My daily journaling from God’s Word, SOAP stands for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer. Today’s journal comes from reading Romans 6.

Scripture

“We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.” –Romans 6:6

Observation

This is past tense: Our old self HAS BEEN crucified. Sin has lost its power in a believer’s life. We are no longer slaves to sin. We once were, but no more. Christ is Master! Sin has no power over me unless I allow it to. I am free from sin and alive to Christ!

Application

BELIEVE THIS! Believe I am free. Just as the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves (later enforced by the Civil War), many slaves had been slaves for so long that they didn’t know how to be free. They couldn’t perceive themselves as free men. Likewise, many believers never EXPERIENCE real freedom from sin’s power because they don’t BELIEVE they really are free. Learn these truths. Believe them. Speak them. Pray them. Teach them. Step out in humble faith until I am daily LIVING them!

Prayer

Father, thank You that I have died with Christ. The old sinful self is dead! And yet so much around me–my environment, my physical body, my temptations, the world, etc. can tell me the old sinful man still lives.

I choose to BELIEVE Your Word and consider myself dead to sin.

And I thank You that over the years, this has become my experience. Thank You that so many besetting sins that used to dominate my life are no longer even a temptation! Thank You that You have been renovating my life and making me more like the Christ who lives in me!

I know Your work is not done. You’re still refining me and making me more a man of pure, holy love. And so today, I freshly offer myself to You as a living sacrifice. I ask You to refine and purify me.

And I pray that I, for my part, will believe more deeply the awesome truth: SIN HAS NO POWER OVER ME! I’M FREE! CHRIST IS MY MASTER!

Hallelujah!

To You be the glory! Amen.