Repeatedly, the Apostle Paul described himself as a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and his choice of words often conjures up all the abuses of slavery that have existed since men began to impose this evil upon others. Earlier in chapter 6 of Romans, Paul spoke of being set free from the bondage to corruption, and becoming a slave of God (Romans 6:22).

However, in this verse, Paul describes the wonderful difference for a believer enslaved to God instead of being enslaved to sin. It is a slavery unlike any other that has existed on earth. Instead of being bought by an evil man, and overtaken by fear for what he will do to us, we have been purchased and redeemed by the blood of Jesus. Though bought by Him, our very identity as a slave has been changed, for our Master has adopted us into His family and given us an inheritance as a child of the King: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.

It even affects how we address the King. We can use the same term of endearment used by Jesus in the garden, “Abba!” It’s breathtaking the High King of Heaven would stoop to allow His subjects to address Him in this intimate and personal way.

So, the question is, how often do you feel the longing for the satisfying water only He can give, or sense the desperation that unless He helps you, all will be lost—how often do we cry out to Him, “Abba!” How about today? How about now?

Tom Day

I’m sure in the checkout line at a grocery store you’ve come across tabloids with tons of juicy details regarding famous celebrities, trendy life hacks, daily horoscopes, political scandals, and all sorts of information. People are feeding on this everyday on TV, on their phones, and sadly also in schools. With all this foolish information out there, it’s truly not difficult to understand why our nation is in the state it is.

The only way this can change is firstly through prayer because God can do anything, but the second way we can participate in this is by disciplining ourselves in seeking the knowledge of God. By allowing our minds to be transformed by Him so much that it reflects in our lives. A life transformed by the knowledge of God is a life that has something to offer this lost nation. So let’s continue to dig into our Bibles, grow our understanding, and increase our effectiveness to share with the world the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6).

Pastor Jason Witt

When the people of Israel had forgotten the Lord their God and replaced Him with the false idols of their hearts, God could have forsaken them; but He didn’t.

It’s interesting, because so often when we think of worshipping an idol, we imagine an ancient dude kneeling before a stone statue. We may fail to recognize that sometimes in our hearts, we are that ancient dude or dudette.

It is in our hearts that we establish idols in our lives. Any idea, thing, or person that takes the place of God and holds our trust is an idol. Praise the Lord that He will not leave us to slide away from the truth. If we have been unfaithful in our hearts, He will fight to win us back. He will seize us by the heart and will shine the light of His holiness upon us. He will convince us by our conscience of our need to repent. The Lord then stands with arms wide open, ready to forgive, heal, and restore.

Lord, show my heart to me. Help me to place all of my trust directly into your willing hands.

Jeff Deal

We have been made alive by the Spirit of God, so let’s live our lives by the Spirit and not by the flesh. We reckon the flesh dead as we “crucify the flesh with all of it’s passions and desires.” Because the outcome of a life lived in the flesh is obvious, we become “conceited, provoking one another, and envying others.” Who wants to be like that anymore? But a life lived in the Spirit of God is more desirable and the fruits of that life are unmistakable, bearing “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

So, what is the best way to kill our flesh? Starve it to death, don’t feed it with the things it thrives on. And then feast on the things of God, things that will make you Spiritually strong. Get into church and the word of God, fellowship with your Father in prayer, share with others the gospel that saves. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

Pastor Doug Hardin

Shortly after Elijah called down fire from heaven at Mount Carmel, we find him depressed in a cave. It was here the Lord spoke to Elijah. We see in these verses the Lord sent three mighty phenomenons before Elijah. Rather than speaking through these mighty acts, the Lord chose to speak to Elijah through a still, small voice.

Oftentimes in our lives we look for supernatural signs when we are trying to hear from the Lord. However, God most often speaks to us in a still, small voice. The problem is not that God does not want to guide and direct us; rather it is that we are not listening. The best way for us to stay in tune with His still, small voice is to daily be in His word and in constant prayer. We need to stop looking for the big signs and start looking to Him.

For the King,

Pastor Daniel Batistelli

It is easy to forget that we represent the Lord. So much comes our way and we are tempted to give into our flesh. Paul wants to us to remember that all of our conduct should be worthy of what the gospel is. What he pinpoints here is a unity you don’t find anywhere else. Satan is very good at dividing the church over many trivial things, which is why Paul says that we are to strive together for the faith in the gospel.

Something that sets us apart from the world is the unity that we have in Christ. Let that be a conduct that the world sees in us that they would desire!

Resting in Him,

Pastor Sean Boehm

Paul’s constant motto was, “I am ready!” It all started on the day of his conversion when he asked the Lord, “What do you want me to do?” Paul’s passion to preach burned within him like a man who had just found the fire escape in a burning building and turns back to yell at everyone else, “THIS IS THE ESCAPE ROUTE!!!” Paul was ready to march in with Christ alone to the center of the capital of the world, entrenched under Satan’s power, with the message of the cross.

Are we ready to preach the gospel? We have all found that fire escape. Do we just climb out ourselves, or do we turn back to tell others.

The way of escape,

Pastor Gerard Deleeuw

When Samuel was told to go anoint the next king of Israel, he did what all of us so often do, judged by appearance and picked the biggest and baddest to be the king. You would have thought he would have learned from the lesson of Saul, who was taller than anyone in the kingdom, but made a terrible leader.

God reminded Samuel He doesn’t look at people the same way man does. He looks at the heart. What is a person’s heart towards God and conversely his heart towards other people? The Lord ultimately chose the small kid who smelled of sheep to be the king and said David was a man after His own heart.

That’s why we need the Holy Spirit to make decisions, so we can look at people from God’s point of view. I could have avoided many mistakes by praying for God’s guidance in decisions. May we surround ourselves with people who have a heart for God.

Praying for guidance,

Pastor Ron Kitchell

When we are young, we feel timeless and usually behave like time is an expendable commodity with a “plenty more from where that came from” attitude. As we age, we realize that time is limited and precious yet the cares of daily life still seem to distract us from an awareness of that reality. In today’s verse, Job reminds us that our lives are just a blip in time. In the context of eternity, the years of our lives are just a handbreadth to God (Psalm 39:5).

We, as Christians, each have a ministry, and we need to remain cognizant of the fact that we do not have a long time in which to seek and carry out God’s plan in our lives. May we live with an awareness of the unnecessary distractions and diversions in our lives, and take that time back and use it for the glory of God (Ephesians 5:15-16).

Jeff Mericle

What are the obligations of being children of God? What are the indications that you are a child of God? These are at least two questions that these verses evoke. Paul is making the argument that as recipients of the grace of God in Christ Jesus, we have some obligations or debts. And if we are truly children of God, these obligations will be the evidence of who we are.

Paul compares and contrasts the unbeliever’s life of the flesh with the believer’s life in the Spirit throughout the first 16 verses of this chapter. Believers walk according to the Spirit, fulfill the requirements of the law, experience life and peace, have Christ living in them, are indwelt by the Spirit of God, and put to death the things of the body. These are the obligations of being a child of God.

Unbelievers, on the other hand, walk according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh, are at enmity with God, cannot please God, do not have the Spirit of God in them, and will die in their sin.

The use of the word “debtor” in verse 12, conjures up ideas of “duty” and “obligations,” but this should not be misunderstood to be requirements for salvation, but rather proof of our salvation. If we are truly born again, these obligations will be our delight and joy, for this is how we serve Him whom we love with all our hearts. This is our pleasure. Delighting in God is what we live for.

Tom Day