Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, . . . in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. . . . You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.

Devotion based on Romans 8:1,4,9

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Have you ever played in an arcade before? If so, you’ve probably tried a race car game. Depending on how much control you have, these games can be really tricky! Unless you have complete control, the steering wheel can be hard to handle. Just one little move, and your car can fly off the course!

Getting off course is something we can all understand. Giving in to sin can easily knock us off the right path, and sometimes it’s hard to get back on track. While it’s good to stay on the right course, we are tempted all the time to follow our own wants and desires. When we give in to temptation, we get knocked off course, and the devil is happy about it.

In our reading today, we’re reminded that the law of sin and death does not control us. Is it powerful? Yes, but we have the Holy Spirit living in us, being the driving force of our lives. On this side of heaven, we’ll mess up sometimes, and we don’t deserve anything good, but that’s not the end of the story. God sent his son, Jesus, to wash away our sins. When we feel like we’re about to go off track, we can ask Jesus for help to say “no” to our sinful desires. We can ask him to help us fight against sin.

God is so good because he gives us ways to stay on the right path. We can go to him for help, but he gives us other lifelines to help us in the fight against sin. We can go to church and Sunday school to hear his Word and be encouraged by other believers. We can do family devotions that help us grow in our faith. We can sing praise songs that help us keep our eyes on him.

When the devil seems to overpower us, remember our reading from Romans. The Spirit is in us. We don’t have the strength or power to resist the devil by ourselves, but we’re not alone. The One who lives in us has already defeated the enemy. What a victory lap heaven will be!

Dear Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for my sins and keeping me on track to heaven. I am tempted often to do the wrong thing. Please help me say “no” to temptation and “yes” to your ways. Amen.

The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire.

Questions for Younger Children

Questions for Elementary Age Children

Questions for Middle School and Above