Sin-Slavery-Obedience

~~~ Romans 6:12-18 ~~~ Psalm 124 ~~~ Luke 12:39-48 ~~~

Sin...Slave...Obedience...Grace

But thanks be to God that, 
although you were once slaves of sin,
you have become obedient from the heart...

Is it not the attitude of the heart
where you discover if you are a slave or obedient?
Sin makes you a slave to things your heart does not want to do.
Slaves have no control over their physical surroundings.
Slaves cannot voice their opinion.

A slave cannot dwell on things of the heart for too long;
for it is very painful for them.

Sin makes you a slave, caged by your own
 weakness and desires.

God, in his infinite wisdom saw how slavery to sin
would keep his chosen people from ever
reuniting with him in heaven.

God sent Jesus to free you from the chains of sin.
God did not want us to remain slaves.
God wants you to come to him in love and obedience.
God wants you to freely chose to come to him.

It is the out pouring of his grace into your heart;
this is why you can become obedient from the heart.

Slavery cannot control your heart unless
you give up and allow it.

If you are to be a slave then there is only one master
to whom you should answer...Jesus.
If you are to be obedient it is from the heart
 that you must take action.

If you become a slave to the Lord;
you must also be humble and docile.

If you chose obedience from the heart
then being a slave of God's is the visible sign.

Our help is in the name of the Lord.

Jesus came to serve and not to be served;
yet we desire to be obedient to his commands.

Without love and grace
radiating from the heart your
commitment to the Lord is nothing
 more than glorified slavery.

The bonds of sin have been broken
 so that you can chose humble obedience to the Lord.

The Lord our God protects and cares for you
not as a slave but as his beloved daughter and son.

Blessed to humbly
chose obedience to the word of God.

~~~Peace~~~

Freely Choosing Obedience

~~~ Romans 6:12-18 ~~~ Psalm 124 ~~~ Luke 12:39-48 ~~~

 

But thanks be to God that, although you were once slaves of sin,
you have become obedient from the heart...
Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness.

Historically we know that the practice of keeping slaves

 has been around for centuries.

Slave...a person who is the legal property of someone and is forced to obey.

Slaves were usually held against their will and worked excessively.

 

Recently there have been movies made about

the realities of slavery in our country...

"12 Years a Slave" being the most recent, which you may not

 even know is in theaters. It is to be released in most cities on November 1.

While this is not a blog about such topics it is important to note

 that slavery does still exist in our world today.

 

No matter what you feel about slavery, Paul speaks of it

in his letter to the Romans.

They could understand the concept of slavery

Paul, however, is turning the concept of slavery upside down.

 

Paul says what if...you present yourselves as obedient salves?

If we present ourselves as slaves, obedient to the truth

the reality shifts.

We have two choices...we can either be slaves

 of sin or obedient to God.

When we look back at our lives

where do we find the greatest presence of God?

 

God is most evident in our lives when we choose

to walk in righteousness with him.

We can choose to be a 'slave' to God's holy way.

 

Being in the clutches of sin is much like being owned as a slave.

The longer you stay in sin the more the sin holds on to your soul.

The sin begins to fool you into believing

that you have no choice.

 

We always have the choice to escape from our sinfulness.

Jesus paid the price to set us free...he died for that reason.

Jesus was brutally and publically abused so that we

could be free from the slavery of sin.

 

How can we be anything but grateful?

 

 

Grateful because we have been given the gift of grace to helps us.

We can be obedient to the call of holiness and avoid sin.

We must be vigilant, sin surrounds us on all sides.

Sin often disguises itself as greater freedom,

but it makes you a slave unto itself.

 

We are presented with good and evil every day.

Every day we must once again make our firm

commitment to take the path of the good.

It will be a challenge at times, but the end is so much better.

 

A freed slave is eternally grateful to the owner.

I would freely choose to be a slave for Christ,

but that is not how he wants us

to define our relationship with him.

Our relationship with God is one of loving freedom.

 

Blessings come in freely being obedient to God.

Praying for his protection from sin.

Praying for the grace to resist the temptation of sin.

The Ear of Your Heart

~~~Memorial of Saint Benedict ~~~

 

~~~ Genesis 44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5 ~~ Psalm 105 ~~ Matthew 10:7-15 ~~~

 

Remember the marvels the Lord has done.

 

The beautiful story of Joseph continues in the readings today.

Joseph could no longer control himself...

the familial love he had for his brothers and his father poured out of his heart.

The desire to be reunited with his father brought him great joy.

He was eager to once again embrace his elderly father.

 

When Joseph reveals his true identity to his brothers they are speechless.

They cannot begin to imagine how this brother whom they had  grossly mistreated

could possibly find mercy in his heart for them.

 

To me this is a wonderful example to how God

can turn all things into something good.

It took many years before Joseph

was able to use his position to save his family.

But it did come to pass;

he was able to save his family and reconcile with his brothers.

Joseph tells his brothers that what they did had always been in God's plan.

 

But now do not be distressed,
and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here.
It was really for the sake of saving lives
that God sent me here ahead of you.

 

 

What we perceive as negative may be exactly what God uses for his good.

For he truly can transform all things for his good.

We must pray for more trust and patience.

 

Joseph must have been just as surprised

as to how God used his situation

 to help his family

 as he was to have been dumped by his brothers.

 

His brothers were probably even more surprised.

They were most surprised by the compassion from Joseph.

 

Joseph was listening to God with the ears of his heart.

 

“Listen and attend with the ear of your heart.” 

“He should first show them in deeds rather than words all that is good and holy.”    

from the Rule of St. Benedict.

 

Joseph was practicing what St. Benedict adopted

as part of the rules for his community.

 

Joseph is a servant of the Lord.

He could have easily chosen to act differently.

He could have expressed anger and hatred toward his brothers,

but he instead chose to love them.

 

God loves us even when we do not deserve his love.

God loves us even though we sell our own soul to sin.

Joseph, sold into slavery through no fault of his own,

 was raised up as an instrument of God

 

No matter what our circumstances God wants to use us for his good.

 

Blessings come in trusting that God will make all things right.

And oh by the way...in his time.

Joseph had prepared his heart

long before his face to face encounter with his brothers.

 

Pray to be open to hear with the ears of your heart;

for this is where we will find joy.

Remember the marvels the Lord has done.