Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Wednesday, 2 July 2014 "Living as genuine disciples"

Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Wednesday, 2 July 2014 "Living as genuine disciples"
Daily Scripture: Romans 6:15 What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? May it never be! 16 Don’t you know that when you present yourselves as servants and obey someone, you are the servants of whomever you obey; whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that, whereas you were bondservants of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were delivered. 18 Being made free from sin, you became bondservants of righteousness.
19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh, for as you presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to wickedness upon wickedness, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness for sanctification. 20 For when you were servants of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit then did you have at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now, being made free from sin, and having become servants of God, you have your fruit of sanctification, and the result of eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Reflection Questions:
Commentators aren't sure if Paul was mainly concerned about libertines who really thought God's grace meant they could do whatever they pleased, or legalists who made fun of his teaching about grace. Perhaps the Christian community in Rome had both types of people in it! Regardless, Paul insisted that accepting Jesus as Savior changes your life for the better. Being a disciple means giving control of your life to the Lord who can give you life.
Pastor Stuart Briscoe said being free from sin means "adopting the attitude that sin, as a lifestyle, is no longer normative….[Christians do] not have to go on sinning, and treating righteous living as something that is good if you can get around to it." In what ways has your loyalty to Christ given you the freedom to change your life for the better?
We don't usually think much about slavery (though by some estimates there as many as 27 million slaves in today's world), so Paul's image may startle us. Sin, he says, turns all who submit to it into slaves. What actions, feelings or thoughts have, at some point in your life, held you in their grip? How did (or will) Jesus' love free you from them?
Today's Prayer:
Dear God, I thank you for the freedom you offer me as your disciple. Give me clear vision of the parts of my life where harmful thoughts or feelings still enslave me, and keep extending your freedom to every part of me. Amen.
Insight from Angela LaVallie
Angela LaVallie is the Worship Logistics Program Director at Resurrection. She oversees preparing the Sanctuary for worship, supports Vibe worship and volunteers in the Student Center, provides oversight for Holy Communion at the Leawood campus, and assists with worship logistics at conferences.
I love the fact that our salvation does not depend on the law. I also love that as Christians, the new law has been written on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). The Holy Spirit reminds us of what we should or shouldn’t be doing and what attitude we should have. But just because the Holy Spirit is there in us and with us doesn’t mean we do not also have responsibility to strive to live a certain type of life.
If we desire to live a righteous life, we will make it a priority to do whatever will encourage us to live in a way that honors and glorifies God. It is our responsibility to study the scriptures to know what is expected of us – not as a means of salvation, but a means of worshipping the God we love and serve.  We will choose to participate in a worship service each weekend, to show our admiration for God, to be a part of the body of Christ, and to encourage our brothers and sisters in the faith. We choose to spend time with others Christians – serving or in a small group – because we know we become like the people we spend the most time with; when we hang out with others who exhibit the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and whose attitudes and values are similar to those we aspire to, we are more likely to turn away from sinful choices and to live the life God intended for us.
Although as humans we will continue to sin and make mistakes, if we are attempting to live an honorable life and taking steps to love God through our choices, it will become easier and more natural over time to choose to open ourselves up and to trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
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