Sunday 25 Jun 2023

June 25: Romans 6:1-11

Key Verse: Romans 6:4
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Devotion:
One of the things which surprised me when I became a Christian was how I changed; not so much in a physical way but my attitude to many things changed over night. I was in boarding school at the time, an all boys boarding school, so the less said about what goes on in a boys only environment the better. But my attitude toward everything changed and people began to recognise that and to respect me for the change!

This did not mean I was no longer exposed to the things boys get up to, and does not mean I did not still do some things wrong, but I would always be able to see the right way of doing things after they had gone wrong and that gave me encouragement to try and live a different life.

That all seemed to go to pot when I was introduced to a mixed system after moving to England during my final years of school. I did not have the small group of Christians I could turn to for advice and no longer had the prayer group who met behind the cricket pavilion to gain strength from.

But all through my varied life I continued to know I was different from the world because I was a Christian. This has played a very big part of my life in the last few decades as I have become more and more active in church and general Christian life. We do need to try and avoid the sin in our lives because it is those sins which take us away from God and lessen our resilience to the temptations which surround us. Grace gains strength when in a good place!

Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard to live as a Christian?

How close are you to a church where you can mix with other Christians?