If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8 & 9

By Hedieh Mirahmadi Falco
It never ceases to amaze me how God’s word is applicable in every situation, throughout all time. If you simply turn on the television these days, just standing for biblical values makes us public enemy number one. During the life of the Apostles, circumstances were even worse, but Paul reassures the believer that our victory is guaranteed through our love and faith in Christ.

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction or distress or persecution or hunger or lack of sufficient clothing or danger or the sword? …. No, but in all these things we prevail completely through the one who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.1

We cannot allow the opposition we face to make us doubt or forget how committed God is to His plan for us. Although we continue to struggle with the presence of sin in our lives, or with the seeming demise of the moral fabric of society around us, we must hold tightly to what the Holy Spirit is trying to do in us and through us, without regard for people’s reaction to it. Every individual believer who receives the Holy Spirit is going through the sanctification process. Our focus is to become more Christ-like so He is glorified, which fulfills God’s purpose on the earth. It is being Christ-like that draws others to us and brings about God’s will for humanity. When we focus on bringing forth our Divine purpose and gifts, it accomplishes His ultimate goals not just for us, but for whoever He puts in our path to be saved, impacted, or helped. Whatever benefit we gain in being conformed to God’s image is secondary to His greater purpose in seeing His Son properly honored.2

I am not going to pretend this is easy, it is not. Declaring that there is only ONE way to Heaven through belief in Christ or that all of humanity is equal regardless of race or gender, are NOT popular opinions these days.

Having left Islam, it saddens me to hear even Christians make the false claim that we all worship the same God and each religious path can lead to the “truth”. There is only one God and no one will reach His presence except through faith in Christ. I understand and believe that now but I did not believe that as a Muslim. So, the greatest gift we can give a Muslim is to lovingly lead them to this ultimate Truth. I wish someone would have explained that to me earlier in my life! However, when I first wanted to accept Christ, I was terrified of what other Muslims may do to me. It is these verses, Romans 8:31-39, that gave me peace. Accepting Christ gave me God’s protection. Nothing could happen to me that did not pass through Him first.

Do not be content to give false or comfortable versions of a “truth” that leaves the individual without salvation or the love and protection God promises through faith in Christ. The listener may not accept or believe it, but that is up to God. Others may get angry and call us extremists or racists, but our duty is to speak the Truth– regardless of the outcome. When we do this, God stands with us.

The same is true in the discussion about race. Faith in Christ is the great equalizer. No law or absurd solution like defunding the police brings about equality. Only faith and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit will bring social justice. In Paul’s time, the struggle was between Jews and Gentiles. The former claimed superiority but Paul adamantly rebuked it. It does not matter what family we are born in to. The only thing that distinguishes us is whether we are children of God, grafted into His family through faith in Christ.

That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.3

Standing on this principle is also widely unpopular today. Yet it cannot change how we defend a Biblical truth.

So, what does all this mean? If God has determined to stand with us, tell me, who then could ever stand against us?4

Paul reminds us that suffering is inevitable but that we will be victorious in the end. Let’s find peace and comfort in that reality.

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.5

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1 Romans 8: 35, 37-39
2 Romans 8: 28-30
3 Romans 9: 8
4 Romans 8: 31
5 Romans 8: 37

What will come forward from your life in captivity? Book of Romans 8

By Hedieh Mirahmadi Falco

God is at work in the heart of his people during this pandemic. Who other than God could allow the entire world to be in captivity through something microscopic? The question we must ask ourselves is, what does God expect us to manifest through it? Though our physical body is in bondage, our Spirit is free to worship and draw near to the Lord.

If God doesn’t take us out of a situation, what is He bringing forth in us? There is always a purpose in pain. When the Apostle Paul wrote the Book of Philippians, he was in a prison cell. He didn’t know if he was going to live or die. Similarly, we are locked in our homes with the fear of death looming over us, and we cannot change it. Despite his seemingly desperate situation, Paul expressed uncertainty and confidence all at the same time. Paul doesn’t bother to describe the horrible circumstances in prison; he just wants to talk about the fruit of the situation.1

And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the Gospel without fear. Philippians 1:14

Could we be bold enough to look at our lives in a similar way right now? What’s happening in me is more important than what’s happening to me. What is God pruning in me this season? Personally, having no means of “escape” forces me to confront my character flaws that negatively impact the quality of my life and those closest to me.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control… Galatians 5:22-23

In all my years practicing Islam, I never learned or even considered most of these attributes, especially not forbearance or gentleness. I worked in the very fast-paced, competitive industry of federal contracting, so I was always fighting my way to the top. Gentleness and kindness were not part of the equation. I worked hard and outdid my competitors, so I was successful.

