The Eternal Love Story Podcast

Day 21 of our 40-day journey is ready for you, and today’s lesson may be one of the most liberating truths we have covered so far. We are in Romans 7:1-6, where Paul uses the binding nature of a marriage covenant to make a stunning argument: death severs every legal claim. And because you died with Christ, the law’s condemning authority over you is gone, not weakened, not negotiated, but gone. You now belong to Someone infinitely better.First, read Day 21 in your book, then go to the study guide at the link below.The study guide for today is waiting for you right here: https://forms.gle/fVKifXyj9BK9SznS9Take your time with the questions. They are designed to make you think, not just recall, and the “complete the thought” questions especially are worth considering for a few minutes before you write.If you are just joining us or need to catch up, all previous lessons are available in the archive. But whenever you are ready for Day 21, here is that link one more time:https://forms.gle/fVKifXyj9BK9SznS9Jody and I are grateful you are on this journey with us. Press on.Mike This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

A quick note before we begin Day 20.Due to a numbering error in the book, today’s chapter has been corrected and is included in full right here in this post. Please read it here before moving on to the study guide.If you have a digital or Kindle copy of the book, the corrected version has already been updated and is available to you now. If you purchased a physical copy, the text below is your updated chapter for today. I apologize for any confusion this may have caused.Read today’s chapter below, then work through the study guide questions at the link below or respond on Substack.New Day 20A man spends forty years working the same job. He was never mistreated. He was paid every dollar he earned, on time, without complaint. On his last day, his employer shakes his hand and hands him his final check. It is fair. It is honest. It is exactly what the work produced. And standing in the parking lot, he realizes this is all the job ever had to give him. Every hour invested, every sacrifice made, every late night, came back to him in wages. Nothing more, nothing less.A few miles away, another man receives a phone call. A lawyer’s voice tells him that someone who loved him deeply has died and left him everything in his estate. He sits in silence, trying to comprehend that he is now the heir of something he could never have purchased with any amount of work.These two pictures capture the contrast at the heart of Romans 6:19-23. Over the last several days we have been learning what it means to have a new Master. We have seen that grace doesn’t give license to sin but changes who owns us, and that you were transferred from sin’s household to Christ’s through the gospel. Today Paul asks you to examine what each master actually produces, what each master ultimately pays, and why the contrast settles the question of which master is worth serving.Point One: Present Yourself Deliberately to RighteousnessPaul opens these verses with a pastoral admission. He knows that this “slave” language is imperfect and limited. Let’s see how he introduces it in Romans 6:19: “I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness.” (NIV)Notice the word “offer.” This is not passive drifting. Paul is calling you to something deliberate. Just as, before you knew Christ, you actively gave yourself over to sin, you are now to actively give yourself over to righteousness. The same energy. The same wholehearted surrender. Only now, directed toward your new Master.Some believers treat holiness as though it materializes automatically. They have received Christ, they know they have a new master, and they wait for transformation to arrive. But Paul says, “offer yourselves.” In Romans 12:1 Paul urges believers to “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice” to God. Holiness requires deliberate, daily presentation of yourself to Christ. You do not drift into Christlikeness, you offer yourself to Jesus.Think of a musician. The gift may be genuine and the talent real, but the musician who never deliberately sits at the instrument, never offers the hours of practice, will never become what the gift makes possible. God has given you a new nature. The Spirit lives in you. But you must offer yourself, place what you have been given into the hands of your Master, and say, “I am yours today.” And notice where this offering leads: “righteousness leading to holiness.” Holiness is the destination. Righteousness is the road.Point Two: Look Honestly at What Sin Once ProducedPaul now turns backward and asks a penetrating question about the old life. We see this in Romans 6:20-21: “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!” (NIV)What did sin actually give you? What did those patterns, those years, those choices, actually produce? Paul expects an answer. The answer is shame.Notice the phrase “the things you are now ashamed of.” Paul is pointing to things his readers can still feel. There are chapters of a life that, when remembered, make you look away. Relationships damaged. Words that cannot be unspoken. Years spent chasing what promised to satisfy, only to leave you emptier than before. Proverbs 14:12 says it plainly: “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” (NIV) Sin does not announce its destination. It advertises the pleasure and hides the bill.The prodigal son in Luke 15 is a picture of exactly this. He