Read Romans 8:1-8

Paul Geidel Jr. holds the record for the longest incarceration in the United States that ended with release from prison. Given a sentence of twenty years to life for second-degree murder in 1911 when he was 17 years old, Geidel was finally offered parole in 1974—and he declined. Having spent his entire adult life in prison, he wasn’t sure what to do or even where to go. At the age of 86, he finally accepted parole and is thought to have moved into a nursing home until his death.

For the next few days we’ll examine another feature of our identity as believers in Christ: we are free! Yet like Geidel, it’s tempting to remain imprisoned to our sinful habits and desires simply because they are comfortable and familiar. That’s why it’s so important for us to grasp what it means to be free in Christ.

Our reading today follows Paul’s extended explanation of the tension we experience as followers of Jesus who still wrestle with the temptation of sin (see Romans 7). If we are still struggling with our sinful nature, how can we possibly be free? The answer is that we’re now under a different legal system. We were under the “law of sin and death,” (v. 2), which condemned us to oppose God and pursue our own sinful desires (v. 7). But after salvation in Christ, we are under the “law of the Spirit,” which gives us new desires and sets us free to obey God.

Continue reading Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – FREE FROM CONDEMNATION →

Read Colossians 3:1-17

Toddlers and preschoolers love to play dress-up as part of their expanding imaginations. “I’m an alligator! I need my alligator suit!” said one boy, demanding his plush costume. “I’m a princess—that’s why I have a crown!” said a little girl. Whether playing superheroes, princesses, or animals, young children love to dress the part.

The apostle Paul uses the metaphor of dressing up or clothing ourselves in several of his letters (see also Eph. 6:10–18). Our text today provides us with a detailed list of exactly what we should take off and put on as evidence of our true identity.

First, Paul describes the thoughts, motives, and actions that we need to abandon. It’s important to notice the exhortation here: “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature . . . rid yourselves of all such things” (vv. 5, 7). Though we now have life in Christ, we still struggle with temptations of lust and greed and anger. We have been saved but not fully perfected; we continue to battle sin. The key distinction between our status as dead to Christ and now as alive to Christ is that we no longer want to persist in sexual immorality or rage. We are continually taking off these filthy old garments.

Continue reading Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – RAISED WITH CHRIST →

Read Ephesians 2:1-10

Many pregnant women crave unusual food combinations such as pickles and ice cream. But many also suffer from pica, the desire to eat nonfood substances like ice, chalk, clay, or laundry powder. One Russian woman ate a box of chalk from the local elementary school every day; some 50 percent of Kenyan women eat clay; and many pregnant American women report overwhelming cravings for ice. Experts think pica likely stems from nutrient or mineral deficiencies like anemia.

Just as pica during pregnancy can reveal underlying health problems, so too our spiritual cravings reveal whether we are healthy spiritually. Are we “gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts” (v. 3)? Or are we living in a way that reflects the life we have in Christ?

Continue reading Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – MADE ALIVE IN CHRIST →

Read 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Many second or third daughters in India are named Nakusha, which means “unwanted.” One local government in the state of Maharashtra decided to hold a ceremony for many of these girls to give them new names. One girl chose the name Sakshi, meaning “witness.” “I was going to be a witness to a historic event, and become a part of it too,” she said. “I know I have to be patient, because people are used to calling me Nakusha. . . . But now I have a name and I feel good. I feel like a new person. It will change my life forever.”

Believers in Jesus have a new name and a new destiny. Indeed, because of our identity in Christ we are now a new creation.

As we’ve seen throughout our study, Scripture doesn’t tell us about our identity in Christ so that we can sit back, take it easy, and feel good about ourselves. Knowing that we are a new creation—freed from old habits and old perspectives—should be tremendously encouraging. It should also compel us to share this news with others.

Continue reading Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word –NEW CREATION IN CHRIST →

Read Galatians 2

What does justification mean? In academic research, justification explains a theory or thesis in order to support the conclusion. In ethics, justification is the category of theories that tries to answer questions like “Why should I be moral?” In popular usage, if we say a decision or action is justified we mean it was an acceptable choice. But what does it mean to say we are justified in Christ?

Our passage today provides us with a clear answer. Being justified is a central part of our identity in Christ, and it is part of our understanding salvation in Jesus.

First, justification means we are declared righteous before God (v. 21). As we saw yesterday, we can never justify ourselves. We can never be right with God on our own terms. “We know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ” (v. 16).

Second, justification means we now live by faith in Christ (v. 20). Being justified in Christ not only changes the status

of our relationship with God but also transforms the way we live. We have the Spirit of God living within us to guide our lives. We can embrace grace rather than legalistic ideas of how to please God.

Justification also matters for our relationships with others. If we grasp that our identity of being justified in Christ is entirely based on what He has done for us—not our own goodness— then we can extend that grace to others. We don’t have to impose additional restrictions or expectations on others when we know that Jesus does the work of justification for all who believe in Him (vv. 4, 21).

APPLY THE WORD

Peter and Paul clashed over associating with Gentiles. Disagreement between Christians is not new and need not mean breaking fellowship. In disagreements, the gospel takes priority over our preferences. Paul confronted Peter for choosing Law over grace; Peter later became a persuasive advocate for Gentile believers (vv. 11–14; Acts 15).

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read Romans 4:13-25

Like many people in the 1990s, Chris Robinson loved Beanie Babies. He thought the small plush toys would increase in value, and he began devoting all his spare time—and money—to amassing a collection. He figured eventually he could sell them to pay college tuition. But after spending over $100,000 on some 15,000 Beanie Babies, the market for the toys plummeted, leaving Robinson with a whole lot of stuffed animals and debt.

