Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and fulltime into God's way of doing things. Romans 6;13

Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time – remember, you’ve been raised from the dead! – into God’s way of doing things. Romans 6:13 [Sunrise photo April 9, 2013]

Day 9 Remember You’ve Been Raised From The Dead!

I am a new creation, born of the Spirit of God.
I have a destination, in the presence of my Father.
What Words Can’t Say  (c) Rob Still Music

Followers of Jesus are resurrection people. “I was dead, but now I’m alive.”

What if we really lived like we used to be dead, but now are alive?

I know some people who have had near death experiences, and it completely changed their outlook on life. What if we shifted our perspective to embrace the power of this invisible reality, the truth of resurrection power at work in our everyday lives?

Paul in Romans 6: 1-13 thoroughly explains this new-life reality.

3-5 That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we’re going in our new grace-sovereign country.

In worship we remember.

Through out scripture we are instructed to remember the Lord.

This is the subtitle of Deuteronomy 8 “Remember the Lord Your God”.

This is the instruction Jesus gave at communion – “do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19)

So too, as we face the war raging in our own lives, we need to remember the powerful truth that baptism symbolizes.

In baptism, we make a public declaration that we are part of the Jesus movement.

Jesus experienced humiliation and pain, enduring the consequences of our sin on our behalf. In a similar way, through baptism we humble ourselves, choosing to die with him in baptism, and rising with him in new life. Remember that!

“When Martin Luther felt discouraged or afraid, he’d often splash water on himself and declare, “But I am baptized!” John Calvin advised readers depressed by evil to “reflect that they are still on the way” to the “complete victory” that God promises in baptism. “ Calvin Worship Symposium

Today you are a new creation. Remember your baptism.

His mercies are new every morning.

Prayer:

I invite you to pray with me today.

“Lord thank you for redeeming me. Help me remember that I was lost, but now I’m found; I was dead, but now I’m alive.  I remember my baptism – I am dead to sin, and alive in Christ. Renew my mind today. In Jesus name,  Amen.”

Bonus Reading:

When Death Becomes Life Romans 6 – The Message

6 1-3 So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we’ve left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn’t you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land!

3-5 That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we’re going in our new grace-sovereign country.

6-11 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.

12-14 That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead!—into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God.

About This Devotional Series

According to the historical church calendar, the Easter season is the 50 day period from Resurrection Sunday to Pentecost Sunday.  I’ll post a fresh devotional thought with my sunrise photo of that morning, everyday through Pentecost, commenting as the Spirit inspires. Check out the rest of the series here.

I invite you to join me on this journey from Easter to Pentecost!

Would you like more devotionals like this? 

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