<html><head></head><body><div><div><div>Romans 6;1&amp;2<div><br></div><div><b>1. &nbsp;What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?</b></div><div><b>2. &nbsp;By no means! &nbsp;How can we who died to sin&nbsp;still live in it?</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>If we walk in darkness, we do not see what we are stepping into, or&nbsp;about to run into. &nbsp;If the light is turned on, why would anyone who can see intentionally step in shit, or walk off a cliff into thin air,&nbsp;instead of staying on&nbsp;solid ground?<b>&nbsp; &nbsp;</b><span>That is what continuing in sin, living in sin actually is. &nbsp;It infects us,&nbsp;stinks up our lives, and in the end kills us eternally.</span></div><div><br></div><div>Paul here is about to set&nbsp;forth the argument that we have now received&nbsp;the Light of Life, Jesus Himself,&nbsp;to deliver us,&nbsp;inspire and empower us to walk differently.</div><div>Christianity is not just receiving the gift of forgiveness, or the promise of heaven when we die. &nbsp;Christianity is a new way to live, a change of direction and purpose, and divine&nbsp;power to do it.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Our old nature is, and will always be&nbsp;deceived&nbsp;in the darkness of sin.&nbsp;&nbsp;When the light of truth shines, our old nature closes its eyes and lies to us, saying,&nbsp;‘You are alone, you are on your own, trust only yourself. &nbsp;Don’t let yourself be changed.&nbsp;&nbsp;Stay the same as you have always been. &nbsp; Obey your passions, desires, and the lies this world tells you. &nbsp;You can’t change. &nbsp;Remain in your hopeless&nbsp;lonely darkness.’&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>But, by God’s grace we have been given a holy, blessed death to such thinking and living. &nbsp;This death is actually a new birth into a new life of ‘faith walking’, listening to a ‘new Voice’, the Voice of God revealed in the Word of God. &nbsp;This Voice of God enlightens us with the Truth. &nbsp;He&nbsp;is now our dwelling place, our habitation. &nbsp;We live in a new way, clean, full of life, and love. &nbsp;We are no longer alone, our Lord is with us to guide us, and we trust and hope in&nbsp;Him more than we trust our own thoughts, emotions, or the lies of the world.</div><div><br></div><div>This blessed death, means death&nbsp;to trusting in&nbsp;ourselves, and in loneliness,&nbsp;stubbornly&nbsp;continuing to walk in sin. &nbsp;<span>We have Jesus Himself </span><span>with us,</span><span>&nbsp;His Voice, His light and&nbsp;</span><span>life giving&nbsp;</span><span>truth. &nbsp;He&nbsp;</span><span>comes&nbsp;to our</span><span>&nbsp;minds through His Word,</span><span>&nbsp;and the Holy Spirit confirms the truth of that Voice in our hearts. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span></span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Christianity&nbsp;is by following that Voice, believing Christ by Word and Spirit&nbsp;is&nbsp;dwelling in us. &nbsp;He is&nbsp;with us, giving us power to do what we could not do before, (say ‘No’ to old nature, with it’s old&nbsp;passions, and desires, and instead live (walk)&nbsp;in the power of His truth and His&nbsp;indwelling). &nbsp;</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Christianity is not just a story of what God in Christ did for us, it is a life&nbsp;lived now,&nbsp;believing that Christ by the Word and Spirit is&nbsp;living in us, and with Him&nbsp;we <i><u>can change</u>&nbsp;</i>(see, Philippians 4;13)&nbsp;and do what before in our loneliness and darkness we could not do,</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, we praise for the power to deny our old sinful nature and the callings of this world.</span></div><div><span>By Your Word and Spirit grant that the Light of Life shines ever brighter on our minds and hearts, and by that truth, we be changed. &nbsp;</span><span>&nbsp;In Jesus we pray, Amen.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Love,</span></div><div><span>Dad/Baba/Eric/Grandpa Pickle Pastor</span></div><div><span>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’sWord is our habitation, and we, broken-hearted, contrite, believing, forgiven, indwelt children are His.”</span></div><div><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>

Romans 6;1&2
1.  What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?2.  By no means!  How can we who died to sin still live in it?
If we walk in darkness, we do not see what we are stepping into, or about to run into.  If the light is turned on, why would anyone who can see intentionally step in shit, or walk off a cliff into thin air, instead of staying on solid ground?   That is what continuing in sin, living in sin actually is.  It infects us, stinks up our lives, and in the end kills us eternally.
Paul here is about to set forth the argument that we have now received the Light of Life, Jesus Himself, to deliver us, inspire and empower us to walk differently.Christianity is not just receiving the gift of forgiveness, or the promise of heaven when we die.  Christianity is a new way to live, a change of direction and purpose, and divine power to do it. 
Our old nature is, and will always be deceived in the darkness of sin.  When the light of truth shines, our old nature closes its eyes and lies to us, saying, ‘You are alone, you are on your own, trust only yourself.  Don’t let yourself be changed.  Stay the same as you have always been.   Obey your passions, desires, and the lies this world tells you.  You can’t change.  Remain in your hopeless lonely darkness.’ 
But, by God’s grace we have been given a holy, blessed death to such thinking and living.  This death is actually a new birth into a new life of ‘faith walking’, listening to a ‘new Voice’, the Voice of God revealed in the Word of God.  This Voice of God enlightens us with the Truth.  He is now our dwelling place, our habitation.  We live in a new way, clean, full of life, and love.  We are no longer alone, our Lord is with us to guide us, and we trust and hope in Him more than we trust our own thoughts, emotions, or the lies of the world.
This blessed death, means death to trusting in ourselves, and in loneliness, stubbornly continuing to walk in sin.  We have Jesus Himself with us, His Voice, His light and life giving truth.  He comes to our minds through His Word, and the Holy Spirit confirms the truth of that Voice in our hearts.  
Christianity is by following that Voice, believing Christ by Word and Spirit is dwelling in us.  He is with us, giving us power to do what we could not do before, (say ‘No’ to old nature, with it’s old passions, and desires, and instead live (walk) in the power of His truth and His indwelling).  
Christianity is not just a story of what God in Christ did for us, it is a life lived now, believing that Christ by the Word and Spirit is living in us, and with Him we can change (see, Philippians 4;13) and do what before in our loneliness and darkness we could not do,
Prayer:  Merciful Father, we praise for the power to deny our old sinful nature and the callings of this world.By Your Word and Spirit grant that the Light of Life shines ever brighter on our minds and hearts, and by that truth, we be changed.   In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/Eric/Grandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’sWord is our habitation, and we, broken-hearted, contrite, believing, forgiven, indwelt children are His.”

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