Bearing the Character of Christ
Sunday’s Verse:
From Romans 13:15 ESV
“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Paul’s words in Romans 13:15 are not a summons to anxious self-improvement but a call to live already as people who belong to the day. The Christian does not wake up each morning and invent holiness from scratch; rather, the baptized are clothed with Christ, and that new identity shapes the whole life of the believer.
This is deeply Lutheran. We are not justified by our works, our moods, or our religious performance, but by Christ alone. Yet the gospel never leaves us unchanged: the Lord who forgives also teaches us to walk in love, sobriety, and service toward the neighbor.
Romans 13 reminds us that the life of faith is lived in the ordinary places of daily vocation. In the home, at work, in the congregation, and in the wider community, Christians are called to bear the character of Christ by doing what is good, loving what is true, and resisting the darkness that distorts God’s gifts.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus Christ, guard my heart from hatred and my tongue from strife. Teach me to love as You have loved me, to speak truth without contempt, and to seek peace even when I disagree. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
The photo today was created by Gemini.