Moving and Going

Wow, talk about a feeling of accomplishment. I just finished moving files and setting up my blog on my new host – Hostrocket. I was with Peoplehost, but the final straw was the ridiculous downtime I had a couple of days ago. And let me say how God’s provision works when you aren’t even THINKING about stuff. I received a donation of $45 for the site. Well, the next day, my site was down for atleast 2 hours, so with that $45 donation, I was able to move to a better host. I’ve had experience w/Hostrocket before, but left them because Peoplehost was $5 cheaper. I guess the saying is true – You do get what you pay for. I will not make that mistake again. It ended up costing exactly $42.90 to move my site to Hostrocket. $29.95 for the setup fee and $12.95 for the monthly charge. God knew exactly what I needed and I thank Him that through Agatha, I can continue to use this site as a platform for His glory.

In about 8 hours, I will be on the road to Louisiana. I just came from Walmart a few minutes ago, getting water, snacks, and a few other things. While I was there, there were these 2 young women in front of me. One of them turned around, saw me coming, and moved right in front of me. She started to walk slowly, and there was no way around her, so… I said, “Excuse me”. She seemed as though she didn’t hear me, so I repeated myself a little louder. On the 3rd time, she finally moved out of my way, and then said something derogatory to her friend about me. I didn’t care, and honestly, I actually got irritated, but the problem that I was presented with was this — In a situation like that, how do I share the Gospel ? I could tell they were lost souls; I used to do the same kind of thing before I was saved because I thought it showed how tough I was. I thought I looked cool, when in fact, I looked ignorant and dumb. I felt sorrow for those 2 young women. They ended up being in the line at the register right behind me, spouting profanity, while one of them kept repeating that she needed anger management. My initial response was irritation, but immediately after that, I thought – Wow, that used to be me! I wanted to reach out, to share Christ, but after the little issue earlier in the aisle, and their behavior, I didn’t know that she’d be receptive. Man, I really have to work on my witnessing and evangelism muscles.

I keep thinking about the East coast a lot. So much is there. As cliche as it sounds, I feel like a bit of my heart is there. It feels like a 2nd home. My brothers and sisters are there, and they’re so much closer than blood relatives. We share the same bond of Christ. Ah, I will be praying quite much when I go to Louisiana for this next week or so. Out in the woods, no internet… I packed my Bible, commentary, OT survey book, and various reading materials. I have my binder, notebook paper, pens, highlighters, and whiteout. It will be Jenn and the Lord. I pray my time is fruitful and that I don’t waste it.

Day by day, I’m learning how crazy this world is. There are sports writers who are commended for having the courage to come out of the closet and say they are transsexual. There are teenage boys in high school dressing like women – fake breasts, wig, makeup, and women’s clothes complete with tight jeans. There’s the equality forum being hosted in Philly in a few days. Romans 1, Romans 1, Romans 1. Come quickly, Lord. I can’t imagine how much worse it can be, but I know that it will be.

I have found myself praying for my husband in the past few months. Not praying for a husband, but praying for MY husband. I have to clarify. I’m not being courted and am as single as a piece of colby jack, lol, but I have been praying for the man. I have no clue who he is, but I’ve been praying for him. I look forward to meeting him. Marriage is a scary thing. Relationships, period, are scary. I’ve expressed to one of my married brothers in Christ that I’ve never been in a Godly relationship and I am soooo scared to mess something up once I do get in one. He said that’s a beautiful thing because, in that, you fully acknowledge your dependence on the Lord to guide you. I praise God for the Godly men I am surrounded by. My brothers in the Faith exemplify what it means to be a true man of God. With the ones who are married, I see how they treat their wives, how they love their children, how they serve their families. With those who are courting and engaged, I see their carefulness, their caution, their desire to point their ladies to Christ. With those who are single, I see how they make the most of it, how they don’t just jump into relationships, how they follow hard after Christ. I am so blessed by these men! I look forward to being married to that Godly man some day. In the meanwhile, I’ll continue to pray for his strength, encouragement, passion / love / desire for God and His Word, and for his protection.

I guess I should shut it down now. I have a 4 hour drive ahead of me. To not get adequate rest beforehand would be unwise.

Soli Deo Gloria.

