PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Romans 8:1–4
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
CONSIDER THIS
There is a phrase from old Westerns that has become well-used over the years. It has become an idiom used by comedians, athletes, politicians, and actors. The phrase has come to mean, “The old way of doing things is out. A new way of doing things—my way—is in.”
That phrase is: “There’s a new sheriff in town.”
In today’s verse, Paul tells the Romans, “There’s a new law in town.” The law of sin and death has lost its seat of influence in your life and mine. The law of the Spirit, who gives life, has set us free. There’s a new boss in town, and that means we can tell the old bosses—sin and death—to take a hike whenever either tries to claim authority.
To mix metaphors, for those who are “in Christ,” the law of sin and death is no longer in the driver’s seat. The law of sin and death no longer has mastery over us. Jesus remedied that. We don’t answer to sin, defer to death, or remain chained to our old ways of thinking, feeling, or acting like lost people. We don’t wallow in self-condemnation or act as though Christ has done nothing to set us free from old, broken patterns.
If we do, we are not living from our union with Christ. We may need help to get free from old ways that lead to sin and death, yes, but the truth that empowers our transformation in Christ is the foundation for our healing: in Christ, you are free.
My brothers and sisters, today we have been invited to live within the broad and sweeping, powerful and freeing law of the Spirit! And it’s an invitation to which we must say yes if we want to experience the abundant life Jesus promised.
We are intertwined, heart and soul aligned—with Jesus. Christ became a sin-offering for us, reconciling us to God and giving us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18–19). For freedom, you and I have been set free, no longer (with Christ in you and you in Christ) to be subject to that nasty yoke of sin-slavery ever again (Gal. 5:1).
Abiding in Jesus, we live and move in the law of the Spirit. And the Spirit gives life! Imagine the words of the Nicene Creed being shouted from a rooftop: “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life!”
Jesus sets us free to enjoy life. In the Spirit! He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become right-related to God, ourselves, others, and the creation (2 Cor. 5:21). His right-heartedness is our right-heartedness.
Welcome to the Spirit-filled, Spirit-healed, Spirit-renewed family of God.
Our daily work as believers is to remember, reclaim, and rehearse the benefits that come from living in the freedom of the Spirit. We live in the “new way of the Spirit” (Rom. 7:5–6).
If you are in union with Christ, you are a recipient of all his benefits (Ps. 103:2–5). One of those benefits is that right now, at this very moment, you live within the roomy and healing realm of the Spirit. If the Son sets you free, you are “free indeed” (John 8:36), and “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17).
There’s a new law in town—the law of the Spirit of life. And it sets captives free.
THE PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I am in you and you are in me. I want to live in the freedom of the law of the Spirit. When I forget my inheritance and am tempted to sin to ease my pain, I am grateful for forgiveness and the continued call to the freedom I have in you. In Christ Jesus, I pray, amen.
THE QUESTIONS
How have you lived out the “I’m worthy of condemnation” message in your life? Has it kept you chained to guilt for your sins, even the ones for which Jesus has forgiven you, rather than setting you free to live a Spirit-filled life?
For the Awakening,
Dan Wilt
Subscribe to get this in your inbox daily and please share this link with friends.
2 Responses
In answer to today’s Wake-up call question: “My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already reached the goal or that I am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:10-12 I believe that we’ve been given a new way to live out our faith because at this particular time in history, we are living in a new paradigm as it pertains to faith and culture. We are in a liminal period. We know that we can’t go back to the culture that was, but don’t know yet, what is to come. Our sustained union in Christ is our only hope for salvation.
The law of the Spirit leads us from within our heart. When we are led by the Spirit He sets us free and gives us His life and amazing experiences. Here’s an example:
My wife and I were in Matera, Italy last Sunday morning. As we were exploring the medieval walled city there, we realized that we were lost in the narrow maze-like passageways of a residential area early on a Sunday morning and there was no one around to help us. Suddenly we heard what sounded like a beautiful Gregorian chant.
I walked around the next corner and heard the chant-like song coming from a small church. I looked in the open door and saw a priest robed in white and singing passionately from His heart in a darkened sanctuary with only two women in attendance. I immediately went in and sat on an ancient uncomfortable pew. My wife came in to rescue me and then we realized that we were stuck.
The priest’s face was aglow with an inner light; his eyes hope-filled and bright. He was truly a delight to watch. The priest began reading a liturgy in Italian and the two women in the congregation responded from time to time. Although we didn’t understand, our hearts were captivated by the presence of Jesus that we felt there.
After a few minutes the priest stopped, walked over to us, and in the kindest voice began talking to us in Italian. We didn’t understand his words, but we knew that he was welcoming us with the love of Christ. We smiled and nodded and pointed to heaven and told him that we didn’t speak Italian. He beamed with peace, walked back to the front and continued with the liturgy.
Then one of the women went to a pulpit and prayed. Later another went and read something.
The priest walked back to our pew again and we understood that he wanted to know our names. So, we told him: “Steve and Ernie.” He repeated each name a few times and pointed to us correctly identifying us. Then he smiled, walked back to the front, and continued the liturgy.
Suddenly he stopped and walked back to us for a third time. As he spoke, I heard the word “cantare.” I told my wife that I thought he wanted us to sing. Ernie began to sing Amazing Grace in English. I quickly joined in. Then to our surprise the priest began to sing it with us in Italian as the two ladies watched from the front of the sanctuary. His face was beaming. It was a special God-moment for all five of us.
After the song, the priest spoke more to us in Italian. I think he was inviting us to the altar for the Eucharist, but we weren’t sure. However, sitting there in a sanctuary packed with ancient religious ornamentation and tradition, we experienced deep heart-connection with a beautiful Christ-follower–a priest who was eager to step out of routine formalism and demonstrate the reality of “Christ in you” to two strangers from another country who didn’t speak his language or follow his religious tradition. I loved accidently attending mass!