I love Romans 8

When I was 20 years old I was both a morning person and a night owl.  I woke up happy and excited about the new day, in a great mood.  And late at night was a great time for me too.  I loved hanging out with friends, talking and laughing.  It seemed like I was always at my best!  Now I am neither!!  If I stay up late I am tired and grumpy.  When my alarm goes off in the morning I can hardly tear myself out of bed.

So it was this morning.  After a long weekend of sleeping in and enjoying leisurely mornings at home, it is time to get back to my normal schedule.  On the weekend I can stretch my morning devotion out and I can read whenever I want- I have plenty of time.  Not on a school day.  Today I have to get the boys to school by 8:00 and then I have a meeting at 9:00.  After that I will be distracted by laundry, lunch, and children.  If I don't get up early and seek God first, I won't find the time later.  So this morning my alarm went off at 6:00 am and I groaned inwardly.  My flesh didn't want to get out of bed.  Yet I was obligated to do it.  Something stronger than my tired body willed me to roll over and get out of bed.  A force more powerful than my own need for sleep took over until I was sitting on the sofa with my bible open and my spirit awakening.  And here is what I read:

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.  If Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.  And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.  Romans 8:9-11

And then I read verse 15 in the Message:  This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life.  It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?"

What a crazy, beautiful life I live!  My God has set me free from sin, death, and the law by sending His Son as my Savior and then sending His Spirit as my empowerment.  And now I live as a child of God, waiting eagerly for Him to show me the next step on my adventure through life.  It's not even 7:00 am and I am suddenly feeling like a morning person again!  I LOVE Romans 8!