<html><head></head><body><div><div><div>Romans 8;35-37<div><br></div><div><b>35. &nbsp;Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?</b></div><div><b>36. &nbsp;As it is written, “For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”<br>37. &nbsp;No, in all these things&nbsp;we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>How have&nbsp;those many, (who have faced martyrdom down through the ages), suffered death with such love,</div><div>courage, and calm?&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;They even prayed&nbsp;for those who were&nbsp;killing them, just as Stephen&nbsp;the first martyr prayed, <i>“ And as they were stoning, Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ &nbsp;And he knelt&nbsp;down and cried with a loud voice,&nbsp;&nbsp;‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ &nbsp;And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” &nbsp;</i>(Acts 7;59&amp;60)</div><div><br></div><div>We know, the answer, it is in v.35 of today’s reading. &nbsp;<i>“The love of Christ.” &nbsp;</i>The love of Christ has come&nbsp;to us so that it may come through us into this dying world.</div><div><br></div><div>This “<i>Love of Christ,” &nbsp;</i>is not different from, <i>“For God so loved the world,” &nbsp;</i>this same love has been “<i>poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us”. </i>(Romans 5;5)</div><div><br></div><div>It is nothing less than the indwelling of Christ by the Holy Spirit in us His Bride the Church. &nbsp;We face martyrdom <u>with Jesus,</u>&nbsp;not alone, not in the strength of our flesh, but by <i>“the Law of the Spirit of Life </i><u>in Christ Jesus,”</u>&nbsp; &nbsp;(Romans 8;2)</div><div><br></div><div>Our faith is not only in what Jesus did for us two thousand years ago, our faith is in what Jesus by the Spirit is doing in us today, He is living in us.&nbsp; This is the divine reality of true Christianity, <i>“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” &nbsp;</i>(Colossians 1;27)</div><div><br></div><div>This same faith was active in the three men in the fiery furnace, there was a ‘fourth Man’ <u>with them</u>, <i>“ Then King Nebuchadnezzar&nbsp;was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, ‘’Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?’ &nbsp; They answered and said to the king, ‘True, O&nbsp;king’. He answered and said, ‘But I see&nbsp;four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.’” &nbsp;</i>(Daniel 3;24&amp;25)</div><div><br></div><div>This is why the Angel Gabriel quoted&nbsp;to Joseph, Isaiah 7;14 saying, <i>“Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel, (which means, <u>God with us</u>.)“ &nbsp;&nbsp;</i>&nbsp;(Matthew 1;23)<i></i></div><div><br></div><div>Christ Jesus has been given to us, not only that our sins should be forgiven, but so that the love of God never be separated from us,&nbsp;death wil&nbsp;not frighten us (the new man, the workmanship of God)&nbsp;ever again.</div><div><br></div><div>Walking by the Spirit, is walking in and with Jesus, daily dying to self (‘living in our baptismal death’)&nbsp;and living to God. &nbsp;It is believing that,&nbsp;<i>“You have died, and your life is&nbsp;hid with&nbsp;Christ in God.” &nbsp;</i><span>(Colossians 3;3)</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div>Very few of us will ever be given the honor of facing martyrdom, but if we happen to be so honored, be assured, we will not face it alone, we will be&nbsp;fearlessly, truly in Christ and Christ in us. Our Lord will supply our every need, we <i>“shall not want.” </i>(Psalm 23)</div><div><br></div><div>Living by faith in the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, becomes commonplace for those who abide in the Word, for Christ by the Spirit comforts, strengthens, and daily steels&nbsp;us for battle&nbsp;those who love His Word above all earthly things.</div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, we praise You, that in Christ, we are more than conquerors. &nbsp;Your love, the very&nbsp;love of Christ, is indeed at work in us. &nbsp;Bless us with faith which believes “<i>nothing shall separate us”</i>&nbsp;. &nbsp;Deliver us from the fears of&nbsp;carnality, (which fails to live by the Law of the Spirit of Life&nbsp;in Christ Jesus). &nbsp;Merciful Father, we pray in Jesus, Amen.</div><div><br></div><div>Love,</div><div>Dad/Baba/Eric/Grandpa Pickle Pastor</div><div>“A chapter a day, every day<span>,&nbsp;</span><span>be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we, broken-hearted, contrite, forgiven, believing children, are His.”</span></div><div><br></div><div><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>

Romans 8;35-37
35.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?36.  As it is written, “For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37.  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
How have those many, (who have faced martyrdom down through the ages), suffered death with such love,courage, and calm? 
 They even prayed for those who were killing them, just as Stephen the first martyr prayed, “ And as they were stoning, Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’  And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice,  ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’  And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”  (Acts 7;59&60)
We know, the answer, it is in v.35 of today’s reading.  “The love of Christ.”  The love of Christ has come to us so that it may come through us into this dying world.
This “Love of Christ,”  is not different from, “For God so loved the world,”  this same love has been “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us”. (Romans 5;5)
It is nothing less than the indwelling of Christ by the Holy Spirit in us His Bride the Church.  We face martyrdom with Jesus, not alone, not in the strength of our flesh, but by “the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus,”   (Romans 8;2)
Our faith is not only in what Jesus did for us two thousand years ago, our faith is in what Jesus by the Spirit is doing in us today, He is living in us.  This is the divine reality of true Christianity, “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  (Colossians 1;27)
This same faith was active in the three men in the fiery furnace, there was a ‘fourth Man’ with them, “ Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, ‘’Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?’   They answered and said to the king, ‘True, O king’. He answered and said, ‘But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.’”  (Daniel 3;24&25)
This is why the Angel Gabriel quoted to Joseph, Isaiah 7;14 saying, “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel, (which means, God with us.)“    (Matthew 1;23)
Christ Jesus has been given to us, not only that our sins should be forgiven, but so that the love of God never be separated from us, death wil not frighten us (the new man, the workmanship of God) ever again.
Walking by the Spirit, is walking in and with Jesus, daily dying to self (‘living in our baptismal death’) and living to God.  It is believing that, “You have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”  (Colossians 3;3)
Very few of us will ever be given the honor of facing martyrdom, but if we happen to be so honored, be assured, we will not face it alone, we will be fearlessly, truly in Christ and Christ in us. Our Lord will supply our every need, we “shall not want.” (Psalm 23)
Living by faith in the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, becomes commonplace for those who abide in the Word, for Christ by the Spirit comforts, strengthens, and daily steels us for battle those who love His Word above all earthly things.
Prayer:  Merciful Father, we praise You, that in Christ, we are more than conquerors.  Your love, the very love of Christ, is indeed at work in us.  Bless us with faith which believes “nothing shall separate us” .  Deliver us from the fears of carnality, (which fails to live by the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus).  Merciful Father, we pray in Jesus, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/Eric/Grandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we, broken-hearted, contrite, forgiven, believing children, are His.”


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