1) God grants a wonderfully freeing, fully permanent declaration in the opening words of Romans 8. No more shame. No fear of condemnation. Both are radically erased because the One we have offended with our sin has freely forgiven us! The sticking point is two-fold. First, this gift of freedom remains entirely inaccessible if we have not recognized our own sin to the Holy God, repented of it, and chosen to trust Christ to rescue us from permanent death and separation from God. Second, if we have indeed been made free in Christ, the temptation to believe a lie seems to follow us like our shadow. The lie? That we aren’t really freed from shame, that we still, somehow, owe God and should therefore beat ourselves up for our past sin. Can you relate like I can?! Let’s refuse to let our enemy continue to have a foothold here! Name that place where you most often find yourself falling into the trap of shame and guilt from sins you’ve already been forgiven from and pray persistently over these. Lay hold of truth and carry it with you in place of shame! “If the Son sets you free, you really will be free!” (John 8:36)

2) Either we live according to flesh or according to Spirit. We cannot please both simultaneously; it is impossible. On Wednesday, Marietta helped us understand we must all make a personal decision to follow Jesus for ourselves. Our default position before God is not goodness, but an inherited sin nature that rejects God and rebels against Him. Thankfully, what is impossible for us and our natural sin nature, is possible with God when He puts His new nature inside of us! All believers, those who have been made new in Christ, have certain areas of life where we struggle more than others to surrender to God’s nature over our own. In the span of 3 verses in Romans 8, we find the phrase “mindset” used five times! The key to overcoming our areas of struggle is to surrender to the Spirit’s activity in us, and take up His mindset, which is entirely renewed and different from our sin-nature mindset. Think about the character of God, really pause to do this! Look up some passages to help like Philippians 4:8-9, Psalm 86:5, 15, and 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. As you consider His heart, His “mindset”, turn your thoughts to your areas of struggle and your old mindset of approaching them. See the difference?! Ask the Lord to renew your mind! (Romans 12:1-2)

3) I once heard a story of an orphan child who had lived for most of his young life in severe poverty and food insecurity. This child was adopted into a loving and secure family, where there was no question about the source of the child’s next meal. He was fully provided for. However, he would often take food from the kitchen and hide it in his room, keeping it secure for himself. Even though his entire situation had changed, his attitudes and behaviors were still in accordance with his previous insecurity. For those of us who have come to the place of belief in Christ, repenting of our sins, and trusting in Him to give us new life, we are like that adopted orphan. We no longer need to worry about our security, but we often act like we are still in spiritual poverty. When we sin, we are living according to our old manner of life, but when we walk by the Spirit and set our minds on things above, we are operating in our new identity as children of God. Colossians 3:12-17 give us one picture of what our new life in Christ can look like. Write out these verses and post them somewhere you will see them frequently. Set your mind on things above by reading and contemplating these verses and by applying them to situations in your daily life.