Similarly, in Islam, as long as I prayed, fasted, and wore a headcover, I was good with “God.” Life was just a series of transactions. Even love was a transaction, so I treated my personal relationships the same way. It was not until I encountered the Gospel that I learned about unconditional love. I began to understand the significance of gentleness, kindness, and forbearance. Jesus was so loving, kind, and forgiving. He gave it all for us to be free. It was my love affair with Jesus that made me want to be more like Him. However, only when the world completely shut down did I realize I still had so far to go.

What do you feel God is speaking to you in this season? Can you focus on what fruit He wants for your life, rather than the frustration of the moment? What if this season is fast-forwarding us into wisdom God wants for our lives. Imagine the possibilities!

In this season, we are all equally ignorant. Nobody knows what our new normal will be. God is filled with mystery. None of us know what He will do. Faith doesn’t negate uncertainty. In life, the only thing you can control is your emotional and spiritual focus. So what matters is what we choose to focus on. We don’t need to know how it ends, only that God will be with us through it. There’s a confidence that goes beyond knowledge.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:18

Now those are words to live by! As the saying goes, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

If we can focus on the transformation occurring in us, the pain makes sense. Pain without purpose is unbearable. We need to listen for what God is trying to teach us in this season. It doesn’t happen overnight, though. That’s why Jesus uses so many parables of harvesting. Growing fruit takes time. You need good soil, that first seed, fertilizer, water, and time. The tree has to grow before there is fruit. Honestly, it is only since quarantine that I appreciate the harvest analogy of the Gospel. I understood it conceptually, but now I am living it. I am covered in dirt, sometimes buried, but I have the hope in the Lord to make something beautiful out of it. Hope is a focus we have to choose consciously.

….but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:23-25

Paul is teaching us that the transformation and redemption is the promise we hold onto through the pain. If we already had it, we wouldn’t call it hope. Nonetheless, there is a groaning and suffering that comes along with it. I am so grateful for a God that prepares us for the hardship. He doesn’t pretend it will be easy. He teaches us to embrace it. He also promises to carry us through it. When we don’t know what to pray, the Holy Spirit will pray for us. And when we mess up or stumble, God will make it work to our advantage if we love Him and continue to follow His purpose for our lives.2

None of us know what will come of the world in the coming months or even years. However, we can choose what to focus on. Let’s focus on what’s ahead and the fruit God is trying to bring forth in our lives. I’m going to try and ignore what I can’t control.

What will you focus on as you go into the new normal?

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1 Parts of this blog post were excerpted from Pastor Furtick “Focus on the Fruit” available at youtube.com/watch?v=QED4Oqd202c
2 Romans 8:26-28

Oh the pain of transformation – Book of Romans 7 & 8

A lady with broken chains
A lady with broken chains
By Hedieh Mirahmadi Falco

…. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind, I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.’ Romans 7:21-25

I love how honest and heartfelt Paul describes the “war” inside his body. The battle between sin and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit can be fierce! In 20+ years as a devout Muslim, I obeyed the religious duties out of fear and peer pressure. I wasn’t changed internally, I was just masked. The experience I have now in Christ, my Spirit longs for change and fights my flesh to flee from sin. Within months of my salvation, it literally felt like a war inside my being. Sometimes I wasn’t sure who would win. Since the experience was new, I did what I always do. I tried to control it. 

The more I tried to control the process, the worse I did. I had to learn to let Christ lead me. I had to surrender my power so that He could guide me through the transformation. I was not use to surrendering my willpower to anyone or anything. The process was painful, humbling, and frightening at times. I was letting go of all my expectations from life, in exchange for the unknown that I accepted entirely by faith.  I didn’t always listen to His voice, though, as I am sure many of you can relate. So I experienced great disappointment and agony in those failures. Yet, the more I failed my own way, the easier it got to follow His lead.  Through prayer, reading the Word, and just spending quiet time in contemplation of God, the Holy Spirit encouraged me, picked me up when I failed, and comforted me when I felt defeated. In my own strength, I just wanted to punish myself but He doesn’t do that to us. He loves us into submission. He creates a desire, a longing for goodness and righteousness, that overcomes the urging of our flesh to go back into sin.

It was almost like being a child again. Sometimes, we listen to our parents because we love and trust them; but, other times, we just want to touch the hot stove. However, once burned, we learn.

‘For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.’

Romans 8:22-23

Notice Paul’s use of the word “groan and labors” because transformation in Christ is not meant to be easy. We see in our lives the first fruits of our rebirth, but the old self tries to trap our hearts and minds with old destructive patterns. It makes us cry out to God and the Holy Spirit will even pray on our behalf. Though we stumble, we get back up and try again. 

