New Life In the Spirit (April 10)
Backgrounder: Paul anticipates
the questions that will arise from
hearing gospel of grace. If God’s
grace is free, then am I free to sin?
If I am free from the law, then can
I ignore the ethical demands of
the law? Paul has no illusions that
becoming a Christian means the
end of your troubles. Rather it may
be only the beginning! But the life
-giving Spirit provides confidence,
and intercession for victorious
Christian living in the storms
and complexities of everyday life.
Lord, thank You that because You
have given us New Life, we can be
certain that sin’s power is broken.
Thank You that because You have
given us New Nature, we can see
ourselves as unresponsive to the
old power and alive to the new.
Thank You that because You have
given us New Freedom, we can
commit ourselves to obey Christ.
Help us Lord Freely Serve You;
help us Serve You in New Way;
help us Pray with Your Spirit. Amen.
Lord, we will Freely Serve You:
Reckon yourselves to be dead to
sin but alive to God…Now you are
free from sin, your old master,and
you have become slaves to your
new master, righteousness…
Now you are free from the power
of sin and have become slaves of
God. Now you do those things that
lead to holiness (Rom 6:11, 18, 22)
Lord, I am down at my feet again.
I ask that You be the master of
my heart, of my thoughts, of my
ambitions, of my time, of my life.
Thank You Lord for being such
a kind, gracious and merciful God.
It is in offering my life to You
that I find abundant life. And it
is by serving You that I find true
freedom & fulfilment in life Amen.
Lord, we will Serve You in New Way:
When we were controlled by our
old nature, sinful desires were
at work within us… But now we
have been released from the law,
for we died to it and are no longer
captive to its power. Now we can
serve God, not in the old way
of obeying the letter of the law,
but in the new way of living
in the Spirit (Romans 7:5-6).
Lord, thank You for not leaving us
on our own, with no power to change.
You Lord have lifted the burden of
creating change off our shoulders.
Empower us to say no to sinful
desires by the power of Your Spirit.
And impart to us a love for holiness.
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.
Lord, we will Pray with Your Spirit:
In the same way, the Spirit helps us
in our weakness. We do not know
what we ought to pray for, but the
Spirit himself intercedes for us with
groans that words cannot express.
And he who searches our hearts
knows the mind of the Spirit,
because the Spirit intercedes
for the saints in accordance
with God’s will (Rom 8:26-27).
Lord, I don’t know how to pray
about certain things, but You do.
Help me Holy Spirit in my weakness
by interceding for me and thru me.
You know the will of the Father
and You know what to pray for.
Guide me and teach me especially
when I have exhausted all words.
Help me communicate to God my
deepest thoughts and feelings,
so that my prayers are pleading
to Him. In Jesus’ name, Amen.