May 26, 2012 (Proverbs 1-3; Romans 7)
From the Life Journal of Adam Proux:
Scripture: “So my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point. You died to the power of the Law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.” Romans 7:4 NLT
Observation: When a person dies to the old life and accepts Christ as Savior, a new life begins. While an unbeliever’s life is centered on their own personal gratification, a Christian’s life is centered on Christ. The point is this, when you were an unbeliever the only power you had to live by was the power that was produced from natural abilities. This power failed to provide the strength to succeed. But now that you have received Christ you have been given the supernatural power of Christ to live by. All who trust and live according to the supernatural power of Christ will live triumphantly over sin in this present life. Because our old life has died with Christ, and our new life has been raised and united with Christ, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for our God.
Application: When people are offered salvation without commitment, we are essentially saying, ‘here have Christ, but don’t worry about any of that dying stuff.’ Unfortunately, this evil practice has crept into the church and infiltrated the clergy. Now days salvation is offered free of cost or commitment. We have produced a culture that believes they can accept Christ as Savior, but reject Him as Lord. As a result we see massive numbers of the Christian population living defeated and powerless lives. They are trying to mix a worldly lifestyle with Christ and force God to accept it. Far too many are trying to live double lives. In one breath they profess Christ as Savior, while the actions of their life deny Him as Lord.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for this day. Thank You for Your mercy and grace that provide and protect me every day. Thank You for being my Savior and Lord! Thank You for changing my life completely. I praise You for the supernatural power of Jesus Christ that You provide me to live by. You are the awesome God of heaven and above You there is no other! Victory is mine because of You, in Jesus name, Amen!