When I saw this picture this morning, I thought "Amen!" We all have choices to make each and every day in all areas of our life. We have choices to make in what we wear, what we say, how we respond to others and circumstances, what we eat, how we spend our time, how we spend our money…the list goes on and on. But the most important choice we make is in whether we choose to follow the Lord or not. In our relationship with Him we also must choose whether we will surrender to Him. It's one thing to make the choice of salvation but it takes so much of us to make the choice of surrender.
We have been more intent lately on praying for people who don't know the Lord and for those who "know" Him but haven't surrendered totally to Him. Last night as I was praying the Lord spoke to me about an individual. He said, "They can't come into relationship with me because the enemy has tore them down making them feel like they aren't good enough." That is sad to think about.
Unworthy…worthless…two different words that many times we think mean the same yet they don't. When something/someone is unworthy it is without merit, undeserved. When something/someone is worthless they have no value. Yes, we are unworthy when it comes to God's love but we definitely aren't worthless. The Lord loves us with an unconditional love. He wants to be in relationship with us. The desire of His heart is to spend eternity with Him.
How can we do that? By making the right choice. By making the choice to not only follow Him but to fully surrender to Him. By making the choice to give Him free reign to our calendar, our checkbook, our family…every part of our life. Is that easy? Not at first but as you grow deeper into relationship with Him it becomes normal. I remember when we first started tithing. It was one of the hardest things to do because we weren't even making enough money to cover our bills yet alone give to the Lord. A blessing from our obedience was that we never missed one bill. Woo hoo!
Romans 6 gives us insight as to what choice we need to make in order to spend eternity with Him. We must make the choice of life over death. We must make the choice to be obedient to Him instead of giving into sin. We must make the choice to be pure and righteous instead of allowing wickedness into our lives. It's our choice. Heaven or hell. Verse twenty-three of this passage is the icing on the cake…For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ
6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the deadthrough the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead,he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
Slaves to Righteousness
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
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. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 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. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for loving me. Thank You for guiding me. Thank You for the gift of salvation and for the gift of living a life of surrender with You. Lord, I pray for people who are unsaved to have someone go before them that will say or do something to draw them to You. I also pray for those who "know" You but haven't fully surrendered to You. Father, take them to the end of themselves. Lord, a life of surrender isn't easy as far as the world goes but it sure is wonderful in knowing You are in control of everything. Lord, more of You and less of me continues to be my prayer. Father, lead my words…lead my steps…lead me to do whatever You desire of me. I am Your vessel. Thank You Jesus for being My Eternity. Amen.
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