Author: Brian Burdett

“For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” – Romans 9:3

Can you hear Paul’s desperation for his people to know Jesus as Lord and Savior? He was willing to trade his own salvation if it meant that the Jewish people would trust in Jesus the Messiah. Are you that desperate for the lost people in your life???

Paul understood that the default destination of every person on earth is an eternity of separation from God’s love and presence in Hell and he couldn’t bear it. He was absolutely desperate for people to hear the Gospel and believe in Jesus. He devoted his life to spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. He particularly ached for those who were zealous for God yet didn’t know Him because they rejected Jesus. Do you?

Are you desperate for your family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors to know Jesus? Are you willing to risk embarrassment, rejection, or safety for people to hear about Jesus who don’t know Him? Are you devoting time, talent, and treasure to the salvation of lost people? Like Paul, would you trade your own salvation for the widespread awakening of entire ethnic peoples?

Pray about this verse. Meditate on this verse. Ask God to give you a burden like Paul’s. Beg Him to make you ache for people like Paul ached. Then act on that burden. Share the good news of Jesus generously. Get involved in evangelistic efforts in your community and missions around the world. Pray for those far from God, particularly those zealous for Him but ignorant of the truth about Jesus. #FollowJesus

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” – Romans 8:35

Who or what could ever separate a follower of Jesus from His love? Absolutely nothing!!! Jesus was clear that He would never toss anyone aside who came to Him in genuine faith. He was adamant that nobody could snatch a true child of God from His hand. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, then there is no power in heaven or on earth that can possibly keep you from His enduring, eternal, overflowing love!

The things Paul lists here are certainly realities for many Christians – both then and now. In your life of faith you may experience tribulation, fear, distress, suffering, and persecution. You may go hungry, lack for clothing and shelter, be in danger, or be attacked by enemies of God. That doesn’t mean Jesus doesn’t love you. He loves you more than you can imagine! Those things can’t break His love for you. In fact, He experienced many of these same things Himself. They’re simply part of life in a fallen world, particularly for those who’ve been redeemed from their sins by their loving Savior.

Don’t let your circumstances cause you to doubt Christ’s love for you or presence with you. The moment you put your faith in Him, you were sealed by the Holy Spirit. That is a guarantee that you will always belong to God, not the devil or the miseries of life on earth. You were permanently united with Jesus. He is in you and will always be with you. You are never alone and will never be abandoned by the eternal Son of God. He is with you in every storm and He knows what it is to suffer unjustly.

Jesus loves you. This you should always know. For the Bible tells you so! #FollowJesus

“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.” – Romans 8:7

“Where’s your mind?” Have you ever been asked that when caught staring out into nothing? Paul prompts us to ask the same question about ourselves as followers of Jesus. Where is your mind focused?

Are your thoughts and emotions largely occupied with things related to your earthly wellbeing – comfort, pleasure, safety, health, wealth, status, appearance, power, or achievement? These things aren’t inherently bad. However, if your mind is SET on them and they dominate your time, attention, and energy, determining your emotional wellbeing and sense of identity, then your mind has become hostile to God! You may well be a faithful church-going Christian but if the temporary things of the world are your main focus in life, then you aren’t submitted to God’s priorities!

As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit in us and we are to live and walk in the Spirit. We should be submitted to the Spirit and always prioritizing God’s Kingdom over our earthly Kingdom. We certainly must pay attention to things like careers, bills, and medical appointments. However, we must be careful not to let them control us or our emotions. Likewise, if you choose to pay attention to the news of the world, never let that get more of your energy and attention than reading, studying, and meditating on God’s Word. Be discipled by the Lord and not the world. #FollowJesus

“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” – Romans 6:4

Baptism doesn’t save anyone. Salvation is entirely accomplished by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ and nothing more. Baptism doesn’t earn us any additional blessing or favor from God. In Christ, you are already loved, blessed, and favored more than can possibly be imagined. However, that doesn’t mean baptism is without significance.

When a believer takes the step of obedience to pass through the waters of baptism he or she not only obeys the example of Jesus and tells the world of their commitment to follow Him. They actually identify with His death, burial, and resurrection. When we go under the water, we are symbolically buried with Christ. When we come out of the waters, we are symbolically raised with Christ. Through baptism, we identify ourselves and our lives with our Savior’s. We have identified His death with the death of our old, sinful self and identified His resurrection with our new creation in Him.

Again, water is just water. It’s God’s grace that raises us to new life in Jesus Christ. However, baptism is a beautiful and powerful sign of that grace and new life within us. Baptism is also clearly assumed and expected for every believer, so if you haven’t already been baptized as a believer in Jesus, don’t delay any longer. #FollowJesus

“For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” – Romans 5:17

Throughout Romans chapter 5, Paul contrasts the disastrous consequences of Adam’s sin to the glorious results of Christ’s sacrifice. When Adam disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, his one sin ushered death into our world. His fall into sin ruined mankind, so that we are all born into sin and joyously embrace it for ourselves. Because sin separates us from God, Who is the source of life, the appropriate and necessary payment and consequence for sin is death. Thus, through Adam, death became a necessary part of every life on earth.

However, as terrible as all that is, the victory of Jesus on the cross is even more powerful! For everyone who trusts in Jesus, having their sins forgiven by God’s grace, death has been defeated! Every believer in Jesus will rise from the dead just as Jesus did. First, our soul will be with Jesus. Then our bodies will rise in a glorified state when He returns. Death isn’t the end for us, it’s the beginning of something unimaginably wonderful – an eternity spent in the presence of our Savior. We will reign in life through Jesus Christ!

Death occupies an enormous place in the mind and imagination of most people, including believers in Jesus. However, the reality is that for Christians, death is a minor note compared to the glories of eternal life. Death is no more consequential than a quick stop at a rest area on an interstate highway. Take time to contemplate that today and rejoice in it! Your death won’t be your final moment. Reigning in life is your eternal reality! #FollowJesus