Month: January 2021

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Romans 6:12 I wrote yesterday of the spiritual transformation that is available to those who come to faith in Christ. As he was buried and resurrected, so we too, through faith, have been buried and born again into a new…
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We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4 I wrote a few days ago about how, when I’m down, I still remember the destructive, instant gratification…
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What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Romans 6:1 I wrote yesterday of the grace that my wife showed me in the repeated failure of my addiction. I spoke of how her grace…
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Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:20 Fifteen years of selfish, addictive behavior takes its toll on a marriage. Yes, I contributed to and invested good things into my relationship…
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For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Romans 5:12 In one of the few upsides of Covid-19, my son had an extended college break…
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Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned. Romans 5:12 One of the first things modern medicine teaches about addiction, is that we once viewed it as a sin (behavioral problem) and thus, we saw addicts as terrible sinners.…
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God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 Every addict, at one time or another, when faced with the threat of treatment, has insisted that he can quit on his own. I was no different. Despite the fact that I tried – and failed…
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We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5 When we see others suffering, it’s our nature…
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Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1 A few years back, while on a road trip, we tried to check in to our hotel, only to find they didn’t have a room matching our reservation. The guy behind the desk was apologetic…
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For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. Romans 4:9-10 I sometimes get discouraged with my persistent flaws. I still have an appetite for unhealthy food. I…
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