in Jesus doesn’t take away the struggle, but Jesus works through so we can victory over sin. David Guzik in his bible commentary has argued that 1) the law teaches us what not do but we couldn’t do because of our sinful nature, and 2) the law tells us what we need to do like a coach but we still couldn’t do it, and 3) the law cannot heal our sinful nature; what we need is a savior and that savior is Jesus Christ.

Day 202 Bible Readings – Romans 6: 20-23 (ESV)

Hosea 3-5, Romans 6: 15-23, Romans 7: 1-6, Psalm 107: 33-43

Romans 6: 20-23 (ESV)

“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Verses 20 and 21 from Romans 6 shows Paul asking us to look into our future to see what we get if we continue to sin and forget how our faith in Christ saved us and gave us a new life. If we continue to do the same things over and over again and sin, does it lead us to a better life 20 to 30 years down the road. Paul says NO, sin leads us to death. Now contrast this bleak future with the future we are promised with faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ leads to eternal life with God when we die. We will live in paradise with God when we die. We will not judged by our life of sin, because the grace of Christ prepaid our sins before God.

I think Paul’s advice is also a great way to look at any habit we want to break from rom in our life. We need to view each habit that we want to eliminate from our life and ask ourselves to see what our life will be like 20 to 30 years into the future if we continue this habit. Does the habit lead to us to have a long, fulfilling life filled with pleasure and fun? Or does the habit lead to a future that is filled with problems of health, wealth, and worry? If we don’t like the future we see with that habit, it may be enough incentive to give up the habit for good and create new habits to create the future that we do want. I know that I like the future I see with my continued faith in Christ. I see a future that is free from worry and filled with miracles from God.