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Series around St. Paul’s passage to the Romans; Romans 6:12-23 By Nicole
Collins
Scripture || Observation||
Application|| Prayer
Romans 6:12-23
12Therefore, do not let sin
exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. 13No
longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present
yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present
your members to God as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin will
have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. 15What
then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Do
you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you
are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of
obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that
you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the
form of teaching to which you were entrusted, 18and that you, having
been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19I am
speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you
once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater
iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for
sanctification. 20When you were slaves of sin, you were free in
regard to righteousness. 21So what advantage did you then get from
the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. 22But
now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you
get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. 23For the wages of
sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
For Sunday June 15th,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 12Therefore,
do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their
passions
Observation: Sin is a destructive, deconstructing force to be reckoned
with, not fallen prey to its seductions.
Application: Obedience is a spiritual discipline and spiritual
battlefield we must daily face if we are to keep Christ’s dominion over our
lives. This is accomplished through
willingly being accountable for all you Do & say as a ‘body’ within the
Body of Christ.
Prayer: Gracious & Loving God,
We are your children created to be
and become truly children of Grace
Help our hearts to be aligned to
yours in discipline, obedience
May we never let the Evil One’s
temptations lure us into idolatries and self-absorbed passions
Help us to know spiritually, your
ultimate dominion over our lives
May your Grace reign in our hearts
intentional living, compassionate giving
True Consideration and love for our
neighbors as your disciples
May we never not be grateful for
your reign and encouragement in our lives
In Your Most Precious Name We Pray—
AMEN
For Tuesday June 17th,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 13No longer present your members to
sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who
have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as
instruments of righteousness.
Observation: We are often instrumental in creating destruction through
sin and for sin. Only when we truly spiritually face our Old Nature with
humility and repentance to God do we grow to become God’s instruments for
righteousness through our New Nature given to us as New life.
Application: A Graceless wilderness is the reality of Hell created here
and now. Sin is its greatest asset and
builder. Living faithfully into humble
obedience to God—hearing His voice deeply, in our most vulnerable place and
acting upon this through Grace—is our daily task of discipleship. Walking the
talk takes heart knowledge strengthened by the New Nature. Heart knowledge plus
the head creates the lifestyle of Grace.
Prayer: Gracious & Loving God,
More often than not, we allow
ourselves to become graceless and self-concerned.
This tears down rather than builds
your Kingdom of light in the world.
We become purveyors of darkness
adding to Satan’s victory—
Death of purpose, death of will and
most importantly, death of the Spirit of Life
The Spirit of Life is what we are
hungering and thirsting for
Whether or not the Evil One has
tempted us away from realizing this profound truth
We appeal to You O Lord for a
tenacious faith
One that only builds the Kingdom of
heaven as grace upon grace
In union with you as children of
Grace.
AMEN
For Friday June 20th,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 14For
sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under
grace.
Observation: This verse alone defines the freedom granted from grace; it
is an entirely different kind of freedom—one that is spiritual.
Application: Grace Alone through Faith Alone equals freedom from the
bondage of all that the Evil One’s empty promises have laid at our feet. These are stumbling blocks of many aspects of
sin and wickedness. We need the Law to
be that accusing and accountable mirror to help lift us out of sin and realize
the magnitude, power of living into and operating from a lifestyle of
Grace. Knowing GRACE deeply is living
grace deeply and outwardly by intentionally and prayerfully loving God and
neighbor!
Prayer: Gracious & Loving God,
When we even say the Words gracious
and loving
Our hearts should be striving to
align prayerfully and deeply
In how we must grow as your
disciples into the reality, lifestyle of Grace
To be able and accountable to Go and
make disciples across this weary and broken world
Help our neighbor to see how Your
Word is indeed Living
It is indeed New Life to transform
us spiritually
To Be/ become the children of Grace
you need us to be for Your Name’s Sake
AMEN
For Sunday June 22nd,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 15What then? Should we sin because
we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Do you not know
that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of
the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience,
which leads to righteousness?
