Journal Entry ~ 09/21/19

11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. - Romans 8:9-11

If we are relying on our own power, following Christ is not only hard, it's impossible. We simply cannot be loving, joyful, peaceful, patience, kind, good, faithful, gentle, or have self-control in our own power. Some may be able to tap into these attributes at different moments in our own power, but they are most often surface level and self-serving. It is impossible to consistently and authentically demonstrate all these characteristics all of the time. 

The kind of love that is deep and sacrificial, the kind of joy and peace that come in the midst of a storm, the patience and goodness that overcome hurtfulness in our relationships - these are only from the Holy Spirit. We are told just a few verses before this one, Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. - Romans 8:8. We simply cannot please God without the Spirit dwelling in us. 

But the beautiful part of that statement is that the Spirit is dwelling within us. The same power that rose Jesus from the dead lives in each one of us. Pause on that. The same power that conquered death, that was the greatest victory of all time, that conquered our enemy - it lives in us. We have that power. And the reason we have that power is so that God can produce in us the righteousness He desires. 

What an amazing passage when you dwell on it. Not only did God make a way to forgive us for all our weaknesses and sin, but He made a way to give us the strength to overcome those weaknesses by dwelling in us.  

The same power that rose Jesus from the dead lives inside of you and me. That's simply amazing to me. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Medical Update ~ 09/27/17

Image
Today was a challenging day.  I met with the oncologist to discuss chemo as part of my treatment plan.  The oncologist explained there were 3 additional invasions discovered during surgery, so there were actually 4 isolated invasions in the breast tissue.  To review - my diagnosis is Ductal Carcinoma in situ (DCIS) with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.  All 4 of the invasions are HER2+ (aggressive) and hormone negative (recurrent).  My oncologist walked us through the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCM) guidelines for treatment of this type of aggressive, recurrent cancer - chemo and radiation. The good news is God had already moved the mountain in my heart opposing chemo, and rested me in a place of acceptance.  While my initial prayers focused on not having to have chemo as part of my treatment, after hearing I had multiple invasions, He moved me to a place of understanding that chemo is a necessary part of my treatment.  If there were 4 invasions in the sample they took, there co
Read more

My Journey Begins...

I am a believer in Christ, and I have breast cancer.     On August 17, 2017, I was diagnosed with an aggressive (HER2+), recurrent (hormone negative) type of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.  At this point, they have not yet staged my cancer because they are waiting for the biopsy results from a suspicious spot in the second breast. The biopsy is scheduled for September 5th, with a lumpectomy to follow on September 7th.  They will formally stage my cancer after they biopsy my lymph nodes, which will be taken during the surgery.  It doesn't make any sense to me that I have a cancer diagnosis - I am a fairly healthy woman who runs 2 miles almost every day and eats a gluten-free, primarily paleo diet, with no family history at all.  But it makes sense to God, and so here I am. Update ~ They found 4 isolated invasions during the lumpectomy.  Due to the nature of my cancer (HER2+ and ER-), the recommended protocol is chemotherapy and radiation.  Beginning in October, my chemotherapy regime
Read more

Grace in Marriage

When we launched our new blog we had no idea if anyone would see it or be helped by it, but we knew that the LORD was prompting us to step out in faith and just do it. The response has been amazing and we are looking forward to how God will use this space for His glory. We have learned over many years of service in a variety of ministries, that God does not require human assistance to realize His plans for individuals, churches, nations, or the human race. But the story of the bible is the story of God’s will playing out through the words and actions of the His children. So…we pray, meditate on his Word, and write from the heart about the truths that mold our faith, guide our actions, and inspire our hearts and minds. Please visit the site and subscribe to continue receiving posts.  https://graceinmarriage.com/ It is our sincere hope that you are blessed by our work here and welcome your input on how we can make Grace in Marriage even better. Thank you for your support.
Read more