Devotion for January 20, 2013

Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. **Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.** Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
(Romans 6:8-12)

Have you ever done a budget? I hope you have, but even if you haven’t you’ve probably “reckoned”. To “reckon” means to take into account.

Think of it this way: A friend calls you and asks, “Want to go to a movie with me?”. You take a moment to think about when you got paid last, what you’ve spent since then, and how much you have in your bank account. After a moment of thinking you say, “Yeah let’s go” or “I wish I could, but…”. In that moment of thinking you were reckoning. You were taking into account everything that you knew about your finances to make a decision.

Paul takes the first few chapters of Romans to explain what God has done for those who are “in Christ.” In the same way that death no longer has dominion over Jesus Christ (He rose from the dead on His own power!), we must “reckon” that sin no longer has control of us. We are dead to sin, and alive to God.

So today as you face temptation take a moment to reckon.

• My sin drove Jesus to the cross.
• I have the Holy Spirit inside me helping me to fight temptation.
• I have the resource of prayer to talk to God about what I’m facing.
• I am in Christ and in the same way He conquered death, He can help me to conquer this temptation.

If you’ve accepted Christ as your Savior you don’t have to give in to that temptation. Say out loud, “I am dead to sin and alive to God!”