Observation: We are to discipline our lives upon costly Grace; which is
being and becoming fully intentional in our servanthood to the Lord and our
neighbor.
Application: Living truthfully into being a part of the priesthood of
all believers means obedience through humility and a willingness to strive for
commitment to the Will of God as the central goal of being a disciple of
Christ. Being aware of the magnitude of Grace as both most costly and beckoning
our hearts to transform is the first step to servant leadership for the sake
and glory of the Gospel.
Prayer: Gracious & Loving God,
Help our hearts to live into our
vocation given to us through Your Grace
As your disciples, may we be shaped,
changed, renewed into that priesthood of all believers
We must grow to embrace our part, if
Your Holy Gospel is to continue to make disciples across the globe
Continue to humble us under the
beauty and power of Your GRACE
May this humility bear Spiritual
fruit that allows Your Holy Spirit to
Enlighten, Empower, Encourage and
Embrace others through us
For Your Gospel’s sake
In Your Most Precious Name we Pray
deeply—
AMEN
For Monday June 23rd,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 17But thanks be to God that you,
having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form
of teaching to which you were entrusted, 18and that you, having been
set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
Observation: Being entrusted to grow and go with a heart knowledge of
the Gospel shapes and fits us to be effective servant leaders aligned to godly
righteousness and truth.
Application: Realizing where your priorities are on your discipleship
journey is key to knowing and growing into that New freedom that Jesus offers
us all through Grace. Everything
contrary to our human nature especially when truthfully living and breathing
humility to be a compassionate minister on behalf of the Gospel is empowered
servanthood. It’s righteous fruits are
naturally produced from a faith truly realized deeply in the heart then
connected to the mind for action in the world.
Prayer: Heavenly Father,
Continue to stretch and shape our
hearts to align to Your Righteousness and Truth
May we faithfully be and become the
children of Grace you need us to be for Your Kingdom’s sake
May we be and become beacons of
light and compassion
On behalf of our neighbor and out of
love and devotion to you
May we continue to realize Your Holy
Spirit’s work in our lives
May this humble us to be empowered
leaders entrusted with Your Gospel
All this we ask you in Your most
Holy and Precious Name—
AMEN
For Tuesday July 1st,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 19I am speaking in human terms
because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your
members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now
present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.
Observation: Being and becoming a willing servant to Christ and His plan
of righteousness IS both walking the talk and growing in holiness—deepening
your union to Christ Jesus, who is the center of your life.
Application: Working past our limitations is a tall order but one that
must be adhered to as it is the cost of discipleship. Living selflessly and obediently into Christ
call and commission to you is what builds the foundation for the Kingdom of God
here and now. The spiritual fruit of
your life lived out of love and as children of Grace for God and neighbor are
the bricks... Christ, the cornerstone!
Prayer: Gracious and Loving God,
We know our limitations but choose
often not to be accountable to them
Help us to transform our limitations
into the spiritual bricks and mortar
You need for us to be obedient
leaders to build
May our lives come to bear that
spiritual fruit
May our lives grow in holiness as
our hearts align in knowledge to Your Will, Truth and Gospel
In Your Most Holy and Blessed Name
we pray—
AMEN
For Friday July 4th,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 20When you were slaves of sin, you
were free in regard to righteousness.
Observation: Going on impulse—“if it feels right do it;” is not the kind
of freedom that leads to righteousness more than a dead end.
Application: We are in the 3rd or 4th generation
of “if it feels right just do it,” frame of mind. This is devoid of transformation—consciously
changing for the better and from accountability... It is the path to nihilism since it is
entirely self-contained and devoid of contemplating Grace and gracious
behavior.
Prayer: Gracious and Loving God,
It is human nature to live
impulsively...
The Evil One makes it appear as
freedom but it is death and bondage
As well as it is free from true
righteousness
It is lawlessness, idolatry and
nihilistic—devoid of purpose and fruit
It burgeons the fruit of a graceless
wilderness
Where happiness is an allusion,
temporal at best and self-containing
If we, who profess Jesus to be Our
Lord and savior are to ever grow and go with the Gospel
As Children of GRACE—we must die to
sin and it’s empty promises
Seek righteousness that is found in
the spiritual fruits born out of a transformed heart
Dedicated and commissioned by God to
Love Him and neighbor.
