CHANGED

Snippet

The gospel is absurd and the life of Jesus is meaningless unless we believe that He lived, died, and rose again with but one purpose in mind: to make brand-new creation. Not to make people with better morals but to create a community of prophets and professional lovers, men and women who would surrender to the mystery of the fire of the Spirit that burns within, who would live in ever greater fidelity to the omnipresent Word of God, who would enter into the center of it all, the very heart and mystery of Christ, into the center of the flame that consumes, purifies, and sets everything aglow with peace, joy, boldness, and extravagant, furious love. This, my friend, is what it really means to be a Christian.” ― Brennan Manning, The Furious Longing of God

Scripture

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Romans 6:1-7 NIV

Song

Changed by Rascal Flatts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVnMsW5J7gM

I came up out of the water

Raise my hands up to the Father

Gave it all to Him that day

Felt a new wind kiss my face

Walked away, eyes wide open

Could finally see where I was goin'

It didn’t matter where I been

I’m not the same man I was then.

I got off track, I made mistakes

Back slid my way into that place where souls get lost

Lines get crossed

And the pain won’t go away

I hit my knees, now here I stand

There I was, now here I am

Here I am

Changed

I got a lot of “hey I’m sorry's”

The things I’ve done, man that was not me

I wish that I could take it all back

I just want to tell 'em that

Tell 'em that

I got off track, I made mistakes

Back slid my way into that place where souls get lost

Lines get crossed

And the pain won’t go away

I hit my knees, now here I stand

There I was, now here I am

Here I am

I’ve changed for the better

More smiles, less bitter

I even started to forgive myself

I hit my knees, I’m here, I stand

There I was, now here I am

Here I am, here I am

I'm changed

Yes, I am

I’m changed for the better

Thank God, I'm changed.

Sentence Prayer

God, it wasn’t so long ago that we were mired in that old stagnant life of sin.  We let the world, which doesn’t know the first  thing about living, tell us how to live.  We filled our lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience.  We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat.  It’s a wonder, God, that you didn’t lose your temper and do away with the whole lot of us.  Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, you embraced us.  You took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ.  You did all this on your own, with no help from us!  Then you picked us up and set us down in the highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.  Amen!

(Praying from Ephesians 2:1-10 Message Eugen Peterson Practice Resurrection Study Guide Pg 23)