From Paul's Letter to the Romans: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
"Not Guilty" are the words anyone who has a trial before a judge; From Paul's hand come those words to "those who are in Christ Jesus." This comes as Paul's way of explaining God's grace to believers. The Law had existed to point out sins and guide humanity towards faithfulness, and as Paul and many saw it, the law was basically about "sin and death," but in Jesus Christ, the law was fulfilled and life in the Spirit came to be the guide for us all. Through Jesus' example we are to live as people of the Spirit, setting our thoughts and actions of the things from above, not the things below. Paul knew that those who live guided only by the flesh will find themselves opposed to God and the things of God; those who seek to live by the Spirit find life and peace. And it comes natural to those who have invited God's Spirit to live in them.
My mornings usually start with a long prayer. In it I seek to worship and praise God, a time of confession and repentance, a time of thanksgiving, and a time of supplication, of praying for others. In that prayer I ask that I be emptied of me and filled with Him. I sometimes feel the need to invite Jesus into my heart again and again. I want my day to reflect my prayer; worship and praise, connected to God and guided by Him. I want my life to share with others life and peace as promised through this passage. I share this not because I'm perfect but because I am far from perfection; yet, as I said at my ordination, I strive towards it, with God's help.
PRAYER: Loving God, may I seek You in all things and in all ways. I invite Jesus and His Holy Spirit into my heart, mind, and body. May I live a life that invites others to come and experience the joy and peace that come from You. It is in Christ Jesus that I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
