The Power of Love

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
ROMANS 8:35-39

Who shall separate (like a divorce) us from the love (agape) of Christ?
(Who can remove us from the supernatural love of Christ? Who has the ability, power or authority to divide us, to rip us apart, to send us away from one another?)

shall tribulation, (intense pressure, oppression, anguish, trouble) [pressing down]
or distress, (extreme calamity, anguish) [squeezing on all sides]
or persecution, (suffering for Righteousness sake)
or famine, (intense hunger from prolonged lack of food) [pressing from within]
or nakedness, (lack of protective covering)
or peril, (danger- from all sources)
or sword? (specifically humanly applied danger, war)

As it is written,
For thy sake we are killed all the day long;
we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors (to gain a surpassing victory) through him that loved us.
(Our victory is not merely nominal, it is complete and overwhelming- and it is a gift from the One who loved us enough to give Himself for us.)

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life,
(neither the life or death of the body or that of the soul and spirit- all death and all life is included in this)

nor angels,
(ALL angels, whether faithful servants of the Most High or whether disobedient fallen angels)

nor principalities,
(rulers of men, angels or demons, whether rulers or leaders of small groups or bands or
of large nations and armies.)

nor powers,
(power of individuals or nations, power of nature, power of self, power of wealth, power of armies, power of man-made inventions, super-natural power, group power)

nor things present, (things happening today, current events)
nor things to come, (future intentions or events, prophecies)

Nor height,
(whether natural, as a mountain, or man-made, as a tower or building, or beyond our reach, as the farthest area of outer space)

nor depth,
(as the depth of the sea, the deep thoughts of God or even the depth of poverty)

nor any other creature,
(ANYTHING that has been created by anyone, ever)

shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
(is capable, has sufficient power or resources, or authority)


which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Our safety rests completely in Jesus and the finished work of the cross. He alone has the power, the resources- His blood- and the authority to keep us connected to the Father for all eternity. It is not even our ability to hang on to Him, it is His ability to hang on to us.)

Savior vs Lord

Savior- one who saves another from danger or harm

Lord- One possessing great power and authority, owner


Is it enough to call Jesus my savior if I do not also call Him my Lord? If he has truly saved me from the horrible consequences of my sin, both in this life and the next, do I not owe Him my total allegiance? My sin condemned me to guilt and sorrow in this world and certain death in the world to come. He paid the price for my freedom in both. All He asks in return is my faithfulness and obedience. Is this really too high a price to pay?
But do I treat Him as Lord? Do I recognize that He truly has great power? Do my actions reveal that I believe this or do I worry that He won’t take care of my needs as He promised? Do I recognize His authority over my life? Do I obey Him immediately or do I argue and whine and put off doing what I know I should? Do I accept that He has purchased me with His own blood and that I belong to Him to do with as He pleases? Do I place His goals and plans for me ahead of my own desires? Do I trust Him to do what is best for me even when it doesn’t look like it to me?

When I stand before Him, will my actions have demonstrated that I have the right to call Him Lord?

Come out into the Deep

I find it very soothing to watch the ocean waves rush toward the shoreline and crash onto the sand. The swooshing sounds and the rythmic movement of the waves is both mesmerizing and relaxing. I've noticed that if you lift your eyes up beyond the shoreline, past the waves, that the water is smooth. The ocean is calm rather than roiling. All of the activity is near the beach. When whales or dolphins get too near the shore they become caught up in the wave action and end up on the beach as well. Sharks don't seem to have this problem. They can handle the turmoil without succombing to it.
People need to take a tip from the whales and dolphins. When we stay in the shallow, tumultuous waters of the shoreline of life we can get too caught up in the day to day difficulties and end up beached by the problems of life. When we take the plunge into the deeper waters of God's love and learn to trust Him with EVERY part of our lives, we dwell in a calm place that brings us peace.
The pull of the shore is great. It takes a mighty effort to break free of the forces that drive us to the shore and it takes continued effort to remain in the deep waters. It is in the deep waters that we learn to surrender our own will to the Lord. Where we learn that no matter how bad the situation, He is in control and will work all things out for good for His children. It is where we learn that when we are at the end of ourselves, when we have nothing else, when we have no one else, He is enough.
Come out into the deep waters.

Welcome

Welcome to Deep Waters. Don't forget to breathe.