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Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Prayer for the Morning

Heavenly Father, I thank you this morning for all that I have. Even if I have problems with my health, I am alive today. If I have money problems, I will eat today. I have clothes to wear, a roof to protect me, and air to breathe. Let me never take for granted these gifts of life, oh Lord, but always remember that they come from you; without you, no man could make the sun shine or the tree bear its fruit. I pray to live this day in joy and thankfulness for what I have, remembering always who made me and who keeps me. In the name of Christ I pray,

Prayer for Those Who Have Turned Away

Grant, O Lord, peace, love and speedy reconciliation to your people whom You have redeemed with your precious blood. Make your presence known to those who have turned away from You and do not seek You, so that none of them may be lost, but all may be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, so that everyone, in true love and harmony, O long-suffering Lord, may praise your all holy Name.

Dedication to Service

Now, oh heavenly Father, I ask to be called as a witness to your love by the love I extend to others; a precursor of your justice by my unfailing commitment to what is right and good; a lamp set on a hill, reflecting the light of Christ in my forgiveness, mercy and compassion; and a harvester of souls through my humble and dedicated servanthood. In Jesus' name, I pray,

Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.

Proverbs 13:3

Romans 6:5-11 (ESV)

We Are Dead to Sin

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Notes on the Scripture

In yesterday's Scripture, Paul discussed the concept of dying to sin. We symbolically die when we are baptized, so that we can be born again. Today, he emphasizes the second part of death and resurrection, the concept of living in Jesus.

Of course, at the time Romans was written, there were still people alive who had physically lived with Jesus. They had talked with him, lived with him, touched him. They had been taught from his own mouth. They had seen him murdered and a few had even witnessed his resurrection.

Being human, many had not believed in him even when they saw him in person. None who wanted to live with him and in him, however, was rejected. Nobody was too poor, too ugly, too sick or deformed, too stupid, too awkward, too sinful, too hated by others. All who were willing were invited to share in his life, his death, and his resurrection.

The gospel's basic message is that it is not too late to share in Christ's resurrection. Once we die to sin, by our belief and by our baptism symbolic of that death, we can share in Christ's victory over death. You only die once. If you choose to die with Christ during your earthly existence, your life on earth becomes the first part of your eternal life with Christ.

This only goes so far: for while we are human, we will sin. Having died to sin, we will hate it, but we cannot be completely free from it. But if we have died to sin, we find ourselves trying to avoid it, because we hate it; and when it happens, we know that we are forgiven. Our faith in Christ includes faith in our forgiveness.

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