Corona Devo 971

On the way to church a few weeks ago I got caught speeding.  

It's kind of an oxymoron (contradictory term)...being stopped-by-an-officer on the way to church.  I'm going there to learn righteousness...goodness...Jesus, and then I am breaking-the-law on my way to do all of those things at church.  

Sounds about right (for me).  

But, in getting stopped by a policeman (which does not happen to me a lot), certain changes occur in my driving habits thereafter.  I shape up.  I slow down.  I pay attention to the speed-limits and full-stops, and everything that I should have been paying full attention to before I was pulled over.  

It's a wake-up call.

I hate getting pulled over by the police, and I promise...it doesn't happen very often at all.  But throughout my life, whenever it does, I am re-centered on being a good driver.  

It never causes me to want to keep driving too fast or to purposely break more traffic laws.  Just the opposite occurs: being held accountable for my wrongdoing gives me a laser-focus to do-it-better next time.

My driving record (and my reaction to infractions pertaining to it) is (hopefully) similar to our record-of-sin and our reactions to our sinful infractions.

Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! (16) Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. (17) Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. (18) Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

(19) Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.

(20) When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. (21) And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. (22) But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. (23) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.  ~Romans 6:1-23

It's kind of an oxymoron (contradictory term)...wanting to be a slave to anything.  But Paul is saying that this is the case. 

Before we knew the Lord, we were slaves to sin, and it was leading us to death (Romans 6:16).  But now that we know the Lord, we are slaves to Him, and to being righteous, which is what it means when we live like He wants us to.

And we won't (aren't!) perfect at it...but we're trying.  One day at a time, with His help.

Sounds about right (for me and you).  

And in reading the Bible, and getting called-out/"caught"/or stopped by God's Word... may certain changes occur in our spiritual habits thereafter.  

Lord, may we shape up today.

Father, slow us down today.

Righteous King, may we pay attention to the limits and full-stops that You have put in place for our safety and well-being.  And today, may we have heightened awareness of Your Word and Ways and every spiritual thing that we should-have-been-paying-full-attention-to all along.    

The Bible is always a wake-up call...in a good way.

We hate getting called-out on our sin,  but whenever we do, we get re-centered on being more like Christ.    

If we are legitimately seeking to live like Jesus, then getting "caught" and having God's grace for our sin should not cause us to keep sinning.  But instead, when we recognize how deep God's forgiveness, grace and mercy are over our sin---we should want to sin less, and to become evermore like Jesus, who was sinless.    

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com