demanded his inheritance, left home, and spent everything. Standing in a pigpen, longing to eat what the pigs were eating, he finally looked back over the journey and calculated what the far country had actually given him: hunger, loneliness, shame, and rags. That is what sin pays. It extracts the fullest price and delivers the least possible return. But Paul is not asking this question to condemn. He is asking it to clarify. When you can see what sin truly produces, the appeal of returning to it loses its color. The offer loses its shine. You have seen where that road ends.Point Three: The New Master Produces a Harvest Worth HavingPaul’s contrast could not be sharper. Look at what he says in Romans 6:22: “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” (NIV)Two things deserve your attention. First, the word “benefit.” Paul has just asked what benefit sin produced, and the implied answer was nothing worth keeping. Now he names the benefit of belonging to God: holiness and eternal life. This is not the language of loss and restriction. This is harvest language. Galatians 6:8 echoes it directly: “Whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (NIV) You are not a prisoner being denied pleasure. You are a farmer sowing into the richest soil in the universe, and the crop that grows is life that never ends.Second, notice the phrase “set free from sin.” This is accomplished fact, not ongoing process. Christ went to the cross, bore every sin that could condemn you, and rose from the dead, defeating death itself. Because He died your death, you now live His life. Isaiah saw this coming centuries before the cross and wrote in Isaiah 53:5, “he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (NIV) Your freedom is not something you achieved. It is something Christ accomplished and handed to you.Belonging to God produces holiness the way sunlight produces growth in a garden. You do not manufacture it through sheer effort alone. You present yourself to Him, and holiness becomes the result. Jesus said it in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (NIV) The branch does not strain to produce grapes. It stays connected to the vine, and fruit comes.Point Four: Wages Versus Gift, The Final ContrastPaul ends Romans 6 with one of the most concentrated statements of truth in all of Scripture. Let’s read it as the crescendo it is, in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NIV)The entire verse turns on the contrast between two words: wages and gift.Wages are earned. They are owed. When you work a job, your employer doesn’t hand you a paycheck as a favor. He owes it to you. Sin works exactly the same way. Every act of rebellion accrues a debt, and the paycheck at the end is not arbitrary. It is the fair, deserved wage of a life lived apart from God. Romans 3:23 says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (NIV), and the payment sin earns is death: separation from God, the extinguishing of everything that makes life worth living.But the second half of the verse changes everything. “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” A gift is not earned. It is given freely, out of the generosity of the giver, with no claim on the recipient’s performance. Eternal life is not your wages. You did not earn it, and you could not. It is God’s gift, purchased by Christ’s death and offered through faith in His resurrection.This is the gospel at its most concentrated. Christ took our wages. He stood in our place, bore the full payment of our sin, and absorbed the death we had earned. Then, rising from the dead, He unlocked the gift God had always intended for His people: life, unending, unbreakable, untouchable by sin or death or time. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (NIV) He took what we earned. He gave us what He deserved. And He did it freely, as a gift.This is why you pursue holiness not out of fear but out of love, not to earn life but because you have been given it. You do not offer yourself to righteousness to gain God’s approval. You already have it, fully and permanently, in Christ. You offer yourself because you have tasted the difference between two harvests, and you know beyond any doubt which one is worth growing.What would change in how you offer yourself to God today if you truly believed that eternal life is already a gift in your hands, not a reward you are still working toward?Once you have finished reading, your study guide is waiting.Day 20 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/mZbdhdJfstg3BXHJ8In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 20 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/mZbdhdJfstg3BXHJ8 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Two people. Same church. Same struggles with sin. Twenty feet apart.One is exhausted, cycling through the same patterns week after week. The other has stumbled onto something that is quietly changing everything underneath. The difference between them is not willpower, not technique, not how long they have been Christians.It is which king is actually ruling their life right now.Today in Romans 6:12-14, Paul makes a declaration that will change the way you face temptation: sin shall not be your master. Not might not be. Not shouldn’t be. Shall not be. Come and find out why.Day 19 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/Ex256VkScrMp5Gi38Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 19 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/Ex256VkScrMp5Gi38See you there.