Use this devo as you are able, in whole or in part. Don’t feel compelled to read it all. Simply read and meditate upon whatever catches your attention. The goal is enjoying time with God through His Word and in prayer. Questions about the devotional elements?

Call to Prayer

Prayer of Confession

Everlasting God, I can now be confident: Jesus’ ascension into heaven is a guarantee of my life with you; and the sent Spirit is a similar guarantee of your life with us. Both are like rings, promises of a coming wedding party that I anticipate every week in the church’s worship. And so I pray, “Come, Lord Jesus, come.” Amen. (Prayer based on the Heidelberg Catechism, Question 49)

*Prayer borrowed from Philip Reinders’ Seeking God’s Face: Praying with the Bible through the Year

Reading Plan

This reading plan will help you to develop the habit of being in God’s Word each morning and evening. Come to this time with expectation. Expect God to reveal himself to you. Expect that he delights in you being there, even when you’ve wandered away. Growing a spiritual habit is a slow, patient process. So be kind to yourself as you grow! 

Readings are hyperlinked. Simply hover over the passage or click Morning/Evening Reading (email version).

Morning Readings:

Pray Psalm 119 (yup, the whole thing) | Read Ephesians 6

• Praying the Psalms: Read slowly. Take note of words and phrases. Bring them before the Lord in prayer and personalize the passage as you pray.
• NT Context: “Paul’s letter to the Ephesians joins together what has been torn apart in our sin-wrecked world. He begins with an exuberant exploration of what Christians believe about God, and then, like a surgeon skillfully setting a compound fracture, “sets” this belief in God into our behavior before God so that the bones—belief and behavior—knit together and heal.” Meditate on the passage, noting a few words or a phrase that stood out. Take them to God in prayer.

Evening Readings:

Pray Psalm 120 | Read Esther 4

• OT Context: “Esther was a Jewish orphan in Persia who rose into prominence as she learned of a plot to eradicate the Jews. As the only book in the Bible that has no mention of God, Esther shows us that God is working even when we are not aware of it.” Reflect on the passage. Who was the original audience, and what was their situation? How is that relevant to you today?

Sermon Devo

We are in our Spring series in Romans 8. Each day we will dig into a different aspect of this incomparable chapter and see how it alters the way we live “in Christ!”

Read: Romans 8:31-39

As has been our habit, let’s hear what Ray Ortlund has to say about our passage before we dig in for the week:

“We have seen in Romans 8 that there is now no condemnation against us, sinners that we are, because God has united us with Christ. We have seen that the Holy Spirit indwells us. He marks us as people with a new, spiritual mentality. We have seen that the Spirit takes away our dread of God and draws our hearts up to God with a new sense of his fatherly goodness. We have seen that the built-in processes of the whole creation will someday be released into their true powers when we, God’s children, inherit the glories of our redemption. We have seen that, as we make our difficult way through the pilgrimage of this life, God is always at work for our good, conforming us to the image of his Son. And the loving purpose of God will infallibly bring us into our eternal glorification. 

So at this point Paul cannot restrain himself any longer. ‘What then shall we say to these things?’ erupts from his heart, and then he goes about answering that question by asking more questions in the rest of the passage. Isn’t that suggestive in itself? Rather than protect a vulnerable gospel from hard, embarrassing questions, he invites us to think daringly, outwardly, expansively. 

So what is the gospel worth to us? What is its practical cash value? How much pounding can it take and still hold together? ‘Let’s think,’ Paul says. ‘Let’s think boldly. I am not ashamed of the gospel.’ He had thought it through for himself, and he knew that the gospel, and only the gospel, stands up to the tests of real life. Paul shows us how, in verses 31-39, by asking four powerful questions.

First, in verse 31, Paul asks, ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’ Paul does not simply ask, ‘Who is against us?’ We can think of many who are against us. Our own evil hearts are against us. The devil is against us. This present evil age is against us. And trying to remain true to Christ, armed with our puny virtue, is like going up against a tank battalion with a pea shooter. We are defeated already. 

So Paul does not ask the question that way. He asks, ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’ And that makes a difference, doesn’t it? The God who is never defeated by evil but always uses evil for good, the God who can never be outflanked or surprised or wearied or perplexed – this God is for us. Do you realize that God is for you in all that he is doing in this world right now, whatever that means for you at this time in your life? We are often confused and sinful and defeated. But God is at work for us. You can put your name right here in verse 31: ‘God is for ____________.’ And if God is for you, then God would have to be defeated for you to be defeated.”

REFLECT: We’ll dig into the other three questions throughout the remainder of the week, but for now re-read the passage with your name in it. If there’s something overwhelming that you’re facing right now, then ask God to help you trust him in the midst of it. Things may not turn out the way you expect or want, but God is at work for you in the midst of it. 

Evening Prayer of Examen

• Where did you move with or feel close to Jesus today?
• Where did you resist or feel far from Jesus today?
• Where is Jesus leading you tomorrow? Ask for joy as you follow him.

Benediction