The Word of God for wisdom:
Proverbs 19:21 (HCSB)
21 Many plans are in a man's heart, but the LORD's decree will prevail.
The Word of God for inspiration:
Psalm 16:11 (HCSB)
11 You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures.
The Word of God for encouragement:
Romans 6:1-10 (HCSB)
1 What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply?
2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life.
5 For if we have been joined with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection.
6 For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin's dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin,
7 since a person who has died is freed from sin's claims.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him,
9 because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over Him.
10 For in light of the fact that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in light of the fact that He lives, He lives to God.
My observation:
One verse that prepares me to understand this section of Romans that begins with Chapter 6 and concludes with Chapter 8 is this one.
Romans 5:17 (HCSB)
17 Since by the one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
The key phrase is, "reign in life". This is what Paul is discussing in Romans 6-8. If salvation means anything, it means that we have the ability to reign in life. The obstacle that we face to achieving this is the old sin nature.
In Chapter 6 of Romans Paul addresses the problem of the old nature. For the genuine believer, Christ death on the cross solves that problem. When Christ died, I, and my old sin nature, died. You must die before you can experience real life.
The first step to reigning in life is to know this truth. In our focal passage Paul mentions this word three times; in verses three, six, and nine. Yes, we can have victory over the flesh, but we must know the truth about the old nature. Yes, I know that I know that I know that Jesus died for me.
My prayer:
Holy Father, Almighty God, Sovereign Lord, I praise you and I thank you for all that you have done through Jesus to make me righteous in your eyes.
Father God, I pray for the Holy Spirit's wisdom, knowledge and power so that I might know the truth about my salvation. Father, I desire to "reign in life". In Jesus name, Amen.
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16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.
17 For in it God's righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.
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