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 19 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/Ex256VkScrMp5Gi38 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Every morning you open a ledger.The question is whether you are recording what is true.Today in Romans 6:8-11, Paul gives us one of the most practical commands in all of Scripture: count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God. Not because believing it makes it true. Because it already is true, and your job is to record it accurately, every single day, every single hour if needed. Come and see how this changes everything about the way you fight sin.Day 18 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/5DAffBfLuKdxyefX8Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 18 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/5DAffBfLuKdxyefX8See you in there.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 18 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/5DAffBfLuKdxyefX8 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Dear friend,One sentence. That is all Paul needs today.“Anyone who has died has been set free from sin.” Romans 6:7.No conditions. No qualifications. No fine print. Today we are going to let that sentence land with its full weight, and then we are going to let Job show us four pictures of what that freedom actually looks like in your daily life. Come and read it.Day 17 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/1WU8QhHUTpqe2HeX7Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 17 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/1WU8QhHUTpqe2HeX7See you in there.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 17 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/1WU8QhHUTpqe2HeX7 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

One word changed everything.CONDEMNED.That is what God stamped on your old self. Not “needs improvement.” Not “could do better.” Condemned. And at the cross, He didn’t renovate it. He demolished it entirely.Today in Romans 6:6, Paul shows us why playing spiritual whack-a-mole with individual sins will never work, and what God actually did about your sin problem. It is not what most people expect. Come and read it.Day 16 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/uCYSG62fGMRSob8N9Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 16 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/uCYSG62fGMRSob8N9See you in there.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 16 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/uCYSG62fGMRSob8N9 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Here is a question worth considering today: have you been straining to manufacture holiness, or have you been staying connected to the One from whom all new life flows?Today in Romans 6:4-5, Paul shows us that new life doesn’t come from grinding effort. It flows organically from being united to the Risen Christ. New desires. New impulses. New hunger. All of it already placed within you. Come and see.Day 15 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/vr8DZzuwwFMMbwo77Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 15 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/vr8DZzuwwFMMbwo77Let’s go.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 15 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/vr8DZzuwwFMMbwo77 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Can I ask you something? Have you been spending your Christian life trying to fix what God has already buried?Today in Romans 6:4, Paul shows us that God didn’t renovate your old self. He executed it, buried it with Christ, and raised you to completely new life, powered by the same glory that rolled away the stone. That changes everything about how you fight sin. Come read it.Day 14 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/nvCmW2TkftEkT3mf8Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 14 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/nvCmW2TkftEkT3mf8Let’s go.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 14 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/nvCmW2TkftEkT3mf8 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Dear friend,Day 13 is here, and today Paul takes us deeper into what union with Christ actually means. There is a world of difference between following someone’s example and being united to them. A man can study everything about marriage, attend a thousand weddings, and memorize every vow, but none of that makes him married. Only the actual union does. Today in Romans 6:3-4, Paul shows us that the Christian life is not defined by following Jesus’ example. It is defined by being joined to Jesus Himself, and that changes everything.Start by reading Day 13 in your book, then work through today’s study guide questions at the link below or respond on Substack.Day 13 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/UcQbiTWrG5En5ayFASubmit your answers and I will personally respond to each one within 12 hours, Lord willing.Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 13 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/UcQbiTWrG5En5ayFADay 13 is waiting. Let’s keep walking.