February 26

Romans 5:17 (NIV)
17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Probably one of my favorite verses in the Bible, this verse clearly communicates that we are different than we were before we gave our lives to Christ. Just like death reigned, and I think that death has had a pretty good grip on humanity, we reign in life! I like hearing this when things are going o.k. or when things are going good. However when things are going bad, and I need it the most, I don’t want to hear this. There is something reigning in me and it isn’t righteousness! This should be something that we confess to ourselves over and over – I reign, I reign!

The reason I reign is that I am righteous now because God gave me that gift! I am amazed at how many Christians consider themselves “sinners” and have the mindset that they can’t overcome things. “That is just the way I am”, or “I’ll never be able to change” are things people say that oppose the scripture that says that you are righteous and you reign in life. When tough times come, which they certainly will, let’s decide that we will be of the mindset to overcome since we reign in life and are more than conquerors.

Romans 8:37 (NIV)
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.