The Journey

The 6/7 verse of the day is Romans 6:7, "For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin." (NLT)

What a life-changing, liberating thought! We should all be walking around free of guilt and shame and filled with the joy of the Lord. Only if we could believe the Apostle Paul and the truth of God's word, we would be doing just that. If we have put our trust in Jesus by believing in our hearts that He is Lord and confessing it with our mouths, we have been given much grace and forgiveness. The old self and the old sins "died" and we became a new creation. What if we started walking in our new identity and started believing that we are now free of guilt and shame and the power that sin once had over us? What if we realized that we have the power of Christ; that we now have the power to choose to walk away from the power of our old lives and sins? It sure would be liberating for many of us. Instead, we let the power of sin hang around as if it still belongs in our life. The bible tells us it doesn't.

The Message translates this passage beautifully. Verses 6-11 say, "Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin's every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That's what Jesus did."

Yes, God came down to us, in all His power and glory, and put sin to death. He bore the weight of our sins on the cross. Let's not make a mockery of it, by letting that same sin rule over our lives. We now have a new identity, a new life, and a new ruler. Give the Lord Jesus Christ His rightful place in your life and show the world who He really is and who you really are through His power. That's the life He wants for you and me. He gave His life for more than just reservations in heaven. He also gave His life to help us navigate the journey, along the way.