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 13 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/UcQbiTWrG5En5ayFA This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Dear friend,Day 12 is here, and today we tackle a question every honest believer has asked: if I am really dead to sin, why do I still become tempted and want to sin? Yesterday we established that you died with Christ, and that death is a real fact about who you are. Today Paul shows us what that death actually means for the daily struggle, and the answer is going to change the way you face temptation.Start by reading Day 12 in your book, then work through today’s study guide questions at the link below or respond on Substack.Day 12 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/SiMU3kMtHkSYPvyu5Submit your answers and I will personally respond to each one within 12 hours, Lord willing.Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 12 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/SiMU3kMtHkSYPvyu5Day 12 is waiting. Let’s keep walking.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 12 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/SiMU3kMtHkSYPvyu5 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Dear friend,Day 11 is here, and today we step inside Romans 6. For ten days we have been laying a foundation, and today that foundation begins to bear weight. Paul is about to show us something that will revolutionize the way you fight sin: it is not just that Christ died for you, it is that you died with Him. That death is not metaphor, and not a spiritual feeling to work up on your best days. It is a fact about who you are in Christ, and it makes sin fundamentally incompatible with who you now are. Dead people don’t answer doors.Start by reading Day 11 in your book, then work through today’s study guide questions at the link below or respond on Substack.Day 11 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/vocdWyQ3y4ojNu7Q8Submit your answers and I will personally respond to each one within 12 hours, Lord willing.Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 11 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/vocdWyQ3y4ojNu7Q8Day 11 is waiting. Let’s keep walking.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 11 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/vocdWyQ3y4ojNu7Q8 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Dear friend,Day 10 is here, and today we complete our foundation. Tomorrow we step into Romans 6. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Paul brings these first ten days to a stunning conclusion by showing us why God deliberately chose the weak, the foolish, and the despised. The answer is both humbling and liberating: God chose you in your weakness so that Christ would get all the glory. Not so you could prove yourself. Not so you could demonstrate your potential. So that when transformation happens, when sin is overcome, when holiness grows, everyone who sees it points not to you but to Jesus Christ.Start by reading Day 10 in your book, then work through today’s study guide questions at the link below or respond on Substack.Day 10 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/sBVWo5p5Mg1GH9BbASubmit your answers and I will personally respond to each one within 12 hours, Lord willing.Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 10 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/sBVWo5p5Mg1GH9BbADay 10 is waiting.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 10 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/sBVWo5p5Mg1GH9BbA This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Dear friend,Day 9 is here, and we are now just one day away from completing our foundation. Today the apostle John identifies three distinct stages of Christian maturity in 1 John 2:12-14, and what is remarkable about every single one of them is that none are defined by what you have accomplished. Each stage is defined by what you have received from Christ and how deeply the gospel has gone into your life.Start by reading Day 9 in your book, then work through today’s study guide questions at the link below or respond on Substack.Day 9 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/hzWWjcq8f4pT4741ASubmit your answers and I will personally respond to each one within 12 hours, Lord willing.Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 9 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/hzWWjcq8f4pT4741ADay 9 is waiting. Let’s keep walking.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 9 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/hzWWjcq8f4pT4741A This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Dear friend,Day 8 is here, and today we are going to address something that may be holding back more sincere believers than almost anything else. Many Christians who have walked with God for years are still spiritually stuck, not because they have failed to learn enough, but because they have moved on from the gospel too quickly. In 1 Corinthians 2 and 3, Paul shows us that the very message that saved us is the same message that transforms us, matures us, and sets us free. You don’t graduate from the gospel. You go deeper into it.Start by reading Day 8 in your book, then work through today’s study guide questions at the link below or respond on Substack.Day 8 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/iPCgEAf9y5hhY4Xe9Submit your answers and I will personally respond to each one within 12 hours, Lord willing.Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 8 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/iPCgEAf9y5hhY4Xe9Day 8 is waiting. Let’s keep walking.