Good Day Passionate Youth Reaching Out, today is Friday May 20. My name is Grant and this is Start Up, helping you start your day with an upward focus.

Today’s scripture is Romans 6:15–19 (HCSB)

15 What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! 16 Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey —either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were transferred to, 18 and having been liberated from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. 19 I am using a human analogy because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to moral impurity, and to greater and greater lawlessness, so now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification.

What is Grace? Does being on the receiving end of God’s grace give us proper license to sin? Some people see Grace as God’s willingness to continue to forgive us, over and over again, for whatever wrong that we do. To be sure, that is an accurate dimension of Grace; God offers his forgiveness to us freely. But Grace is bigger then that free forgiveness, God’s grace is meant to help us be right and holy in our actions every day.

Jesus did not die on the cross simply to forgive you, he also died and rose again to redeem your original calling and purpose in life. We are created to know and to love God, and to make known his goodness and salvation in this world. How are we going to do that if we are abusing God’s gift of grace, intentionally sinning with a plan to ask for forgiveness when it is over. That abuse of grace does not bring God glory, it does not form our own holiness, and it does not help this world know of God’s goodness or salvation.

Instead of abusing grace we need to take Paul’s advice here. Don’t be a slave to sin, instead became a slave to righteousness. Don’t give sin any sort of a say in your life, because righteousness is the one calling the shots. And then, in places where you fail, and in times where you come up short of God’s standard, there is God’s grace, offering you forgiveness and help to make you right and holy, letting this world see God’s love and goodness through your life.

The Challenge for this week is to Examine your heart. What are the things that your heart is drawn to? Would you say that your heart is pure? More importantly, would God say that your heart is pure. I challenge you to examine your heart, and to also pray and ask God to examine your heart. See if there are any sinful ways in you, and then in those areas repent and ask for forgiveness.

There is no Friday youth event because of the May Long Weekend. I invite everyone to come to our Church services at 9:30 or 11:00 this Sunday at Hawkwood Baptist Church.

If you want to find out more about our youth group, you can find us online at hbcyouth.ca. We are also on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, just search for Hawkwood Youth.

https://www.facebook.com/HawkwoodYouthPYRO/

https://twitter.com/HawkwoodYouth

https://www.instagram.com/hawkwoodyouth/