East Coast Trip

I must say, lol… I should really stop and think about stuff before I say it. When I typed that East Coasting post, I was so sure I was staying in Texas. Now ? Not so sure. I just need a lot of time to think and pray, seeking God on it. I’d love to be around my family there like I was. I can tell the difference in myself alone. The effect that constant Christian community has on the believer is not to be discounted. Fellowship is really important. It was a shock to the system to come back to Texas. I miss my family on the East Coast. I’m really praying about that phase of my life.

My trip was so much fun. I loved it! I spent time in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. One thing I find so cool about Philly is that it is not that far from Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. You can drive 2 hours and be in Maryland. In Texas, you can drive 2 hours and still be in Texas, lol. You can drive SIX hours and still be in Texas!

When I left for Philly on the morning of the 14th, it was the day after a pretty brutal storm. Our flight was delayed and we switched gates 3 times because the airplane we were supposed to be flying on had hail damage. Once I got on the plane and knew we were about to take off, I had a bundle of nervous excitement in my stomach. I had an unexplainable peace as well. I don’t like flying, but I prayed and knew I had my brothers and sisters in the Faith’s prayers as well.

When I arrived at Philly Int’l, Kim was there to pick me up. I rode around with her as she ran errands. It felt surreal that I was actually there!

If I were to type up everything I felt about the release parties (B. Morr and Everyday Process), I’d probably end up writing a book! The release parties were most definitely God glorifying! The performances were on point and it was beautiful being surrounded by so many brothers and sisters in Christ. It truly was beautiful in the very essence of the word. I had a chance to attend services at Epiphany Fellowship the 1st Sunday I was there where Duce preached a convicting sermon entitled ‘Treasure or Trash’.

My heart and life were blessed because of those days spent among the brethren and sistren. It encouraged, blessed, edified, motivated, and just over all made me love the Lord even more because He is responsible for those people being like that. They’re actually family… not just friends, but truly sisters and brothers with a common bond of Jesus Christ. Only the Lord could do something as dynamic as that in people from various backgrounds, races, and locations!

I wasn’t really homesick at all. I was pretty sad when I left Philly to head home. I almost DID cry. Going from constant Godly fellowship like that to unsaved family can be depressing, and it was. My whole countenance changed when I got back to Texas. I hated that, and prayed about it, but knew that should not be the case. So… I will be praying about moving to Philly. If the Lord agrees on that, I’d like to make it happen this summer. I applied for a job that I hope I will get so that I can start saving money for the move.

I pray the Lord would make His Will concerning me moving quite obvious. I don’t want to be outside of His Will, and I know if He says no to Philadelphia, then I will have to obey Him. I’m hoping He says yes though, lol.

Grace and Peace.

What I Believe

Continuing in the path of fellow hip hoppers, including older brother Timothy Brindle, Believin’ Stephen arrives with his offering of What I Believe, inviting you to take a look at his life, observations, and thoughts.

What I Believe features production by Mac the Doulos, DJ Essence, The Apologist, and DrumKey and appearances by Evangel, Timothy Brindle, Cruz Cordero, Azriel, The Apologist, and Optimus. Whether exposing the myths of ‘good’ people making it to Heaven and relativism, sharing his testimony, or expressing the dire need of the Gospel to be delivered to all nations, Stephen expresses the Biblical truths of God’s Holy Word.

The glory and person of Christ is the focus of this CD. As He expressed in John 14:6, He is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE life. No one comes to the Father unless they come through Him. God’s Truth is evident and Stephen wants you to know ‘what I believe’.

You can cop the album through Stephen’s myspace page:
http://www.myspace.com/believinstephen

Self Denial

B. Morr’s CD – Self Denial – is now available for purchase on his website:

http://www.bmorr.com/main.html

Just hit the store… only $13.50 and that includes shipping and handling. You can hear clips on his myspace and on his website.

Christ alone,
Jenn

East Coasting

Hanging out in the library in Maryland right now. I’ve had an interesting week. I’ve had a lot of time to think and have come to the decision that I will not be moving to Philly. Unless I get married or a job moves me there, I will be staying in Texas. I do like being in Philly, but after really examining things, I’ve decided to stay in Texas.

On the other side of things, my moderated comments are full of comments from people trying to disprove the existence of God. My previous entry has been linked in Yahoo atheist clubs and on atheism websites. I don’t quite know how I feel about that, but either way, I pray God is seen and He is honored as who He is – God.

