Know ... Reckon ... Present

KNOW . . . RECKON . . . PRESENT

“knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” (Romans 6:6)

Many of us know that it’s one thing to celebrate Easter each year, and entirely another thing to live in the power of that resurrection.

No single passage of scripture better defines living in the power of Jesus’ resurrection than Romans 6:1-23. The Apostle Paul defines the basics of this new life we have in Jesus. We can discover the power to live in "newness of life" by staying in this portion of scripture until God’s Spirit makes it real in our lives.

Paul first tells us that we need to know something. In Romans 6:6 he tells us that we need to know that we have been crucified with Christ. The truth of that death to sin does us no good unless we know it, and most of us still don’t know it as well as we should. I suggest staying right here in Romans 6 until you know this truth in your own experience.

Then we’re told that we should reckon what we know to be true in our lives. Romans 6:11 teaches us that we need to reckon death to the power of sin and new life in Christ to be true in our lives. That word, reckon, means to "act as if it’s true" or "consider it done." Reckoning moves us from knowledge to application. Knowing isn’t enough; reckoning moves us closer to living in resurrection power.

Finally, Paul tells us in Romans 6:13 that we are to present ourselves to God. That word, present, means to yield ourselves to God. He wants us to understand that we choose to live in a new way because we have died to the old way.

Do you see the progression? We start with what we know. Then we reckon what we know to be true in our own lives. Then, we take what we know and have reckoned to be true in our own lives and present ourselves to God. We do so expecting Him to continue His work in us for the rest of our lives.

Know . . . Reckon . . . Present . . . that’s how we live out Easter every day of our lives. Those three words will make Easter come alive for you. -- Rev. John D. Strain is the senior pastor of First Baptist Toms River, and has been a frequent Freedom Fighter contributor.

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 23; Job 3-4; Acts 7:44-60

Great Quote: We must remember that our experience of union with God, our feeling of His presence, is altogether accidental and secondary. It is only a side effect of His actual presence in our souls, and gives no sure indication of that presence in any case. For God Himself is above all apprehensions and ideas and sensations, however spiritual, that can ever be experienced by the spirit of man in this life.