Dead To Sin

One of the sins I struggle with is thinking that the time allotted to me on any given day belongs to me. But in reality, every second of the day belongs to the Lord. I am supposed to use it for His glory, His purposes, and to open myself up to His leadership. I may have plans, but ultimately the day is His.  

 
This plays out most often in the needs of my children. Busy with the tasks of the day, I’m usually in my own little world folding clothes, preparing meals, doing dishes. But then one of my children will come along and ask me to watch him play a video game. Or another child wants to play kickball. And still another wants me to sit down and rub her back while she watches a video. Don’t they understand I have chores to do? I don’t have time to sit there and watch them play a game on a screen. That would be a waste of time. (I know, that sounds really bad. I think of Mary and Martha with me totally being Martha in these scenarios.) And then I remember, my time is not my own. And my children need me, more than the house needs me. 

 
In Romans 6:10-11, Paul encourages the disciples of Jesus to live for God. To put away the old sinful self and live for the Lord. “For when He died, He died once and for all as far as sin is concerned. But now that He is alive, He lives for God. In the same way, you too must continuously consider yourselves dead as far as sin is concerned but living for God through the Messiah Jesus.“ (ISV) Just like this passage says, once I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, I died to sin. Before salvation, I was mastered by Satan and the temptations of sin, but now that I have been saved, I am mastered by Christ. The life I live now is for Christ, not for myself anymore. It is impossible to be alive in Christ and alive in sin at the same time. Sin characterizes the old life; but Christ characterizes the new life. If I am no longer under the compulsion of sin, why do I still get irritated when I feel that my time is taken away from me? Because I still get tempted to think the day is mine. I still get tempted to want my plans for my day without any interruptions. Unfortunately, sometimes I still choose to put me first, not the Lord or my children. But thankfully, I have the Holy Spirit living inside of me, who gives me strength and power to choose righteousness instead of sin. I can choose to give the Lord back His day and allow Him to move the pieces around as He wishes. 

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for each and every day. Teach me to make each one count, with a mind focused on You and Your glory. Thank You for interrupting my day when I start to get off track. Remind me that every day with my children is a chance to grow Your love in them. May I never be irritated with those You have put in my life. In the holy and heavenly name of Your Son, Amen. 

Action: God is constantly sanctifying us through these temptations of sin. The next time you’re tempted to sin (in any area — pride, selfishness, lying, cheating, stealing, gossiping, judging, responding with a sharp tongue, etc.) remember that the power of the Holy Spirit lives in you, if you have indeed accepted Jesus as your Savior. That means those sins do not live in you anymore and they have no control over you. You have the freedom of choosing NOT to fall into them. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.