In the wake of the VA Tech shootings, I pray that people will consider their lives. Life is but a vapor and compared to eternity, life lasts not long at all.

I just wanted to scribble something short. I will be back in TX the beginning of next week Lord willing. Time to start shutting it down here.

Christ alone!

The Atheist Delusion

It’s almost 5a and I’m up and sipping iced tea. I packed two bags a little bit ago. Now all that is left is packing my shoes and packing my carry-on bag. My suitcase is filled with my clothes and the other packed bag is filled with personal items such as lotions, deodorant, makeup, face wash, toothbrush, etc. I’ll probably pack my shoes sometime Friday night along with my carry-on bag. All I need is a spiral, some pens, liquid paper, my Bible, CDs, my mp3 and CD players, and I am good to go.

Yesterday, I was browsing a cosmetics message board that I am a member of. I don’t go there often because honestly, it’s not that interesting to me anymore. At one time, it was… but due to various conversations and things (i.e. men wearing makeup, posting pics, and being told how ‘fierce’ they look), I decided it may not be suitable for me to spend much time there. While I was on the board yesterday, I saw a thread about Richard Dawkins’ book “The God Delusion” being Reader’s Digest’s book of the year. Many on that thread were praising it and of course, they were atheists. One of the comments that stood out to me was:

I’ve wanted to read one of his books for a while now, I saw a talk he gave at a divinity college somewhere in the States, it was fascinating hearing him defend his statements. He really is brilliant…
I also do not believe in God.

Of course, seeing so many people praise this man led me to post the following:

It always amazes me when people do not believe that there is a God. That is so… wow… that’s like me going outside and saying – There is no air, there are no trees… There are no humans! Actually, there is no such thing as an atheist. It is so much easier to live to your own liking than to submit to God’s standards. But either way, come Judgement Day, it will be too late to believe.

Even before I was a Christian, I knew that God HAS to exist. To think that there is no God is quite foolish. There is no way you can explain how we came into existence, how the WORLD came into existence and say there is no God. It takes a WHOLE LOT more faith to believe that there is no God than to believe that there IS. Your disbelief cannot save you from the wrath of a Holy God. And before someone says I am arrogant, trust me – I’m far from it. I’ve been saved and redeemed by the Lord because of His grace.

What I speak of, I know to be true, and I’m pleading with you all to turn from your sins, open your hardened hearts, repent, and put your trust in Jesus Christ. To deny Him is to bring further condemnation on yourself. I would hate for you to live life as if there is no God JUST to find out when it’s too late that there is one.

Grace and Peace,
Jenn

That was followed by a slew of comments. Now, did I expect anyone to agree with me ? No, I really didn’t, but it’s always interesting to see an atheist’s comebacks to a Christian:

One said:
I always find it interesting that for many people, personal faith is not enough. They feel compelled to convert people whenever they can, including on internet message boards for make-up. I’m not sure if its insecurity or inability to tell where and when these types of conversations are appropriate. This is why people read Richard Dawkins.

Another:
It really annoys me when Christians or any religious people for that matter look down on atheists and try to teach them about their “sins” and judgement day and all that stuff. I could not care less about all that. It’s very arrogant and rude. I don’t belittle your beliefs, so please, let everyone make up their own mind. Religious faith should be practiced privately, and not with the intent to convert others.
In fact, I think believing in God is pretty much like believing in the toothfairy, but hey that is my own PERSONAL opinion.
Very devout people of any faith scare me.

And yet another:
I just feel bad for people whenever I read that self-righteous, I’m saved on Jesus stuff. They don’t really want everyone to convert and join them in heaven, in reality they want to feel special and better than everyone else. We love to wallow in superiority.
In my line of work, I’ve also discovered that belief in Jesus and knowledge that one is already saved tends to make people extra unaccountable for there actions here on lowly planet human.
It used to make me angry, but now I just feel sad.

