Romans 8:6-11 (NRSV)
Read Romans 8:6-11 on biblegateway.com
Verse 6To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. Verse 7For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law-indeed it cannot, Verse 8and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Verse 9But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
Verse 10But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Verse 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Devotion
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. The language of resurrection from the dead can sometimes lead us to think only of life after death. Yet this verse from Paul's letter to the Romans reminds us that the resurrection also brings us life before death. The Spirit gives life. The Spirit that animates us each day is the same Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead. In our prayers for healing, for the flourishing of our families, for justice in the world, we can rejoice that the death-defeating power of the Holy Spirit breathes life into each moment of our lives.
Prayer
God of life and hope, help us to know the presence of your Spirit, who comes to remind us of your resurrection promise, and help us to know that with the Spirit comes your promise of justice and healing for our world. Amen.