Today, we are going to take a posture of peace by being empowered by grace.
Posture is a short, audible fist bump to remind you God is with you in everything.
Together, we're going to be emboldened to take a daily posture of perfect peace.
Okay, listen to this beautiful truth from Romans 6. I'm going to be reading a chunk
of scripture today. We as a posture community have talked about the scripture before,
but I felt like the Lord was leading me back there today, so I wanted to share it with you.
Just lean back and soak this in. Be washed by the water of the word. Romans 6 verses 3 through 11.
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized in Christ Jesus have been baptized
into his death? We were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death, in order that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in the
newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be
united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him
in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved
to sin. For one who died has been set free from sin. Now, if we have died with Christ, we believe
that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never
die again. Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death that he died, he died to sin
once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you must also consider yourself dead to
sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. And in the middle of all that we have to get done today,
I want us to remember who we have been called to be. A great thought to have every morning
is that no matter how you go through your day, whether it's awesome or not so awesome,
God is absolutely unchanging in how he loves you. He's going to smile when he looks at you,
he's going to be joyful when he thinks of you, because he has only one reality. All he can ever
see all day, every day is the beauty of who you are in Jesus. That is his singular focus.
And it can be our singular focus as well. God is not frustrated, exasperated, or disappointed with
you because he's confident that he has replaced your old self with Jesus. Even if you're not yet
confident in that truth, you are a new creation. It's who you are. You know, sometimes people get
nervous when we talk about grace, because they think what is being preached is an enabling
gospel. They're concerned that people are just being enabled to sin more and not feel bad about
it. But the grace that we have been given through Jesus Christ is not enabling, it's empowering.
It empowers us to be dead to sin. It empowers us to be made into the image and likeness of God.
It empowers us on our worst days and on our best days. It sounds radical because it is.
So instead of being skeptical about grace, allow yourself to bask in the radicalness of this truth.
Jesus did not come so that you could be a better version of yourself.
He came to die as you so that you would be raised as him and share in the same relationship
that he has with Father God. You are walking today free, empowered, and totally loved and
accepted by God. And you can trust this truth because it's a relationship that God initiated
with you. You didn't initiate this, you can't initiate it. You can only receive it. So receive
it today. If you've entered into this new year wishing for a new you, you've got it.
You're a new creation. The old is gone. Grace is your fuel. It empowers you.
Condemnation does not empower you. Legalism does not empower you.
Self-righteousness does not empower you. Nor does perfectionism.
or pressure. Grace and peace are yours today.