Romans 6:12-18
Brothers and sisters:
Sin must not reign over your mortal bodies
so that you obey their desires.
And do not present the parts of your bodies to sin
as weapons for wickedness,
but present yourselves to God as raised from the dead to life
and the parts of your bodies to God
as weapons for righteousness.
For sin is not to have any power over you,
since you are not under the law but under grace.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law
but under grace?
Of course not!
Do you not know that if you present yourselves
to someone as obedient slaves,
you are slaves of the one you obey,
either of sin, which leads to death,
or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
But thanks be to God that, although you were once slaves of sin,
you have become obedient from the heart
to the pattern of teaching to which you were entrusted.
Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness.
Sin must not reign over your mortal bodies
so that you obey their desires.
And do not present the parts of your bodies to sin
as weapons for wickedness,
but present yourselves to God as raised from the dead to life
and the parts of your bodies to God
as weapons for righteousness.
For sin is not to have any power over you,
since you are not under the law but under grace.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law
but under grace?
Of course not!
Do you not know that if you present yourselves
to someone as obedient slaves,
you are slaves of the one you obey,
either of sin, which leads to death,
or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
But thanks be to God that, although you were once slaves of sin,
you have become obedient from the heart
to the pattern of teaching to which you were entrusted.
Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness.
What were you made for? Here in the above lines it's laid out pretty clear, but on an average day what do you think that you were made for. Most would say, "I'm made to go to work and pay my bills so I can take care of my spouse and children. This is something that strikes to the heart of it all though. Know this though, you were made for divinity. You were made to share in God's paradise. You were not made to be a slave to sin scrounging from one momentary pleasure to another like some animal living off instinct.
Luke 12:39-48
Jesus said to his disciples:"Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."
Then Peter said,
"Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?"
And the Lord replied,
"Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward
whom the master will put in charge of his servants
to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, he will put him
in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself,
'My master is delayed in coming,'
and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant's master will come
on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
and will punish the servant severely
and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master's will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more."
We all need to choose what we are to do in life. How many times to you hear adults asking kids, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" It's important to choose so you know where you are going and so that you don't get lost, but all to often, even myself, I have found those who drift through life. Choosing by not choosing anything at all. Do you want peace, joy and serenity in this life? Follow God's way, even on your worst days, if you follow Jesus, you will have peace here and for eternity in the afterlife. Make no mistake you will die and there will be an accounting. If you want to live for the momentary pleasures please know that there is an eternity waiting for you that will be completely filled with the absence of peace and love. If you think that you can be like the servant that lives for the moment without recourse, I tell you surely you are mistaken. But the choice is yours, God has given you free will. I pray you choose wisely. If you are in the midst of a lifestyle less than righteous or down right dirty, I've been there. It's not too late. God will always take you in if you come to him with a sincere heart, but don't wait too long. You don't know the hour which he will come a knocking.
Jesus,
I am worried, I mean I get distracted really easily. There is just so much sinful pleasure in this world. Help me to see the empty promises of Satan and for what they are. Help me to be the man you made me to be. Help me to love like you do. Help me to claim my home in Heaven that God has prepared for me. I love you Jesus. I don't want your sacrifice on the cross to be wasted on me. It was too precious.
In Jesus Christ's Name I pray,
Amen
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