Tag: #romans

Nothing Can Come Between Us

Nothing Can Come Between Us

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Nothing Can Come Between Us

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 NIV

The psalmist echoes Paul’s conviction that neither death nor life can separate us from God’s love: “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there!” God is present everywhere. There is no place we can go and be cut off from His presence. The Bible also tells us that God, by His very nature, is love. And if God is love and exists everywhere, then it stands to reason that nothing and no place can isolate us from His love.

Paul relates a laundry list of things that could potentially have the power to barricade us from God’s loving presence: life, death, angels, demons, the present, the future, powers, height, depth, and anything else in all creation.

God displayed His great love for us on the cross. On Calvary, Jesus Christ triumphed over all things, including death and every living enemy, by offering His life in our place. When we receive God’s gift of salvation, we are “buried with Christ” through baptism and “raised to new life” by “the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.”

Paul continues, “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. You shouting yet?

Remember friends, we are each other’s keeper and the only time we should be looking down on someone is when we are helping them up.

Hello

Hello

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HELLO

“Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ Greet you.” Romans 16:16 NKJV

Hello in the English is the way I greet others, but it’s not the only way to say it.  In Spanish its Hola.  It is Konnichiwa in Japanese. Bonjour in French. Shalom in Hebrew. And Jambo in Swahili. Did you know that greeting can vary depending on familiarity and culture.

There are plenty of physical ways to say hello too.

Handshakes are common in America, Europe, and many parts of Asia and the Middle East. It’s also popular greeting in Ethiopia.

Bowing is a common practice in many parts of the world with Japan often being the most common. Other places are Thailand, Cambodia, and India.

Another greeting is with a kiss. Cheek kissing is widely another widely known way to say hello, particularly among the French. It is a classic way to greet friends.

In Romans 16:16, the apostle Paul issues a directive to greet one another with a holy kiss. This isn’t romance, instead it is loving, holy, and sacred.  This was also a common form of greeting among family and close friends, symbolized love, brotherly love, and fellowship.

All these things point to God himself, who by his grace offered us his hello and loving kindness going back to the beginning of time. How about this as a thought as it relates to the word, HELLO.

“To change a life, you don’t need to do anything grand. Sometimes all you have to do is just say, Hello. And don’t forget to smile.” Amen.

Remember friends, we are each other’s keeper and the only time we should be looking down on someone is when we are helping them up.

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