Grace, Sin and Romans...

At the start of this blog I had given myself a goal of posting at least once a week and it appears I am not meeting that goal. Well goals are good because they get us moving in the right direction, right? And grace is good for those of us who fall short of meeting them, RIGHT? : ) Oh, have to say I am one who is thankful for daily, moment by moment grace because I'm desperate for it. Am I alone on that one? Another thing, the more I learn of Jesus and His heart and His ways the more my understanding of that need for grace grows!

There are times, though, that I know I take that grace for granted. For instance, I have been reading in Romans the past several days (BTW I am several days behind in my yearlong Bible reading plan, but hey I AM moving in the right direction...aha! I have proved my point) and Paul has A LOT to say about sin and grace and Jesus. I think the originators of this BRP timed it well to be reading Romans in March because there is this great preparatory work happening in my heart on the road to Easter (the real Easter, not the chocolate bunnies, in case your latest shopping trip tried to brainwash you like it does my kids)! I am so grateful for God's timing in my life. Anyhow, there is within me this struggle between willingly accepting the grace that comes from the cross and still grasping the power and ugliness of the sin that still wanders around in my heart wanting it's place back on the throne. Sometimes I think I can be blase about both.

So then God sends Paul my way in his letter to the Romans which is so deep I have to reread it a few times (which really slows down my BRP). Here is what I read today, 6:13-14: "Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." I have read those words before, but the combination of yesterday's teaching at church and in the context of the other passages I have been reading, I grasped anew the POWER of the cross in conquering the sin in my life. I think the stumbling block that causes me to wrestle so much is: not really living in the reality that sin HAS BEEN conquered by the cross. If Christ has brought me from death to life through the cross and my faith in Him, than sin can have no dominion over me, it is no longer on the throne of my heart because Christ is! That is such a helpful visual for me. It humbles me to "see" Him in His rightful place and I can't help but bow my hearts knee to receive His grace. That visual reminder can affect my daily choices too. In my mind's eye I picture myself holding a super soaker (2 of our 3 children are boys and I am not yet sure what I think about their preoccupation with artillery and weaponry) and blasting away the sin that lingers around trying to get it's seat of power again. Now all I need is a giant projector in my home to keep these images front and center all day long (I think my boys would like to see Mommy with a Super Soaker).

Reflections from some time in Romans...me thinks there might be more where that came from and I sure hope so cause my heart is always in need.

Blessings to you wonderful, special ladies on this rainy Monday night in Minneapolis. Praying your heart is encouraged in the midst of the details of your life you are presently facing. There is grace abundant at your disposal always - praise Jesus!