Interesting how friends identify us with our relatives by the things we say or do! I feel like our Scripture today teaches us to release our temptations and actions that once attracted us because of our sin nature, and instead seek to represent God in every walk of life. Hopefully today we will all be reminded of who our master is.

DATE POSTED Thursday, 2022-03-31
WRITTEN AT: Astatula, FL

BY: Ed Algreen

SCRIPTURE FROM: Romans 6:11-14
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT: 11 So look upon your old sin nature as dead and unresponsive to sin, and instead be alive to God, alert to him, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Do not let sin control your puny body any longer; do not give in to its sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your bodies become tools of wickedness, to be used for sinning; but give yourselves completely to God—every part of you—for you are back from death and you want to be tools in the hands of God, to be used for his good purposes. 14 Sin need never again be your master…

APPLICATION: From a very young age I was taught that salvation is likened to what we think about with a 180 degree turn. In other words, prior to receiving Christ, we lived our life in submission to our sin nature. We were sinners destined for eternity in Hell, so we spoke like the world, and we acted much like everything we understand about Satan. Upon receiving Jesus as our Savior, we committed to making a U-turn and no longer live like Satan, but instead imitate Jesus – our new Master, until He returns to take us home to glory. Paul saw the need for today’s lesson, because he could see that many believers continued to allow their previous master access to their lives. In other words, they ‘sat on the fence of indecision’. Claiming Jesus as Savior but acting and speaking like they always did – imitating Satan. To understand the mystery of this strange behavior, let’s look in on how a well-educated man acts. They don’t go around pretending to be unlearned, because of the new knowledge they gained. Think about the rich man. Seldom do we see such a man sitting on the corner begging for food or any other handout from a passerby. Why then would believers in Jesus Christ allow themselves to continue serving their old master, when they have access to the King of all kings? Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul gives us an awesome tip today – Satan no longer has a grip on us! Because of Jesus, sin no longer has power over us! The Bible goes on to also remind us that ‘Greater is He that is in us (the Holy Spirit), than he that is in the world (Satan)’. So if I might add an additional tip, I would suggest that you, the believer in Jesus Christ, print out the following verses: Galatians 5:19-26 and any time you see any of the actions mentioned in vs 19-21 sneaking into your mind or your actions, drop to the knee before our Holy and Righteous God and seek His help to get you back on track serving Him, honoring Him, living like He did and like He commanded. Let’s learn to live like our Master – THE Master of heaven and all eternity. Let’s stop confusing those we want to witness to by sitting on the fence and also letting Satan have his way. As indicated in vs 14: ‘Sin need never be our master again!’

BLESSING(S) NOTED: For the Child of Christ, we have a new Master, and there is no need for sin to ever have power over us again! Praise to our wonderful and merciful Savior!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You have provided everything that we need to live a holy and righteous life. You have power over the evil one, so as long as we make it our goal and desire to serve only You, I believe You will honor our desire to rid ourselves of everything that might appear unholy or unrighteous. Please take the reins of our life dear Lord and give us strength and boldness to step forth as Your representative so that the world might see and believe. Please impress upon us the need to never look back, but to always praise You as we look full into Your wonderful face each and every day. Touch the hardened heart of the unbeliever today, especially those who may read this devotional. AMEN!