What do we do now?

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?  Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.  For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin—  because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.  For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.  The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.  Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.  Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.  For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
It is the day after Easter.  We have had the celebration.  What now?   Romans 6:1-14

For many, we have been disciplined for forty plus days leading up to Easter.  We have spent time focusing on living as followers of Jesus. We have been reading our bibles and reflecting on scripture. We have been worshiping with others and living our lives as worship to God.  We have been praying and seeking a deeper and fuller relationship with Christ. We have seen and felt God at work in our lives.  Christ has done a work in us.  We feel closer to him.  Our trust, our love, our discipline to follow him has gotten stronger.  So now what?

Do we just go back to business as it was before this time?  Do we just return to the way things were before Easter and before the season of Lent.

I can't.
I won't.
I refuse to play church.
I refuse to just build up to Easter and act like I want to make Jesus my life for a few weeks and then return to an undisciplined, "what is in it for me", self serving life after Easter.
I refuse to go back.

Sure, life is going to have ups and downs.  Sure, there are going to be days that feel like Easter and there are going to be days that are dark like Good Friday.  There will be days that God feels close and days that God feels distant.  But, everyday I am going to seek to grow deeper in relationship with Him.  Everyday I am going to seek to live for Him.  Everyday I am going to seek to be disciplined to do those things that help me to connect to Him and grow.

The devil wants nothing more than for us to dress up, take pictures celebrate Easter with wonderful worship and think that we have accomplished the goal.  He want us to think that we did the Easter thing so we can go back to business as usual before this began.

This is the new beginning.  What we do from this point for is really going to be the most telling.  Will we live like Easter makes a difference?  Will we live the new life that it offers?

I am not going back.  I refuse.

In Christ's love and mine,
Doug