“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
~ Romans 8:28
Hi James and Ellen,
If your grandpaa had to pick just one chapter in the Bible to argue his born again faith in Jesus Christ, your grandpaa would pick Romans 8. Your grandpaa can choose a good number of verses in this chapter to reflect on. When your grandmaa and grandpaa were living in Aberdeen, South Dakota, they were challenged to memorize verses. Your grandmaa made up two sets of 100 index cards with a Bible verse or verses on them for her and your grandpaa to memorize together. Verse 28 – which says “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” was one of the first verses that your grandmaa and grandpaa memorized. Your grandpaa was motivated to memorize Bible verses when he became embarrassed during a Wednesday night prayer meeting during an informal competition to find out which side of the church could recite the most Bible verses by memory. Your grandpaa could only recite by memory a couple of verses. Your grandpaa by this time had become one of the leaders in the church where your grandmaa and grandpaa had become members – which was the Aberdeen Christian & Missionary Alliance Church. Having become embarrassed during a Wednesday night prayer meeting because every guy, gal and kid who was in the prayer meeting that night found out that your grandpaa only knew a couple of Bible verses by memory, God worked out for the good for your grandpaa as He made it to be the impetus to motivate your grandpaa to systematically memorize with your grandmaa verses from the Bible. Do you like to memorize Bible verses? How many Bible verses can you recite by memory? Your grandmaa is presently at the time of this editing memorizing Roman 8. Memorizing Bible verses is something that your Father God will have you doing throughout your life as He – as God the Spirit, prompts a desire in you to memorize the words that He breathed on different guys to write down in letters and books.
No one who has been led by God – as God the Spirit, to and through the faith/grace door has felt ashamed or embarrassed or condemned as they entered into the ‘Body of Christ’ which is made up of all the guys, gals and kids who have made decisions of faith to believe in God – as God the Son, as their Lord and Savior. As a guy, gal or kid is led to and through the faith/grace door into the ‘Body of Christ’, he or she senses a feeling of relief of being set free from trying to lead moral, works driven lives to make it up to the ‘big pie in the sky’ to now living lives that are no longer driven to do sinful things. When God – as God the Son – as Jesus Christ, was viciously nailed to a crude cross – where He died, the lives of God’s especially elected guys, gals and kids were ransomed or paid for by the horrific pain and death that God – as God the Son, suffered on that crude cross and through the blood that dripped from God – as God the Son, as He had to ingloriously hang by the nails that had been impaled through his wrists and his feet to that crude cross. As a guy, gal or kid is led by God – as God the Spirit, to and through the faith/grace door, he or she has to pass by an invisible crude cross. Only the guys, gals and kids who have been predestined by God – meaning that God foreknew beforehand who they will be, will be permitted by Him to pass by the invisible crude cross. As each guy, gal and kid – who God – as God the Father, chose to be His specially elected guys, gals and kids before He created planet Earth, passes by the invisible crude cross, each guy, gal and kid will know that he or she is once and for all adopted by God – as God the Father, as His very own kid to have an equal share in His kingdom as His heirs. As God – as God the Spirit, leads one of His specially elected guys, gals or kids to and through the grace/faith door, he or she will sense having been made spiritually clean, given a new mind and redeemed or traded in for a totally new and perfect life. As God – as God the Spirit, leads one of His specially elected guys, gals or kids to and through the grace/faith door, he or she will sense having been given the right and privilege to enter into an arena that has only like-minded, born again guys, gals and kids in it. The specially elected guy, gal or kid will sense that God – as God the Son – Jesus Christ, has justified his or her right to pass through the grace/faith door into a sanctified and glorified arena – that is called the ‘Body of Christ’, that is abounding with an ever growing number of like-minded, born again guys, gals and kids. God – as God the Son, welcomes each guy, gal and kid who passes through the faith/grace door, into His ‘body’ of like-minded believers in Him. As a guy, gal and kid passes through the faith/grace door and offers his or her life to God – as God the Father, as a living sacrifice, God – as God the Spirit, begins transforming the guy, gal or kid into God’s likeness.
As a guy, gal or kid passes through the faith/grace door, he or she will hear God – as God the Son, tell him or her in an inaudible way that he or she has been unconditionally welcomed into His ‘body’ of believers who are in Him. This same guy, gal or kid will also hear God – as God the Son, inaudibly tell him or her that because of what God – as God the Father, has especially done for him or her that his or her Father God will never let anything or any guy, gal or kid come between them. In the letter that he scribed to a ‘body of believers’ in Jesus Christ who were living in Rome, Paul communicates very clearly that nothing – including life, death, angels, demons, the present, the future, the invisible powers, the heights, the depths or anything in creation will ever be able to separate them from their Father God’s love that they have through God – as God the Son. Your grandmaa and grandpaa are very grateful that God – as God the Father, has through God – as God the Spirit, guided you to and through the faith/grace door.
Romans 8 (504)