No Longer Rules

 

No Longer Rules

Romans 6: ⁵ For since we have become one with him in dying as he did, in the same way we shall be one with him by being raised to life as he was. ⁶ And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on his cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin. ⁷ For when we die, we are set free from the power of sin. ⁸ Since we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ For we know that Christ has been raised from death and will never die again—death will no longer rule over him. ¹⁰ And so, because he died, sin has no power over him; and now he lives his life in fellowship with God. ¹¹ In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned, but living in fellowship with God through Christ Jesus.

 

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Fearing embarrassment, I did not want to bowl. But when I learned, it was fun. After years of enjoyment, my score got better and better. I entered a tournament and feared the outcome. What if I do poorly? I said to myself. I did better than I expected. While I did not win, I no longer had fear of being in tournaments.

 

• There have been many times when I feared something and it prevented me from trying.
• There have been many times when I failed at something and I feared messing up again.
• There have been many times when I did not want to go through the trouble of trying because I feared I would be criticized, or even ostracized.

 

Paul writes about the gripping hold sin has on people. He refers to sin as a slave owner that provides no freedom. The sin dictates what to do and how to do it. Death was always the prize when the person is owned by sin. BUT JESUS freed humanity by overcoming death.

 

• JESUS died for me so I am no longer owned by my sins.
• JESUS is alive so HIS power over my sins is infinite.
• JESUS enabled me to have fellowship with HIM by facing death for me.

 

Sin makes me make regretful decisions that usually lead to nowhere. I mean, when I make fearful decisions, thinking I am protecting myself, the situation has always turned out bad anyway. To make it worse, I try to be good for a minute, and that effort seems to fail.

 

GOD has already shown me extreme grace, patience and love. HE simply wants me to realize this so I do not have to rely on sin to make my decisions. I can put sin to death and rely on JESUS, who is my Savior.  I am glad HE overcame my sin so I can live in freedom.

 

• Is something holding you back?
• Are you letting fear, doubt and worry lead you?
• Will you allow JESUS to guide you so you can lead a victorious and abundant life, filled with HIS love today?