In Your Most Holy and Blessed Name
we pray—
AMEN
For Friday July 18th,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 21So what advantage did you then
get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is
death.
Observation: What you thought were priorities towards a goal turned out
to be focused outside of Jesus’ goal/ plan for your lives to pursue. The fruitlessness of the endeavor proved to
be nihilistic towards purpose.
Application: What may be seemingly setbacks in your life CENTERED in
Christ are teaching moments. They are
teaching moments to shape, transform into the child of Grace, you were meant to
become.
Prayer: Gracious and Loving God,
You truly do realize that
“Footprints” poem
Walking with us daily, carrying our
anxieties and worries in your arms
You help to humble us, to calm and
shape our hearts inwardly to be and become
The servant leaders you need to
realize your plan for the World
Continue to strengthen and encourage
us to be bold disciples with vision and purpose
Centered in you as the children of
GRACE living the lifestyle of grace
You have intended for us all
In most Holy and Precious Name, we
always—Pray:
AMEN
For Tuesday July 22nd,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 22But now that you have been freed
from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end
is eternal life.
Observation: When Christ Jesus freed us from sin, death and the devil we
were given the opportunity to grow in union spiritually with Him. This deep, life-time nurtured, prayerful commitment
to Christ bears the fruit of true holiness—lifestyle of grace which in turn
becomes eternal.
Application: Becoming a willing and intentional servant to Jesus takes a
great adjustment spiritually/ internally to grow into the lifestyle of Grace Jesus
has set before us as savior and model.
Being accountable is not works righteousness, it is not cheap grace
either! As a Lutheran person, I am not
afraid to BE and become accountable to the will and purposes of God. I truly feel this is the reality of
GRACE. We are to be evangelical,
catholic (universal) disciples of Christ Jesus who is the ruler of our
hearts—our goal, destiny & life’s purpose!
Prayer: Gracious and Loving God,
Being and becoming a willing and
intentional servant is very hard for us
Help us to realize the magnitude of
what GRACE means as your Victory
And our spiritual journey to
righteousness—accountability as the fruits of Grace
Transformation spiritually is the
only way we can realize who we are to BE
For Your Sake and out of Love for
the neighbor
Your servant Martin Luther realized
the beauty and profoundness of your Grace
By being and becoming empowered to
be a voice
That would shape a major change in
your church collectively
This was only realized first as we
all must acknowledge—through the heart, first
It is here alongside the Holy
Spirit’s guidance that we are nurtured to grow and go
With Your Holy Gospel.
In most Holy and Precious Name, we
always—Pray:
AMEN
For Tuesday August 12th,
2014
Today’s Verses Scripture: 23For
the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.
Observation: Sin always seems to be the easiest path for “quick answers,
solutions...” The long-term consequences
will weigh down your heart with burden, grief and purposelessness. We must look to Jesus as our example and
fount of New Life.
Application: Obedience, accountability, owning up are not comfortable
words for us to discipline ourselves to do...
But for the Love of Jesus and neighbor, we must realize the rewards or
fruits of sin are an empty, meaningless burden upon our lives. We will
spiritually die to vain, nihilistic treasures.... whereas we could humble
ourselves become obedient and accountable to the Will and purposes of God to
experience the beautiful lifestyle of Grace our Lord Jesus has granted to us.
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus,
May we turn away from the Evil One’s
empty treasures of sin
For its reward is spiritual death,
purposelessness and vanity
Help us to be disciplined—obedient and
accountable within our discipleship journeys
May our lives fully live into the
lifestyle of Grace you have given us
May we grow fully into the New
Nature you have planted within our hearts to realize
May we never not be grateful for the
priceless gift of Grace you have granted upon us
May every knee bend, every heart be
turned to confess that you are indeed
Our sovereign Lord and King
AMEN
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