Complicated
By Brenda Wood | Author and Speaker
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Devotions | Friday, October 26, 2012
My friend likes to use big words like agfaltion. I am sure she does it just to make my headache. Before yours starts pounding, let me tell you that the Oxford dictionary says agfaltion is a cross between the words agriculture and inflation. It’s a fairly new word meaning the rising food prices caused by increased demand for agricultural commodities.
Now aren’t you glad to know that? You can share it at your next social event and sound quite brilliant.
Sometimes the Bible seems a bit confusing. Take this passage in the King James Version.
Romans 6:15-18-What then [are we to conclude]? Shall we sin because we live not under Law but under God’s favor and mercy? Certainly not! Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Now try it in the Amplified.
Romans 6:15-18-What then [are we to conclude]? Shall we sin because we live not under Law but under God’s favor and mercy? Certainly not! Do you not know that if you continually surrender yourselves to anyone to do his will, you are the slaves of him whom you obey, whether that be to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to righteousness (right doing and right standing with God)? But thank God, though you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you were committed. And having been set free from sin, you have become the servants of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in thought, purpose, and action).
Are we still a little muddy? Try The Message on for size.
Romans 6:15-18-So, since we're out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we're free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it's your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you've let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you've started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!!
Aha!
Prayer: Lord, Never let us say we can’t obey because we don’t understand what you say. In Christ. Amen.
“I believe Jesus is the answer to every question.” Brenda Wood is a motivational speaker, writer and author of Heartfelt, 366 Devotions for Common Sense Living. She is also a recovered bulimic who has gained and lost several 1000 pounds over the years! She understands the pain of overweight and the agony of life with an eating disorder. Brenda is known for her common sense wisdom, sense of humor and quirky comments.
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