Trying to invest money can be a wise decision, but the investment must be trustworthy. The object of our trust is important: faith in a worthless cure or risky business or unreliable person will do us no good. This is even more true in our spiritual lives. Merely having faith will not save us. Our faith must be placed in Jesus Christ.

As our text today makes clear, the object of faith was always supposed o be God, the Giver of the Law, not the Law itself. Only God can keep His promises. Only God could fulfill His word to Abraham to make him a father of many nations (v. 18).

Continue reading Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST →

Read Luke 24

In his book Lament for a Son, Christian philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff has explored the grief of losing his adult son in a mountain-climbing accident. “It’s the neverness that’s so painful,” Wolsterstoff says. “All the rest of our lives we must live without him. . . . A month, a year, five years—with that I could live. But not this forever.”

Death is not what God intended for His creation, and the Bible describes death as humanity’s great enemy. If we have suffered the grief of losing someone we have loved, we know the searing pain, suffering, and tragedy of death. Thankfully, we also know the good news of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, which reverses the curse of death. The day will come when we will not seek for the living among the dead. The dead will be raised to life, and Jesus’ resurrection is proof that our hope for death’s defeat is certain (see 1 Corinthians 15).

Luke closes his Gospel by returning to some themes we have seen since the beginning of his account. The angels were present to announce the good news of Jesus’ birth to Mary and to the shepherds, and they are now posted as sentries at the empty tomb. The disciples throughout Luke’s Gospel have been slow to grasp the understanding of Jesus’ identity, and they continue in their obtuseness even after His resurrection. It would take multiple eyewitness testimonies and finally a shared meal to begin believing that the apparition before them was not a ghost but the resurrected Jesus (vv. 36–43).

Continue reading Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – JESUS, THE FINAL WORD →

Read Luke 23

On February 27, 2015, Boris Nemtsov was another critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin found shot to death in Moscow. Although the Kremlin has denied any involvement, a growing number of journalists, aid workers, and political opponents have been arrested or assassinated in Russia. Nemtsov had spoken publicly about corruption within the government and had been preparing a paper documenting the experiences of Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

When corrupt political leaders want either to seize power or to protect it, they consider the strategy of assassination. We see this in our reading today. Though the Jewish religious leaders wanted Jesus dead, they had to make a political case for His execution. They had to prove that Jesus wasn’t just a religious problem that threatened their regime of temple worship. They needed to paint Jesus as an insurrectionist and a threat to Roman rule. He had to be portrayed as a self-appointed candidate for king, who refused to bow the knee to Caesar.

And they were right, of course, about the radical nature of the message that Jesus preached. When Jesus announced the coming of a new kingdom, He wasn’t simply speaking about how people get to heaven when they die (although this is important). He was proclaiming a transfer of power. He was saying that He deserved worship and allegiance—not Caesar.

Continue reading Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – JESUS, KING OF THE JEWS →

Read Luke 20

Students of American history know John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. They may not be as familiar with George Azterodt, who was part of Wilkes’s conspiracy. Wilkes had instructed Azterodt to kill Vice President Andrew Johnson—but Azterodt lost his nerve and went out drinking instead. He was still convicted as an accomplice of Wilkes and executed by hanging in July 1865.

In our text today, Jesus had entered Jerusalem and the plot to kill Him intensified. The Pharisees and religious leaders were looking for a way to accuse Him; they were afraid of the crowd’s reaction if it seemed they were attacking Jesus for no reason. First, they tried to entrap Him on religious grounds: By what authority did He teach in the temple (v. 2)? Second, they tried to entrap Him on political grounds: Should faithful Jews pay taxes to the Romans (v. 22)?

Continue reading Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – JESUS, THE CORNERSTONE →

Read Luke 19:28-48

At the Berlin Conference in 1884–1885, the continent of Africa was carved up between European colonial powers. The new arbitrary boundaries did not reflect natural tribal divisions. When African nations began achieving independence in the 1950s and 60s, long-simmering tribal and ethnic conflicts often erupted, destabilizing the new governments with military coups, civil wars, and ethnic genocide.

Since Luke 9:51, Luke’s narrative has described Jesus’ resolute march toward Jerusalem—and some still expected that He would lead a violent coup and take political power. Jesus had often told His disciples that He expected to suffer and die in Jerusalem, but they did not grasp the significance of His words. And no doubt Jesus’ words were often strangely confusing—even in the closing of yesterday’s reading, we read the politically charged story of the king who intends to slaughter his enemies.

Continue reading Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST →

Read Luke 19:1-27

During the 2014 Commonwealth Games, two Australian field hockey players captured a celebrity in the background of their selfie photo. The two women are smiling at the camera—and right behind them, also smiling at the camera, is Queen Elizabeth II! The queen was making her way over to greet the team during an unscheduled visit to the games.

Jesus was an unexpected guest at the home of an unsuspecting host. He invited Himself to the house of Zacchaeus, a well-known tax collector (v. 5). Tax collectors had the reputation for collecting more from the Jewish people than required by the Romans, and they were despised as greedy collaborators. Jesus’ decision to share a meal with Zacchaeus caused no small stir among the people.

Continue reading Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – JESUS, THE GUEST →

Read Luke 18

In ancient society, a widow was one of the most powerless members of society. Without a man to speak for her in the public square, she had no voice and no recourse against injustice. When her husband died, his property passed to the nearest male relative. Apart from family charity, the widow was almost assuredly cast into poverty.

Jesus tells a story about a widow pleading her case before an unjust judge (vv. 1–8). It’s likely that this judge had refused to grant the widow justice in her case because she was too poor to pay the necessary bribe. Because of her persistence, however, he finally ensured that justice was done, and the case was resolved. If even a corrupt, unjust judge would eventually do the right thing, how much more will our perfect Judge, who hears our cry and delivers us.

Continue reading Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – JESUS, THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE →