Lamentations 3:22-23: "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." I have been studying the book of Romans for the past few months trying to memorize a few passages in the book along the way. Romans 6:12-14, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace."
Each day presents a new opportunity to put to death sin in our lives which wreaks havoc on relationships and distorts our minds and hearts. Each day is an opportunity to desire God and His healing ways.
If you are reading this blog, I would encourage you to dwell on the truth that you have been released from the prison of sin if you have submitted your will to Christ. You may have committed horrible sins consistently for many years. If you have, you are no different than me. Those habits are deeply entrenched in your heart and to depart from them is going to seem unnatural.
But if you are in Christ, you are a new creation. You are no longer a slave to sin. You have the Spirit in you that enables you to overcome all kinds of hardship and struggles. Today is a new day to live as a slave to righteousness and not sin.
Martin Luther said about the internal struggle with sin, "You cannot keep the birds from flying around your head. But you can prevent them from building a nest in your hair."
Let us choose:
- stewardship over waste
- growth over apathy
- freedom over slavery
- faith over fear
- generosity over greed
- purity over lust
- patience over anger
- love over callousness
Ashley Hodge
