Iron Rose Sister Ministries

Ever been warned to not pray for patience? “You’ll be tested and then you’ll get more than you bargained for.”
But did you know you already have patience? It is an integral part of the fruit of the Spirit. Those that have put on the Spirit, through baptism, and continue to live by the Spirit, reap the benefits of its fruit.
An orange tree yields oranges. Pears come from pear trees... And you would never hunt for peaches in an apple tree.
So why do I seek joy outside of the Spirit? Can I truly be kind to others without the Spirit’s help? Self-control is a misnomer if I am attempting it on my own.
That prayer for patience? Try keeping in step with the Spirit and watch what happens...
Galatians 5:22-25
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Written by Mackenzie Lancaster
Romans 12:1-2
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing, and perfect will.”

These verses are kind of heavy. They carry a lot of meaning that can be a little hard to determine when read all at once. But there’s no doubt that Paul is calling his readers to action, starting off the statement with “I urge you.” This is more than just encouraging or suggesting action; this is expressing a need for immediate action.

Next, Paul continues by saying, “in view of God’s mercy,” some versions say “in light of God’s mercy,” this is a continuation of the theme of the first eleven chapters in Romans, where the focus was on the mercy of God in many different aspects. But the rest of what Paul has to say all depends on God’s mercy. The act of us offering ourselves as living sacrifices would not be possible without God’s act of mercy in sending His Son to die for us, making us able to have a relationship with Him, and allowing us to actually be a perfect, living sacrifice.

“But what am I supposed to DO?!” This exasperated answer was in response to my admonition to BE what God was calling her to be, allowing God to reveal, in His own timing, what she was supposed to DO. She was looking for a checklist of tasks, a schedule of activities, that would point her in the right direction, allowing her to feel like what she was doing mattered.
Her heart was in the right place, but she had forgotten that faith comes before action.
When we look at James’ teaching regarding the importance of our deeds, we are reminded that we cannot have one without the other: faith and deeds, deeds and faith. They are intricately connected and cannot be separated because one without the other is worthless.
True, grounded faith, a walking with God in relationship and communication, transforms who we ARE and informs what we DO.
Yes, actions speak louder than words.
And it is true that the demons believe and shudder.
But how does my belief, my faith, or who I am in Christ, inform and transform what I do?

Redemption is sweeter after the bitterness of sin has been tasted. We cannot truly understand the depth and magnitude of salvation until we comprehend the ugliness from which we have been saved.
The audience on the day of Pentecost had no idea that they had crucified their Savior. And when, through Peter’s sermon, they realized their grievous error, they were cut to the heart and were compelled to act.
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:36-39)

John 3:16 is one of the most quoted verses of the Bible. We see it on posters at sporting events and as the go-to reminder of God’s love.
The verse is possibly so well-known that it has become cliché, losing its depth of meaning and the significance of its message.
Nicodemus, “a Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council,” didn’t get it. During his conversation with Jesus, late one night, Jesus points out that Nicodemus had stayed so focused on the earthly perspective that He was unable to recognize Jesus for who He was: the true manifestation of the depth of God’s love.

Written by Jocelynn Goff

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:23-25

This scripture always brings to mind a particular Wednesday night. Before church I was speaking with a friend on the phone and then had occasion to speak with her on the phone afterward as well. In the after church conversation, she said that I sounded less tired and more energetic. She said that it must've been the fact that I had been to church and had gotten encouragement. I agreed with her totally. I had been with brothers and sisters who loved being in the Word and being together.

Written by Mackenzie Lancaster
Matthew 28:18-20
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The Great Commission. A very daunting yet inspiring verse in the Bible that we hear so often. Whenever I hear these verses read aloud, the person reading it always says “go” as if it were in all caps, bolded, and underlined three times. The same emphasis is put on the word “go” in all the images I see of the verse. Like this one:

Putting emphasis on “go” is so very inspiring and yet...so incomplete.

No one gets it perfectly. Some of my best life lessons have come from my failures. As Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 12, “When I am weak, then I am strong.”
The Christian walk is not easy, and it can seem overwhelming when we consider all that God has called us to as His children. One of Satan’s biggest traps in my life has been an expectation of perfection.
Thankfully, grace and repentance are a part of the good news/gospel message. And part of walking the Christian walk is confessing our sin, as well as our need of forgiveness.

Written by Debora Rodrigo de Racancoj

Love. The emotion that is most talked about in society. It is easy to turn on the radio or television and listen to things like: "Everything you need is love," "Love went away," or "How I wish I did not love you." But... what does the present society know about love?
As society has told me so many times, it seems that love comes to our lives in an unexpected way. Suddenly, without being able to avoid it, it installs itself in our heart and acts for us. It makes us feel uncontrollable impulses, causes physiological symptoms, even butterflies in the stomach. And suddenly, it leaves, also without warning. Love is over.

Written by Wendy Neill
Does the idea of sharing your faith with a friend cause you to break out into a sweat? Sometimes, I feel that way. What do I say? Where do I begin?

1 Corinthians 15 is a great place to turn. In verses 1 through 8, Paul gives us the gospel in a nutshell. It is of “first importance”.
• Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures (it was foretold)
• He was buried
• He was raised, according to the scriptures
• He appeared to Peter, to the Twelve, to more than 500 brothers, to James, to all the apostles and to Paul himself.

