Friday January 27, 2023

Today is Friday, January 27 and we are exploring what it means to yield our lives to Christ.

Jesus, I am yours. In the stillness of the morning, I seek the grace of your divine presence. Come and envelop me with the embrace of your steadfast love. With each breath, I inhale your goodness and steady my mind from worldly distractions.

Pause and Pray

Holy Lord God, hear my prayer. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you are mine, and I am yours. So be it. Amen. (The Wesleyan Covenant Prayer, part 2)

In the morning I praise my Lord God with the ancient words of Psalm 146.

Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— he remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. Psalm 146:5-8

Pause and Pray

In the letter to the Romans, Paul encourages the Christians in Rome to remember who they are. Remember their condition in Jesus Christ, remember their new state of living, remember that Jesus Christ set them free from slavery to sin and death. Paul continually observes how they live and scratches his head and asks, “Why do they continue to live in sin?” Today is no different. Christians tend to return to past bad habits and wrong ways of living that are not what God wants for them. Paul reminds me that I am free. The power of sin has been broken in my life. I have a new master who enslaves me for goodness, holiness, joy and peace. Paul warns me to be careful and not fall back into the old way of life I was once living but continually step into the new life God has for me.

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Romans 6:16-18

I was born into slavery – original sin is slavery. I was a slave to sin and my life was headed for death and disaster. Jesus Christ set me free. Thanks be to God. I am a soul that is forgiven and redeemed. I have come to obey Jesus from my heart as an act of love. I bow my allegiance to Christ as Lord of my life and master of my soul. There is no return to that old way of life. I offer myself as a humble and obedient slave to Jesus. It is his yoke I take upon me and I vow to follow obediently in his footsteps. Obedience to Christ leads to righteousness and holiness, culminating in abundant blessings, life, joy and peace.

Ask: What parts of my life tempt me to return to my old attitudes, habits and ways? When do I allow myself to become a slave to sin and not Christ?

Pause and Pray

Lord Jesus, I offer myself to you as an obedient servant of your kingdom. I bow down before you, I yield my plans to your plans, I surrender my life to your will, I commit my ways to follow you, I will serve you in trust and obedience for you have set me free from sin and I now want to be a slave of righteousness. Thank you for loving me so much that you welcome me into this place of joy and flourishing. I will obey you from the heart and give you all my allegiance. I read the words from Isaiah again and listen for the message you have for me.

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Romans 6:16-18

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

I consider the words that capture my heart this morning. What might the Holy Spirit be revealing to me through this passage of scripture? I reflect on the past, present and future of my life – when have I been a slave to sin and when have I been a slave to righteousness? Perhaps God wants me to claim my allegiance to Jesus in a current circumstance. Maybe I am not fully free but tend to return to a captive thought pattern or behavior. God wants me to live a life that is free. The Holy Spirit is my guide.

Pause and Pray

Come, Lord Jesus, reveal the places where I have allowed the chains of the past to prevent abundant life in you. Show me where I need to shake off the shackles of bad habits. Open the prison cell doors that continue to confine me and help me claim the freedom that you have already given me. I take your yoke upon me and ask you to guide me. Amen.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30

I leave this time of prayer a slave to righteousness. I go to follow Jesus into the places that most need his love and peace.

Amen