January 8 - The Gift of God

Today's Reading:
1 Samuel 8:1-9:27
Romans 6:1-23
Psalm 77:1-9
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Focus Verses: 
Romans 6:19b-23
19 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery 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 to 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.

Insight:
Salvation is more than forgiveness; it is the transformation of our lives. Through faith in Christ Jesus, I am not just saved from the penalty of sin; I am saved from bondage to sin. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. This eternal life in Christ is a life of righteousness. Instead of being shaped by sin, I can be shaped by the grace of God, which results in ever-increasing holiness.

Response and Action:
As a Christian, I must recognize and remember that I am not a slave to sin. Through faith in Christ and by God's grace, I can say no to sin. I can offer my body to God and be shaped and refined by him.

I must always bear in mind that true salvation from sin is more than escaping a penalty; it is breaking free from the control of sin. To be truly saved is to be truly changed—transformed to live a holy life. I can realize new possibilities and live a new life in Jesus.

O God, my Savior. Thank you for your saving grace. Thank you for Jesus has done to free me from sin. Help me surrender to you fully so that I might not only be saved from destruction, but transformed to live a righteous life that honors you, blesses others, and gives me joy and fulfillment. By the power and grace of your Holy Spirit, lead, teach, change, and shape me, that I might delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your name. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Proverbs 2:6-8
6 For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, 8 for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.

Resources:
The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God
Dallas Willard