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 8 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/iPCgEAf9y5hhY4Xe9 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Dear friend,Day 7 is here, and today we are going to confront one of the most common and subtle lies sincere believers fall into every single day: the idea that trying harder to obey God’s law is what produces spiritual transformation. In Galatians 3:10-14 and 21-24, Paul shows us exactly what the law can and cannot do, and why reaching for the law to produce change is like trying to use a mirror to wash your face. The diagnosis is perfect. But the mirror cannot cure what it reveals.Start by reading Day 7 in your book, then work through today’s study guide questions at the link below or respond on Substack.Day 7 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/h7G6S9BMtpxpqvPM7Submit your answers and I will personally respond to each one within 12 hours, Lord willing.Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 7 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/h7G6S9BMtpxpqvPM7Day 7 is waiting. Let’s keep walking.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 7 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/h7G6S9BMtpxpqvPM7 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Dear friend,Day 6 is here, and today we are going straight to the root. Every temptation that has power over us is built on a lie, and every lie loses its power the moment it is replaced with the truth of the gospel. In John 8:31-36, Jesus makes a stunning promise: the truth will set you free. Today we are going to find out why that freedom begins with asking God honestly, “What lies am I believing that are keeping me in bondage?”Start by reading Day 6 in your book, then work through today’s study guide questions at the link below or respond on Substack.Day 6 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/f7QzGPZFQq4AgyPz8Submit your answers and I will personally respond to each one within 12 hours, Lord willing.Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 6 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/f7QzGPZFQq4AgyPz8Day 6 is waiting. Let’s keep walking.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 6 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/f7QzGPZFQq4AgyPz8 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Dear friend,Day 5 is here, and today we are going all the way back to the Garden of Eden. If you have ever wondered why guilt and shame are so hard to shake, even after coming to Christ, today’s lesson answers that question. In Genesis 3, God shows us that the double wound sin inflicts, guilt before His law and shame before His eyes, requires a covering only He can provide. And the price of that covering was blood. Start by reading Day 5 in your book, then work through today’s study guide questions at the link below or respond on Substack.Day 5 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/UtpuBifrMFZAwEzr8Submit your answers and I will personally respond to each one within 12 hours, Lord willing.Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 5 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/UtpuBifrMFZAwEzr8Day 5 is waiting. Jody and I are with you in it. Let’s keep walking.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 5 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/UtpuBifrMFZAwEzr8 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Dear friend,Day 4 is here, and today’s lesson may be one of the most personally liberating truths in this entire study. In Romans 5:1-5, Paul shows us that justification doesn’t just change our standing before God, it produces something we can live from every single day: peace with God. Not someday. Right now. Jody and I are in this study with you.Start by reading Day 4 in your book, then work through today’s study guide questions at the link below or respond on Substack.Day 4 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/Yn5xmgadjy9xyLHg8Submit your answers and I will personally respond to each one within 12 hours, Lord willing.Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 4 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/Yn5xmgadjy9xyLHg8Day 4 is waiting. Let’s keep walking.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 4 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/Yn5xmgadjy9xyLHg8 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Dear friend,Day 3 is here, and today we are going to stand in a courtroom. The evidence against us is undeniable, the verdict should be certain, and yet the most extraordinary thing happens. Someone steps forward and takes our place. The penalty is paid in full by our substitute, and the judge declares us not guilty, fully righteous, case dismissed permanently. In Romans 3:21-26, Paul shows us that justification is God’s final verdict, not His opening offer in an ongoing trial. Jody and I are in this with you.Start by reading Day 3 in your book, then work through today’s study guide questions at the link below or respond on Substack.Day 3 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/c3Y8CV4B6Cy7m4F49Submit your answers and I will personally respond to each one within 12 hours, Lord willing.Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book 40-Day Journey Into Gospel Growth and Freedom: How To Grow Into Christ-Likeness at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 3 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/c3Y8CV4B6Cy7m4F49Day 3 is waiting. Let’s keep walking.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 3 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/c3Y8CV4B6Cy7m4F49 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Dear friend,Day 2 is here, and today’s lesson may be one of the most important foundations we lay in this entire study. Before we can go deep into Romans 6, 7, and 8, Paul takes us to Ephesians 2 and shows us something we cannot afford to skip: the gospel is not a starting line we leave behind. It is resurrection power, and that same power that raised us is the power that keeps us. Jody and I are in this with you.Start by reading Day 2 in your book, then work through today’s study guide questions at the link below or respond on Substack.Day 2 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/zRsuUU5Z1eik5umm9Submit your answers and I will personally respond to each one within 12 hours, Lord willing.Not yet in the study? You can purchase the book Growing Up in the Gospel at https://tinyl.co/4XLc, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book at no additional cost.Day 2 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/zRsuUU5Z1eik5umm9Day 2 is waiting. Let’s keep walking.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 2 Study Guide — Click Here https://forms.gle/zRsuUU5Z1eik5umm9 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

Dear friend,Something about day one of a study like this feels like standing at the trailhead of a long and beautiful path. You can see a little of what’s ahead, enough to know it matters, but the full view only opens as you keep walking. Jody and I are walking this path with you.Start by reading Day 1 in your book — What the Gospel Actually Is — then work through today’s study guide questions either at the link below or respond on Substack.Day 1 Study Guide — Click Here to BeginSubmit your answers and I will personally respond to each one. We’ve also released a podcast episode to go alongside today’s reading if you’d like to listen in. It’s attached to this email.Want to join the full 40 days? You can purchase the book Growing Up in the Gospel at tinyl.co/4T6r, or become a paid Substack subscriber and receive the book free.Day 1 Study Guide — Click Here to BeginDay 1 is waiting. Let’s go deeper.In Christ, Mike ClevelandDay 1 Study Guide — Click Here to Begin This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe

"Where Two Shores Become One" - Discovering God's Design for Unity🎧 Welcome to The Broken Bridge Audio ExperienceYou're about to hear, or have already listened to Chapter 1 of The Broken Bridge, professionally narrated and coming soon as a complete audiobook! This allegorical novel weaves the Christian gospel into a compelling story of love, loss, and redemption that will transform how you see God's heart for humanity. I have put this first chapter out to everyone, in case anyone would like to receive the remaining chapters by becoming a paid subscriber.📅 What to expect as a paid subscriber:* Sundays & Wednesdays: New chapters released twice weekly* Professional narration that brings the story to life* Interactive Bible studies to help you discover the spiritual truths woven throughout* Community discussion as we journey through this powerful trilogy together* A short video clip(s) of the chapter🎯 How to Get the Most from This Experience:* Listen first - Let the story wash over you without analyzing* Engage with the Bible study - Dive deeper into the spiritual themes* Join the conversation - Share your insights in the comments* Apply the truths - Take the practical steps suggested each weekThe Broken Bridge Chapter 1: Interactive Bible Study"Where Two Shores Become One"Listen to the Chapter 1 audio first, then dive into this interactive study designed to help you discover God's truths woven throughout the story.📖 OPENING REFLECTIONBefore we begin: Take a moment to think about a time when you experienced true community - a place where you felt fully accepted, loved, and connected to others. What made that experience special?🌉 SECTION 1: THE GREAT BRIDGE AS GOD'S DESIGN📍 From the Story:"The elders always said that true strength wasn't in stone or steel, but in lives bound tightly together."📝 Scripture to Read:Ephesians 4:3-6 - "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."💭 Discussion Questions:* What does the Great Bridge represent in terms of God's original design for humanity?* How does the physical bridge in the story mirror the spiritual unity described in Ephesians 4?* Personal Application: Where in your life do you see the strongest "bridges" of community? What makes them strong?✍️ Reflection Exercise:Write down three relationships in your life that demonstrate "lives bound tightly together." What characteristics make these relationships strong?💒 SECTION 2: COVENANT LOVE & MARRIAGE📍 From the Story:Fidel and Verita's wedding planned "at the very center of the Great Bridge" with the Eternus bloom pendant - "a symbol of love that never fades."📝 Scripture to Read:Genesis 2:24 - "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh."💭 Discussion Questions:* Why is it significant that their wedding will take place at the center of the bridge?* What does the Eternus bloom (love that never fades) teach us about God's design for covenant relationships?* Personal Application: How can married couples (or future couples) build their relationships to be "bridges" that connect communities?✍️ Reflection Exercise:If you're married: What "Eternus bloom" moments remind you of God's faithfulness in your marriage? If single: What qualities do you hope to cultivate for future relationships?