Romans 8:1-17
Life Through the Spirit
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh,4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Hebrews 6:13-20
The Certainty of God's Promise
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
Acts 4:12
Salvation is Found Only in Jesus
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
Years ago, we used to read the about news and current events once a day in our daily newspapers...And as we read the news daily, it does not often bring us a dose of optimism and hope...No the news we read about can drain our optimistic views and our hopes...So as news travels faster and faster these days, we do get even less hope and and optimism than just reading about the news once a day...As one stays constantly connected to the news around the globe, we can lose some of our optimism and hope every once in a while...
Life of the flesh and this world is like this, we can lose some hope...And we read about this, if we are being led by the flesh and not of the Spirit, as we read through St. Paul's letter to the Romans...
For those who follow Jesus, there is a different way of thinking, His Way of living...St. Paul gives us an uplifting story about the Spirit and Jesus, as opposed to this world...Our bodies and the flesh can be what he says is hostile to God...St. Paul teaches us that there is hope in the Spirit...When our faith is weak, and we feel low, we can think of the Spirit and it helps to carry us along...The Law of Moses could not free us from sin and death...It takes something more than the Law of Moses to free us from sin and death...It is the Spirit of Jesus that can bring us salvation...Salvation was not found in the Law, but is found in Jesus...This new law, this Law of Jesus in the Spirit can bring us salvation and bring us back to hope...Salvation is found in no one or nothing else under heaven...
Jesus teaches us the eternities...He teaches the things of the Spirit and things of God...He teaches us that carnal and the flesh and the pleasures of flesh are temporary...Worldly fame and worldly power and honor are not where it is at...Even wealth is hollow, and does not touch the soul...When we are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, we live...Embracing this world, we are given a riddle with no answers...When we embrace Him, then the world somehow seems to be given an optimism...It is then a world that is anchored in a hope...And we hold this hope as an anchor to the soul, firm and secure...