NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Matthew 7-9
SCRIPTURE READING
1 Corinthians 1:30-31 (ESV); And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became
to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is
written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”Romans 6:22 (ESV); But now that you have been set free from sin and have become
slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
One of the incredible benefits of the cross is sanctification – the process to holiness. God
called the Israelites to be holy because He was holy. Peter reiterated that those of us under
the new covenant are also to be holy because God is holy. However we continue to fall
short of the Law, so we cannot be holy on our own. On the cross, Jesus brought salvation
when He became our righteousness, our redemption, and our sanctification. Because He is
holy, we, too, can be holy.
As we continue to walk in the Spirit, choosing each day to give ourselves wholly to God,
we will become more like Him. We have been given a new lease on life through Christ!
We are new creation! The more we seek Him above all else, loosening our shackles to sin
and becoming Christ’s slave, we will be transformed. The desires of the flesh will lose their
appeal as we grow in personal relationship with Jesus.
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1) Mediate on today’s verses. Spend some time worshipping Jesus for becoming your
righteousness and sanctification.
2) What does Jesus have that you do not? Thank Him for being those things, and ask Him
to grow you in them, too.
3) Ask the Lord to remind you of where He has taken you from. How has God transformed
you from the person you used to be? What happened? Thank Him for what He has done
in the past.
4) Now ask God for a picture: What is He doing right now? Where does He want to take
you? Which of your fleshly desires or your character problems does He want to
transform? Do you trust that He can complete the good work in you that He has begun?