There you go. Simple, yet so profound. Succinct, yet life-altering. If you have a friend who thinks Christianity is just a myth or a conspiracy, that last bullet point is especially important. If people made this up, they wouldn’t have mentioned that many witnesses of the resurrection, especially witnesses that were still living at the time and could verify the facts. Many of those witnesses died for their faith. They wouldn’t have been willing to die if it was all a lie.

So remember 1 Corinthians 15. It will help you focus on what is important, and it is strong evidence for the truth of the resurrection.

Every Scripture is God-breathed. He spoke the world into existence and breathed life into Adam and Eve’s lungs. In a similar way, God breathed out His words, carried on by the Holy Spirit, written down by prophets and other writers of the Bible.
Without these words of life, can we truly live?
The Bible continues to be relevant today and vital to everyday life.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says,
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
This month, we are going Back to the Basics, focusing on the initial and essential teachings of Scripture. And as we lay the foundation for this theme, we must start with a foundation in the Word of God.

For three days in a row, we have looked at verses from the book of John. The apostle John, in his gospel, emphasizes who Jesus is and highlights the themes that Jesus focused on throughout His time on earth—what He modeled with the apostles and taught others.
Seven times in the book of John, we see the self-proclaimed “I AM” descriptions of Jesus. In John 14:6, in response to Thomas,
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Thomas, along with the other apostles, was looking for assurances as Jesus began to describe that He will be leaving them. I encourage you to read the entire chapter, as it broadens our understanding of Jesus: the only way to the Father, the full embodiment of truth, and the source of life—quality of life on earth and eternal life.

I always wanted to be a fly on the wall of the early church. Okay, not really a fly on the wall, but rather a young woman who grew up experiencing and living out what Luke describes in Acts 2.
Acts 2:42-47
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Throughout my life, I have been blessed to experience this same spirit in a number of congregations. When I see this in action, I notice a few key elements, as we see described in the text, that are vital to reliving and reviving the spirit of the early church.

How do we fulfill the commands in Matthew 22:36-39 to love God? And to love others? Listen to God. Listen to others.

Matthew 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

My personal theme of study this year has been “Listening.” And so I cannot read Matthew 22 without recognizing the practical step toward true love that is listening.
The rest of this post comes from the Introduction to the latest IRSM interactive Bible study book, Called to Listen: Forty Days of Devotion, now available for order on our website.

Writtten by Mackenzie Lancaster
Romans 8:35-39
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“More than Conquerors”

This is kind of a confusing phrase, something we’ve heard a lot, but do we really know what it means for our lives? First of all, these verses are concluding chapter 8 of Romans, where Paul just finished listing off a long list of hardships that may come our way in life: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword. And then comes this verse: in ALL these things, we are more than conquerors. This means we aren’t simply victorious, but we are overwhelmingly victorious.
I tried to think of a time when I felt overwhelmingly victorious, and I thought of two years ago when the Kansas City Royals won the World Series, I felt overwhelmingly victorious for weeks after that, and yet in Christ we’ve won the ultimate battle that blows the World Series out of the water. And the battle that has been won is all because God loved us SO much, He won it for us. So, because of God’s immense love, we are victorious, we are MORE than conquerors.

Philippians 4:4-9
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Rejoicing has been a challenge recently. I have allowed myself to get overwhelmed by a number of stressors. My work/rest balance is out of whack. My attitude is slipping. Burnout is a daunting reality.
In the midst of my prayers that the Lord help me not be anxious about anything, I am presenting my requests for His provision and His wisdom, with thanksgiving. And I am following Paul’s recipe for my thinking. By focusing on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy, the peace of God fills my heart and mind as only He can.
This transformation of thinking is not an overnight or immediate solution. Every day, and every hour, sometimes every minute, I have to refocus my thoughts in order to not become overwhelmed again. The struggle is real, but the solution is guaranteed.

written by Kimberly Edwards
1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us “pray continually.” It is easy to just read those verses and skip over them without taking them to heart.

Jesus was constantly in prayer and conversation with God! He showed us how to leave the crowds behind and make time to listen to God, especially at the end of some of His busiest days.

Just the other day, feeling fully frustrated with my incredibly independent 1 year old who found it in her nature to defy my every simple request, out of desperation I found myself on my knees with my head bowed on the ground, praying for patience and obedience. To my surprise, this had a positive response and my daughter came and obeyed.

The cocoon disintegrates and the butterfly is free to spread her wings and begin anew. The old is gone; the new has come.
Romans 6:1-4
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
The newness of life, as promised in Romans 6, is filled with promise, hope, purpose, and a fresh start. It is the more pleasant aspect of our transformation process. However, it is impossible to have new life without death.

One of the things I love about the story of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-39 is how much he valued the Word of God. At that time, it was very difficult to have your own copy of the scrolls, but as he traveled to and from Jerusalem to worship, we see him reading from the prophet Isaiah. He didn’t understand all that he read, but God sent Philip to explain things to him more clearly.
The eunuch was reading a portion of Isaiah that referred to Christ as the lamb, led to slaughter, the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He was reading from the Word, about the Word, but had not yet had the opportunity to see it all come together. The Ethiopian did not know that the Lamb, the Word incarnate had already come to earth, dwelling among us, but God sent Philip to make sure that he learned the truth, was transformed by it, and then went home to share it with others!

This past month, we have looked at twenty of the initial and essential verses of the Bible that lay a foundation in Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16-17), encapsulate the essence of the gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-8), and paint a picture of the new life in Christ (Acts 2; Rom. 12; Gal. 5; and others).
But what good are these truths if I don’t put them into action, if I am not transformed through my growing faith?