Welcome to Day 175 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about finding nourishment in the Word of God to get us through the day. In each devotional, I take a variety of scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses each) and build our understanding of what they teach via their context and connecting scripture. My goal is to help you understand how to be the type of human God created you to be. Today’s passage is Romans 8:38-39

Romans 8:38-39

NASB	NLT	VOICE
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things to come, nor powers,	38 And I am convinced that non can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love	38 For I have every confidence that nothing – not death, life, heavenly messengers, dark spirits, the present, the future, spiritual powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.	39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.	39 height, depth, nor any created thing – can come between us and the love of God revealed in the Anointed, Jesus our Lord.

Powers are the unseen forces of evil in the universe. These forces often represent Satan and his demons. As believers that have the power of Jesus available to us, we will find victory against those evil forces both currently and for eternity. When we’re in the middle of a battle against these evil forces, we know that God will be there for us and give us the strength and resources necessary to achieve victory. These verses are reminders to us that there is nothing that we can do to lose God’s love for us. Nothing can get in the way of that.  

Colossians 3:3

NASB	NLT	VOICE
3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.	3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God	3 because your old life is dead and gone. Your new life is now hidden, enmeshed with the Anointed who is in God.

How does one become hidden with Christ? Let’s break it down. To be hidden, in this context, means to be concealed and safe. To be hidden with Christ means that we have security in life through his power and control in our life today, and that our future will be secure as long as our faith is still strong with him. Being one with Christ isn’t about doing good works. Our salvation is found in our belief and faith in the sacrifice Jesus made that allows us to have a right relationship with Jesus and place in God’s eternal kingdom. The good works we’re called to share in the world results from our belief and faith in Jesus. Our confidence in all this can bring our focus to helping others and meeting their needs, instead of focusing on our own wants and desires.

Romans 5:3-8

NASB	NLT	VOICE
3 And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;	3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.	3 And that’s not all. We also celebrate in seasons of suffering because we know that when we suffer we develop endurance,
4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;	4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.	4 which shapes our characters. When our characters are refined, we learn what it means to hope and anticipate God’s goodness.
5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.	5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.	5 And hope will never fail to satisfy our deepest need because the Holy Spirit that was given to us has flooded our hearts with God’s love.
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.	6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.	6 When the time was right, the Anointed One died for all of us who were far from God, powerless, and weak.
7 For one will hardly die for a righteous person; though perhaps for the good person someone would even dare to die.	7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.	7 Now it is rare to find someone willing to die for an upright person, although it’s possible that someone may give up his life for one who is truly good.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.	8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.	8 But think about this: while we were wasting out lives in sin, God revealed His powerful love to us in a tangible display – the Anointed One died for us.

For the first century Christians, suffering was a part of the routine rather than an outlier. Paul explains that “in the future we will become, but until then we must overcome.” For now, we will experience difficulties. These difficulties will help us grow in the person God created us to be. God did not cause our difficulties to occur, but we can rejoice in those difficulties because God will use it for our Good and his plan for us. The problems that we meet will develop our perseverance. It will strengthen our character, deepen our relationship with God, and give us greater confidence and faith about our future.

The Trinity is involved in our salvation. The Father loved us so much that he sent his own son to bridge the gap between us. This means that the son was sent to fix the errors (sin) between humanity and God, allowing us to have a right relationship with God and a place in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Gather and the Son sent the Holy Spirit to envelop our hearts with compassion and grave to allow us to live by his power. We have the ability to live the life that we were created to be. God sent Jesus to die for us, not because we were good enough, but just because he loved us and wants to spent eternity with him. Whenever you feel uncertain about God’s love for you, remember that you were loved before your relationship with him was created.

Next slice of Manna: Manna for the Mind #176