Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1. The humble have seen it and are glad; you who seek God, let your heart revive. Psalm 69:32.

Here is My servant whom I have chosen, the One I love, in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out, till He leads justice to victory. In His name the nations will put their hope. Matthew 12:18-21.

And continuing our 351 Old Testament prophecies, promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 64: The Crucifixion and Resurrection intimated. Psalm 2:7-8: I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession.” And, Acts 13:29-33: When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead; and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, “You are My Son; today I have begotten You.”

Today in our Friday Zoom Retreat, we watched the video by John Ortberg about Romans 8:1 – no condemnation. He talked about the book The Sound of Life’s Unspeakable Beauty by Martin Schleske, where he talked about the trees that make the most beautiful sounds when made into violins. Trees that have withstood the most traumas. That life’s difficulties strengthen character. As Ortberg commented, “to find God we must frequently trouble ourselves.” He talked about the people in the Bible who we know by name or by description that are the very people put to public shame – the prodigal, the woman caught in adultery, the woman at the well, the elder son. They suffered loss of image in the eyes of others, and as our group talked about, loss of self-image. When we realize we are just like every other human who sins, there are no pretensions left of thinking we are good. ANY Good comes from God! And the amazing thing is He helps us see exactly where our pretensions are hurting us because our image matters less than our real relationship with Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit. When we are stripped of how others see us, we find our greatest help in God who does not condemn us, but who helps us and redeems us and brings healing so we can continue to grow and flourish with Him in our new identity, His children dearly loved.

As the video brought forth, we live at the mercy of our ideas. One of our group shared from a book the concept – Real vs. Truth. That is a space that I have been consciously living in for several weeks now. Real to us is what we imagine to be true, and we are at the mercy of our unmerciful negative ideas that are as swift as the speed of thought. Imagining negative conversations that took place only in our own heads. Condemning thoughts directed inward. Condemning thoughts directed outward. Truth is the conversations we actually have with others. The empathy others have for us as we make mistakes because we all share the experience of making mistakes and then berating ourselves. The very worst part about our constant condemnation of ourselves and others? We think that is how God views us, and how can we not? One of our group lamented we are our own worst enemy – and I realized that particular prize went to Satan, The Accuser.

All of these difficulties, whether internal or coming from without in our world, serve to strengthen our character as we are willing to be led by God. His help changes how we see ourselves and our world. I don’t want to be like those in Scripture who were ready to throw stones because they couldn’t see themselves in those they judged so harshly. Without the love of God working within us, our religion is hollow and condemning and human self-righteous-rules-based only. Remember, God is LOVE. Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Romans 8:1-2. The humble have seen it and are glad! You who seek God, let your heart revive! The only One who could condemn didn’t. He came to show us the Father in real time and to teach us the way to Life that is abundant, that our condemning world cannot begin to fathom yet. Here is My servant whom I have chosen, the One I love, in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out, till He leads justice to victory. In His name the nations will put their hope.

***THE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER Dear LORD, I thank You for having especially called me to pray every day. With the busy schedule I keep, I know that sometimes I take You for granted. But now, I truly wish to devote to You this time because I love You and need You in my life. Thank You for granting me the privilege of spending this time with You. Presence, 123-124. Adapted.***