And finally:
Now, here’s a question for you Jenn. Do you believe the bible as literal truth (which means the earth was created the way Genesis says it was) or do you have a more modern approach to creation? If you believe the bible is literal truth, then fair enough. It’s true to you, but that doesn’t mean it’s true to anyone else. Even the catholic church largely accepts that the story of creation in Genesis is simply wrong. If you don’t believe the bible is the literal truth, then how do you personally decide which bits of the bible are true and which aren’t?
I’m not trying to knock you personally but I would like you to think hard about why you believe what you do and come up with some answers. You’ve already said that not believing in god is foolish; well you are calling one of the finest minds (Professor Richard Dawkins) at one of the world’s top universities (Oxford) foolish and I’d really like to see how you justify that rationally and with verifiable evidence. Don’t take his title of professor lightly – here in the UK, only the very top academics are awarded that title. Those who have regular university appointments to teach students are called lecturers rather than professors unlike in the USA.

I was talking to a friend about the comments and I told him — Whenever a Christian simply disagrees with an atheist, they’re arrogant and self righteous. It’s never the atheist. You can say, “Hey I’m a filthy rotten sinner who needed a Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ IS that Savior and He redeemed me!” And I’d still be arrogant and self righteous or insecure, or whatever is the adjective of the day. Listening to WOTM, I have found out that most atheistic objections are pre-packaged. What do I mean by that ? Well, it seems that all objections or reactions / responses are the same.

My second and last post on that thread:
To answer quickly, I do believe the entire Bible to be the Word of God. It is infallible and 100% true. No fairytales, no fiction. The life, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ are well documented. To compare Christianity to Catholicism is not good b/c simply, Catholics are largely not considered Christians and many will say they are Catholics and not Christians.

The Bible is NOT just my truth; it’s THE Truth.

I haven’t been a Christian all my life, but even before the Lord snatched me up, I knew there was a God. As I said earlier, to be otherwise IS foolish. I really am not impressed with the mind of Dawkins; he still has no common sense, and he’s leading many astray with it. Titles mean nothing. And atheism is not new; it’s been around for a minute. Why do I call it foolish ?

The fool says in his heart, There is no God…
Psalms 14:1 ESV

It’s easy to not believe in God. To acknowledge there is a God means acknowledging that it is really not about you. To believe in God means you can not live for your own pleasures, and lets face it – Sinful men want to do what they want. And when I say ‘sinful men’, I mean every single man, woman, or child on the planet. No one is good. If you think you are good, think again. The heart of man is wicked and deceitful. It’s easier to live in denial, following your own pleasures than to acknowledge there is a God and you just might be in trouble because you’re not living up to His standards.

LipstickAndHate – You SHOULD be sad because you’re going to die, as we all are, and you don’t know where you’re going. Eternity is a very long time… That is very sad indeed. Bodily death is NOT the end. Life is but a vapor and to spend it in this world thinking there is no God only to find out too late is very sad…

It always interests me how many atheists always point at the Christian as being arrogant and rude as if we have something to gain by introducing you to the One who can take you out of your sins, clean your heart, and redeem you. How is it rude that I want to see other people have the same eternal security that God has given me through His Son Jesus Christ ? I have nothing to gain, but you have much to gain.

I’m not better than anyone. I’m not necessarily special. Whatever is good in me or about me comes through Christ’s imputed righteousness and none of my own, and for that, I am ever so grateful.

Atheism turn one’s back on the very One who created them. That’s like your own child rebelling against you and denying your very existence. How would you feel ?

Honestly, I pray that you all would come to know Christ by repenting of your sins and placing trust in Him. God is real; He exists. All you have to do is look outside. If there is any delusion, it is the delusion that there is NO God.

When dealing with those who deny the very existence of God, I always wonder how to respond. I think of Paul the apostle and how he didn’t bite his tongue… neither did John and definitely neither did Jesus Christ. I always wonder if I’m responding appropriately, if I should be nicer, if I’m being TOO nice. At any rate, I pray they listen to me and somehow that God uses that to spark atleast ONE heart for Him.

48 Hours + Killing Sin

Within approximately 48 hours, I’ll be on my way to the airport to catch a plane. I haven’t packed, don’t know WHAT I am going to do with my hair… I am very nervous, yet very excited. I’m not a fan of flying, but I will do it. I can’t wait until I actually land in Philadelphia and get to see and meet my friends and family in Christ! I need that fellowship right now most definitely.

On Wednesday evening, I listened to parts 1a and 1b of Piper’s sermon series called ‘How to Kill Sin’. I’d completed Romans 6 earlier so it was an awesome tie-in. I uploaded 1a, 1b, and 2a so that those who read my blog can listen as well. Each part is about 25 minutes long.

How to Kill Sin Part 1a
[audio:KillSin1a.mp3]

How to Kill Sin Part 1b
[audio:KillSin1b.mp3]

How to Kill Sin Part 2a
[audio:KillSin2a.mp3]

I don’t have a lot to really blog about; I just wanted to post those sermons up.

Grace and Peace in Christ alone.

The SLVR

My Motorola SLVR is loaded up with all kinds of goodies right now. As far as non-music, I’ve added some sermons from James MacDonald, John MacArthur, Way of the Master’s show for 4/10, and John Piper. Podcasts are such a wonderful thing. I download the shows and get to pick what I want to listen to. In music, I have artists such as B. Morr, Everyday Process, J.R., Phil Wickham, Chris Tomlin, Michelle Bonilla, R Swift, Fred Hammond, Kierra Sheard, Hezekiah Walker, Watermark, and many more.

Total files – 78
Duration – 14 hours, 44 minutes, 23 seconds
Approximate Size of ALL Files – 488,881kb

As I often do, I’ll turn it on and let it lull me to sleep… then I’ll wake up to it, Lord willing. I pray I get some good sleep tonight… atleast 8 hours worth. I want some hot tea, but I’m way too tired to boil the water, brew the tea, sweeten it, and add lemon juice to it. Yes, I’m a bit lazy right now, but… it’s been a long day and a night full of rest is a welcome treat.

Discouraged and Frustrated…

I have sat at my desk and have started writing atleast 3 blog entries on different topics, however, I completed none of them. I’m frustrated with a lot of things. I consider myself to be self employed, but have absolutely no money coming in. I don’t have a steady job either, so it’s discouraging when I have bills due and no money to pay them. I am going to Philadelphia this weekend, and while I praise God my plane ticket was a gift, and I have a place to stay, I still really have no funds. I just paid my car note and my credit card bill and that leaves me with very little. When I say very little, that is no exaggeration; it’s true in every sense of the phrase. I’ve been applying for jobs so that I can have a steady income, but no one has called me back. I have management experience and much customer service experience, but for some reason, either that’s not good enough or it’s ‘too good’. I have gotten used to not being able to do the leisure things like buying books and music, going out to eat, etc… but when it comes to putting off gassing up my car, it’s pretty bad.

On top of that, I’m discouraged by my spiritual life. Sometimes I’m so on fire and then it burns out. Sometimes, I’m driven to pray for people and situations in tears… and then sometimes, I feel like I’m just saying words. Sometimes, I drop everything to study… and then sometimes, I’d rather be on the computer surfing the net senselessly. I long for a life of proper dedication without distractions. I long to love and honor God and His Word like the Puritans. Their love for God was so pure, so beautiful. They absolutely adored Him and esteemed His Word high above everything. He was their joy, period. End of story. I want to have that pure love for Him as well.

I’ve been a Christian for almost 5 years and sometimes I feel like it’s been 5 days. It seems that when I started to dig into reformed theology, my whole Christianity fell apart. Until then, I’d only been exposed to the ‘good’ side of Christianity. I thought I was a pretty good person. I thought that it was me that chose the Lord. When I met reformed theology, it rocked my world, and I’m still rocked by it. I’m still having a time trying to piece things together in my life. The Lord took me from years of bad doctrine to correct doctrine, and it’s a whole new world for me. To sin and not honor God properly kills me. Why ? Because I know no matter how hard Jennifer tries, she’ll still sin. I’m no longer a slave to it, but I’m not sinless. When I don’t do as I ought, this frustrates me. I find myself crying out to God in repentance, asking Him to change me… but I feel so powerless… because I am. It’s so different from what I was taught when I 1st got saved… and I still struggle from time to time.

I am also discouraged and frustrated by what is deemed as Christianity today. There’s a Christian hip hop forum that I read where the Bible is taken out of context ALL THE TIME. There have been cases stating that God can be deemed as female (i.e. Mother God as well as Father God), cases stating that the Gospel is not what the Bible says it is, heretics and heretical doctrines constantly defended, Scripture constantly twisted… and sometimes I wonder why the board is not just shut down. It’s going up in flames slowly but surely and it’s hurting new believers more than it helps ANYONE. New believers actually seem to come there before they search the Word. I’ve seen that being taken advantage of. I’ve seen members have potshots taken at them by various others because they don’t have a church home. I’ve seen members call others the ‘n’ word. I’ve seen people advocating that whatever it takes to get people in church, then do it… even if it has nothing to do w/the Gospel as if the Gospel isn’t beautiful enough by itself! I see so much on that board and every now and then I comment, but as I told a fellow brother in Christ, I don’t see the point because at the end of the day – People will believe what they want to believe. I find it hard to see any fruit that the board is bearing, and that is quite disheartening.

My family’s not saved. I’m the only one who is. It’s hard to see and hear their lives because I see them, of course, in light of Scripture, and I’m sad and scared for them. They are all looking for something yet they choose to fulfill that in various things. My father and oldest brother are into occultic things, even satanic. My father’s language can be harsh and even abusive at times. My mother often says disparaging comments about people. I am rarely encouraged by my family. At 26 years old, this should be something I should not care about, but no matter how old you are, family encouragement is always desired. I’m thankful for my family in Christ because they truly do act as a family, however I long for the bond in my blood family that I see so many others with.

I figured I may as well write about the one thing that’s closest to my heart at this time. I wish I could pay my bills. I wish I had money right now. I wish I was constantly on fire, burning with an unquenched passion for God. I wish that people would search the Scriptures and not be tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine. I wish my family knew Christ as Lord. I wish there were a more familial bond. I wish my body didn’t hurt and I wish I knew the pinpointed, exact reason behind it. I wish I wasn’t so discouraged, tired, frustrated, and sad right now.

Lord, please forgive me if it sounds like I am complaining because that’s truly not what I desire to do. I just really needed to get that out. I don’t care about being so transparent; maybe someone else feels or felt the way I’m feeling. Maybe someone will pray. Maybe the Lord will use someone to encourage me.

And while it’s hard to hold fast to this at times, I must…

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28 ESV

Grace and Peace.

Peace With God

I am really REALLY getting greatly fed through my study of Romans. Not to say I wouldn’t be greatly fed through ANY book of the Holy Bible, but this study is just so awesome. Today’s study is on Romans 5 and Romans 6. I just finished verses 1 – 11 of chapter 5 which is titled ‘Peace with God Through Faith’.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die– but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Romans 5:1-11 ESV

For any Christian, it is well worth really studying the book of Romans. We will understand so much more concerning our salvation. We are justified through faith which brings about the peace of God through Christ. Through Christ, we have gone from recipients of God’s wrath to recipients of God’s grace. We go from being estranged from God to peace with God, from falling short of His glory through our sin to hope of God’s glory, from suffering as judgement to joy in tribulations, and from fearful uncertainty to assurance of God’s love. Our sufferings produce endurance / perseverance. That, in turn, produces character, and that character produces hope. This hope is not a wishful thinking. We can hope for a new car, hope for more money, hope for sunshine on a rainy day, but there’s no assurance that those things will happen. The hope we have in Christ is an assured hope. The love of God that believers have poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom is GIVEN to us, produces this assurance. The love of God in our hearts that we have through Christ assures us that we belong to Him. This sense of belonging, in turn, produces that hope.

I love the part that says that while we were still weak, Christ died for us. In the Barnes’ commentary in my E Sword program, it says – The word used here, asthenoÌ„n, is usually applied to those who are sick and feeble, deprived of strength by disease. When we were in that state, Christ died for us at the right time. When we were still sinners following our own way, God showed His awesome love for us in sending His Son – Jesus the Christ – to die for us and take on all of God’s wrath. People will barely die for a righteous or a good man and we are NEITHER! Christ died for rotten sinners. It is not based on our own character, but on the character of God. Based on His love for us, Christ died to reconcile us to the Father. We’re justified by Christ’s blood so that we (believers in Christ Jesus) do not have to bear the wrath of God ourselves. Because Jesus Christ took on God’s wrath on the cross, there is none left for us, believers in Christ Jesus, to bear. His death reconciled us; His life keeps us. We’re reconciled through Christ to God. To reconcile is to bring into harmony, to reestablish a close relationship with. Our sin drove us away from God; Christ’s blood brings us back.

Ahhh, glory to the Lord alone! Isaiah 53 is an awesome passage to read along with Romans 5.