Thoughts to Ponder:
Transformed people transform the world. As God’s ambassadors on the earth we must genuinely represent Christ to the world. In order to do that we must be transformed into His image and truly represent the kingdom of God to those that we are sent to touch. We must put off the old and put on the new which is in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:4 instructs us to walk in newness of life. Forsake the old and embrace the new. Don’t let the old past life infect your present or sabotage your future. Bury your past.
Recently in our devotional guide the illustration was given of how some former cultures handled capital punishment. Sometimes a murder victim’s body was tied directly onto the killer’s back. So wherever he went he was literally weighed down by his crime, with no way to escape the stench of decomposing flesh. Eventually the bacteria-filled corpse infected him too and he died a terrible death. At times we too can feel the weight of the old nature pressing down on us, reminding us of things from our past that we can’t change on our own. Paul cries out in Romans and says, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Truthfully none of us can move forward with the “old man” still clinging to us. We must bury him. We must “present ourselves to God as those alive from the dead.” We must humbly come to Christ and ask to be renewed and restored. “If the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us it shall also quicken us.”
We are to be transformed individuals walking in the power of the Spirit. This is the year to move forward and let the power of God not only transform us but our culture by releasing miracles through our surrendered and transformed lives.
Action items:
1. Read Romans 6:1-14
2. Read Ephesians 4:17-32
3. Pray for God to show you what to put off and bury.
4. Pray for God to anoint you with His power in order to walk in miracles in 2007.
5. Consider beginning your fast today and what kind of fast it will be.
Encouragement from the Word:
Hebrews 2:1—Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.
1 comment:
This really spoke to me. It's so easy to drag around the dead weight of old things in our lives. We fall victim to bad habits, mental junk, stolen dreams and poor choices we make and then pack them around. I've carried some for so long that I forget they are there. We are so familiar with the extra luggage tied to our backs that we just deal by pushing ahead thinking that someday things will be different...but it gets heavier... I'm personally making a choice to dump some dead weight at the cross this year. Thanks Pastor!!!
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