Almost Peaceful: My Journey of Healing from Binge EatingFriendship, Listening, and Empathy: A Prayer GuideDraw Near: A Lenten Devotional Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian LifeSabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest Fasting: Spiritual Freedom Beyond our AppetitesA Renewed SpiritualityNurturing Hope: Christian Pastoral Care in the Twenty-First CenturyThe Power of ListeningJoy Together: Spiritual Practices for Your CongregationPrayers of the New TestamentPrayers of the Old TestamentPersonality Type in CongregationsSabbathA Garden of Living Water: Stories of Self-Discovery and Spiritual GrowthDead Sea: A NovelDeadly Murmurs: A NovelDeath in Dunedin: A NovelBeating Burnout in CongregationsReaching Out in a Networked WorldEmbracing MidlifeFriendingAdvent Devotional

Keeping the law inwardly, parts 3 and 4

Lynne Baab • Tuesday March 17 2026

Keeping the law inwardly, parts 3 and 4

Overall theme for the next few months: God’s law is love

Lesson 5: Keeping the law inwardly (Romans 2:12-29)

Key verse: Real circumcision is a matter of the heart — it is spiritual and not literal. Romans 2:29

3. Faith and Actions

Christians have long debated the relationship between faith and actions. The apostle Paul has already noted in Romans 1:17, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” Our actions still matter, as Paul will explain in Romans 6:1-14. In Romans 2, Paul is laying a foundation for the significance of our actions by indicating that what we do reflects what is in our hearts.

The word “heart”...

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Keeping the law inwardly, parts 1 and 2

Lynne Baab • Tuesday March 10 2026

Keeping the law inwardly, parts 1 and 2

Overall theme for the next few months: God’s law is love

Lesson 5: Keeping the law inwardly (Romans 2:12-29)

Key verse: Real circumcision is a matter of the heart — it is spiritual and not literal. Romans 2:29

1. Stepping into the Word

Sometimes we talk about obeying the letter of the law but not its spirit. Sarah can remember coming home as a teenager before her curfew in order to obey the letter of her parents’ law, but after they were asleep she snuck out again. They had never told her not to go back out after coming home! She had come home at the right...

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Jesus extends forgiveness, parts 3 and 4

Lynne Baab • Tuesday March 3 2026

Jesus extends forgiveness, parts 3 and 4

Overall theme for the next few months: God’s law is love

Lesson 4: Jesus extends forgiveness, parts 3 and 4 (John 8:1-11; you can find parts 1 and 2 here) 

Key verse: Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.” John 8:11b

3. The heart of the Gospel

The two earliest manuscripts of the Gospel of John, which date from the second and early third centuries after Christ, do not include the story of the woman caught in adultery. The story appears in later manuscripts, and scholars believe it may have been added as early as the...

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Jesus extends forgiveness, parts 1 and 2

Lynne Baab • Tuesday February 24 2026

Jesus extends forgiveness, parts 1 and 2

Overall theme for the next few months: God’s law is love

Lesson 4: Jesus extends forgiveness (John 8:1-11)

Key verse: Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.” John 8:11b

1. Stepping into the Word

Molly is leading the children’s time during the worship service at her church, and she invites the children forward. She sits on a low stool, and the children cluster around her. Molly asks them to imagine that they are in a crowd gathered around Jesus, and a man in the crowd asks Jesus a question.

“Instead of answering right away,” Molly tells the...

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Featured books

Almost Peaceful: My Journey of Healing from Binge Eating Almost Peaceful: My Journey of Healing from Binge Eating I've never written a book like this before! A personal story with photos from my life and Dave Baab's beautiful watercolors. I pray it will bring encouragement and healing to readers. Buy online » Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest Sabbath Keeping is Lynne's most popular book, available in paperback, audiobook, and for Kindle. Grounded in her 18 months living in Israel, it is practical, biblical, and reflective about why rest matters so much today. Buy online »

Featured articles

Meeting God in Grief and Gratitude

Lynne Baab • Wednesday January 22 2025

By Lynne M. Baab, author of Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian Life

Nurturing a contemplative stance for navigating challenging times

Lynne Baab • Friday August 11 2023

By Lynne M. Baab

Yes, Jesus Told Us to Pray in Secret. But He Also Prayed with His Friends.

Lynne Baab • Saturday October 9 2021

By Lynne M. Baab. Originally published in Christianity Today, July 8, 2021