🤝 SECTION 3: RADICAL HOSPITALITY📍 From the Story:A young man from Eastlight helping an elderly potter from Westshore, asking "earnest questions about the glazing technique" while the elder's "weathered face lit up as he shared his knowledge."📝 Scripture to Read:Hebrews 13:2 - "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it."💭 Discussion Questions:* What made this interaction beautiful beyond just being helpful?* How does genuine curiosity about others break down barriers?* Challenge Question: When was the last time you asked someone from a different background to teach you something?✍️ Action Step:Identify one person this week who is different from you (age, background, culture, etc.) and ask them to share something they know or have experienced.🎁 SECTION 4: GENEROSITY WITHOUT SCOREKEEPING📍 From the Story:"No one tallied their share or kept a silent score. In this place, giving was its own reward."📝 Scripture to Read:2 Corinthians 9:7 - "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."💭 Discussion Questions:* What's the difference between giving that "keeps score" versus giving that is "its own reward"?* Why do you think the baker quietly gave to the worried mother without fanfare?* Honest Reflection: Do you ever find yourself keeping a mental tally of what you've given versus what you've received?✍️ Challenge:Practice "scorecard-free" giving this week. Give something (time, money, service, encouragement) without any expectation of recognition or return.🌍 SECTION 5: NO STRANGERS, ONLY FAMILY📍 From the Story:The proverb etched on the cornerstone: "In the eyes of the Maker, no one is foreign; only family not yet met."📝 Scripture to Read:Acts 17:26 - "From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands."💭 Discussion Questions:* How does this perspective challenge the way we typically view "outsiders"?* What barriers (cultural, economic, political, etc.) make it hard to see others as "family not yet met"?* Personal Challenge: Who in your community do you struggle to see as family? Why?✍️ Prayer Exercise:Pray for someone you've mentally labeled as "other" or "different." Ask God to help you see them through His eyes.❤️ SECTION 6: LOVE FOR THE VULNERABLE📍 From the Story:Timidia, the weaver's daughter, "poor child can barely speak above a whisper. Sweet soul, but always afraid of being seen."📝 Scripture to Read:Psalm 68:5 - "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling."💭 Discussion Questions:* How did the community's treatment of Timidia reflect God's heart?* Who are the "Timidias" in your community - those who are overlooked or struggle to fit in?* Application: What practical steps can we take to include those who feel invisible?✍️ Action Step:The character of Timidia seems to be just an “in passing” mention. But you will notice she has a very big role in this book, mainly because she was not cared for in her time of grief. Nobody seemed to care. This week, look for one person who seems to be on the margins. Find a way to include them or show them they're valued.⚖️ SECTION 7: UNITY THROUGH DIVERSITY📍 From the Story:"The Creator had blessed each shore with unique gifts; not so they would boast, but so they would bless."📝 Scripture to Read:1 Corinthians 12:12-14 - "Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ."💭 Discussion Questions:* What's the difference between diversity that leads to competition versus diversity that leads to blessing?* How do the eastern orchards and western wheat illustrate God's design for the body of Christ?* Personal Inventory: What unique gifts do you bring to your community? How can you use them to bless rather than boast?🔍 DIGGING DEEPER: SYNTHESIS QUESTIONS* Big Picture: If Chapter 1 represents "before the fall," what does this teach us about God's original design for human relationships?* Heart Check: Which aspect of the Great Bridge community do you most long for in your own life? Why?* Warning Signs: Even in this beautiful community, we see Timidia struggling. What does this suggest about the reality of living in a broken world, even in good communities?* Foreshadowing: Knowing this is "The Broken Bridge" trilogy, what makes this chapter both beautiful and heartbreaking to read?📝 PERSONAL APPLICATION: THIS WEEK I WILL...Choose 1-2 specific actions based on this study:☐ Practice "scorecard-free" giving☐ Ask someone different from me to teach me something☐ Reach out to someone who feels invisible or marginalized☐ Look for ways to use my gifts to bless rather than impress☐ Pray for someone I've labeled as "other"☐ Have an honest conversation about unity in my church/community🙏 CLOSING PRAYERFather, thank You for Your original design of unity, love, and community. Help us to build bridges in our own lives that reflect Your heart. Show us how to love without keeping score, to welcome without walls, and to use our gifts to bless others. Prepare our hearts for what's coming in this story, and help us see how it mirrors our own need for restoration. In Jesus' name, Amen.Here is a short video clip of this chapter:💬 DISCUSSION INVITATIONShare your thoughts in the comments:* Which biblical truth from Chapter 1 impacted you most?* What bridges need building in your own community?* How did listening to the audio enhance your understanding of the story?Let's build our own bridge of community right here in the comments! I read and respond to every one.Next week: Chapter 2 Bible Study - "When the Earth Shook" - Prepare your heart for the fall and what it teaches us about the human condition. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikecleveland.substack.com/subscribe