The most amazing thing is that even though we fail to listen or we make a couple of wrong turns, He promises to turn it to our favor! A very popular verse of the Bible stems from this very principle. If you love God with all your heart and are striving to be transformed by the Spirit, He will make all things work for our good. It is another extraordinary manifestation of His love for us. God the Father knows we are weak and subject to our flesh so He gives us endless opportunities to try again. Suit up and show up. I always loved that expression and now it has new significance to me. My Heavenly Father wants me to prepare for the spiritual battle through prayer and worship. Then, just show up ready to try again. 

This internal transformation is why a personal, intimate relationship with Christ is so important. The soft still voice of the Holy Spirit often isn’t heard at a church service or around a group of people. It is when you are alone with His Word and cry out to Him for help that the fruits of the spirit are grown. 

If you believe in Christ but have not experienced a personal relationship, I encourage you to cultivate one. It is not ritualistic or require a particular format, it is you and Him. He speaks through His Word. Open the Bible and meditate on the words. Open your heart and mind to what He is trying to say to you, personally. The Bible is not just a bunch of stories of people who lived thousands of years ago, it is the timeless, word of God to His people. It will speak to you, draw you in, and never let you go. 

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1Romans 8:28

How I went from bondage to freedom. Romans 6

By Hedieh Mirahmadi Falco

In my last blog post, I compared leaving Islam to being set free from a cage. However, that freedom led me straight back into the bondage of a life filled with sin and personal destruction. All those years of prayer and fasting did nothing to conquer the desires that led me to seek God in the first place. Luckily, Christ rescued me from that torment and that is when the REAL transformation began. No one told me I had to stop the habits that were leading to my disintegration; but, there was “force” within me urging me to change. It was the Holy Spirit transforming my thoughts and actions to no longer want that lifestyle. Sometimes I could hear Him gently nudging me and other times it was a scolding; but, I knew it was not in my own strength. Like walking around in shoes that were too small, it felt wrong. I was evolving from the inside, out. It was the indwelling of Holy Spirit, that communion with Him that was remaking me. Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. Zechariah 4

In Romans Chapter 6 Paul teaches us how and why this transformation occurs. As believers in Christ, we undergo a death and a resurrection. The Holy Spirit puts to death our old way of life so we can be resurrected into who we are meant to be–free. Free to live in the righteousness He died to give us.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:12-14

Paul gives us three actions we must do or refuse to do for this resurrection to take place. First, when sin calls to us, we must stop obeying it! We died to sin, so let’s not go back. Instead, we offer ourselves to God as those who are alive and free from sin. Third, we don’t give our body parts over to sin, but use them as instruments of righteousness.

Paul continues: But now, having been set free from sin and having been enslaved to God, you have your fruit leading to sanctification, and its end is eternal life. Romans 6:15

So we must make the conscious choice not to allow sin to control and rule us. Don’t look back nostalgically at the past, it was a life of death. Even though we have accepted God’s gift of righteousness by faith and we are delivered from the penalty of sin, we still must choose how we will devote our lives moving forward. Paul challenges us to invest in a life that will pay the dividends that God intended.

Even as redeemed believers in Jesus, we still contend with the ongoing presence of sin in our bodies. Yet, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit empowers us to live free from the bondage of sin. We choose who we want to serve and we cannot serve two masters. The Holy Spirit will do the rest.

This also applies to the sin of “false idols or codependency” . The Holy Spirit can free us from seeking the approval of others and living a life enslaved to another human being who devalues our worth as a son or daughter of the Most High God. Paul invites us to serve only Christ. I won’t lie. Allowing the Holy Spirit to transform me and not thinking I can do it in my own strength– was super hard for me. I was used to a work based religion. I always thought I had to earn God’s love. Now I had to surrender all the power and authority to Him. It hurt really bad at times. It can be lonely and frustrating, but I kept at it– praying and listening for the Holy Spirit to guide and comfort me.

Jesus has filled my hollow places with His glory. I am humbled by it and feel utterly helpless at times, but free. Free from the shackles of being a slave to desires, or the feeling that I fall short or never did enough to please God or people around me. That freedom brought a joy I have never known before.

Whether you are seeking that freedom for yourself or for a Muslim friend, there is no other power on Earth, no empty religious laws that make you pray 5 times a day or wrapping you in layers of clothing, that can save us from ourselves. It is only through a direct, personal relationship with Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we can truly be set free. He alone can redeem and resurrect us.