Week 4, Day 27 - Mastered by Righteouness

"But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."  Romans 6: 17, 18

REFLECT

Imagine three friends on a golf course. They get into an intimate conversation in which they let their guard down and begin to open up to each other. One discloses that his biggest temptation in life is drinking too much. That leads another friend to reveal that he has had a significant problem with sexual temptations for a long time. They look at the third man and say, "Okay, we've gone pretty far out on a limb. Now it's your turn. You must have some special temptation, some are of vulnerability." The man hesitates, and then speaks up: "Yes, I certainly do. My biggest temptation is gossip. And I just can't wait to get back so I can talk to somebody."

Sin as a taskmaster is no laughing matter. Lives are torn apart all the time by the compulsive patters of self destructive behaviors. So when Jesus said that with his coming there would be release for captives, he was talking about everyone of us. It doesn't come naturally or easily for most people to admit that they are captive. We all want to believe we are the captains of our own destiny. It's the American ethic.

However, just stop and think about the word "captive." Isn't it true that every one of us has found something or someone captivating? And that there came a time when we realized that maybe we had in fact relinquished some of our choices our will for some perceived gain of satisfaction that ended up spiritually destructive?

Scripture says that when we go our own way, when we hoard our possessions, when we give in to passion or get carried away in rage - we have succumbed. We have become slaves to sin. Praise God Romans 6 tells a different story. God has broken us out of "Egypt." He has released us to a Promised Land, although there is wilderness to traverse to get there.

All it takes to begin this journey is to say: "I'd rather have Jesus as my master than myself. I don't want to live in the cage of my own limited imagination. I want righteousness to be my master and to carry me places I never would go on my own." Jesus through the Holy Spirit is able to do "immeasurable more than all we can ask or even imagine."

MAKE IT REAL

Take ten minutes today to read Romans 6-8. After you do that, get to a quite place with God and reflect on ways that you are still enslaved to sin: Maybe its greed or jealousy, maybe its resentment or anger; maybe its pride or a judgmental attitude; maybe its control and lack of a surrendered mindset. As you pray about these things, focus on the fact that God has freed you and invites you to come under the mastery of His righteousness and stay in the flow of the Holy Spirit.

Day 28