Romans 8... day one...

There is therefore now no condemnation

for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1 ESV

condemnation... 1: censure, blame 2: the act of judicially condemning 3: the state of being condemned 4: a reason for condemning

condemn... 1: to declare to be reprehensible, wrong, or evil usually after weighing evidence and without reservation... 2 a: to pronounce guilty: convict b: sentence, doom...

---Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th Ed.)

There is therefore... now... no condemnation... for those... who are in... Christ Jesus...

No blame... no pronouncement of guilt... no doom...

But why...?

The word... therefore... tells us to look at previous verses... to find the why...

Wretched man that I am! 

Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Romans 7:24-25 ESV

Because... for those whose Lord is Jesus... there is now... no condemnation...

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,

that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

By his wounds you have been healed.

1 Peter 2:24 ESV

He set us free... from sin... death... and condemnation...

By faith... we receive this gift...

But I'm reminded this morning... by Thomas a Kempis... it's sometimes hard to hear His voice...

Devout: "Let me hear what the Lord God is saying in me!" That was the cry of the Psalmist (85:8). But just as piercing are my own humble cries, My Holy Friend... Blessed are the ears that pick up the Godly Whispering, if I may borrow an expression from 1 Kings (19:12), and at the same time block out the Worldly Whisperer! ...

Lord: "I'm your salvation!" That's what the Psalmist wanted the Lord to say (35:3). And that's what I, your Beloved Lord, am saying to you, My dear friend. I'm your peace, I'm your life, and what's more, I've many things to say to you. ...

---The Imitation of Christ

Many voices... whisper in our heart... every moment of every day...

Rest assured... any that say... You're worthless... There's just no hope for you... are not from Him...

They are lies...

Anything condemning... for those in Christ... for Believers... comes from the enemy... or our own flesh...

His voice speaks truth... He says... I'm your Salvation... your Peace... your Life...

Learn to hear His life-giving voice... above all the other noise... in your heart... in your world...

Rest assured... He is your Savior... because He loves you...

I have been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,

who loved me and gave himself  for me.

Galatians 2:20 ESV

Father God... open my ears to my Savior's voice...