Day 6 | Faith That Shows Up

Scriptures & Overview:

Colossians 3:9–10
“You have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its Creator.”

Paul reminds believers that salvation is not simply about one-time forgiveness; it is about transformation. We are no longer bound to the identity and patterns of the old life. In Christ, we are being renewed into his image, which is a grace accomplished by the Holy Spirit. We cooperate with grace by surrendering old ways to the Holy Spirit and intentionally putting on the life Christ has called us to live.

Romans 6:13
“Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life.”

Paul uses the language of presenting ourselves or showing up. We either present ourselves to old patterns or to God. Grace empowers us, but we still choose where we will show up, what we will feed on, and how we will live. Grace is only valuable if we cooperate with it.

Ephesians 2:10
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”

We were not saved merely to avoid sin. We are new creations in Christ for Kingdom purposes: serving others, loving sacrificially, and participating in God’s restoration in the world. These are part of our calling as believers.

Devotional

Sometimes the reason our faith feels powerless to the world around us is because we have reduced Christianity to something private instead of transformative.

We attend church, sing our favorite worship songs, listen to copious sermons, and consume Christian content from our favorite Christian influencers, yet many people around us rarely encounter the tangible love, freedom, or sacrifice that marked the early Church and successfully imploded an empire dead set against them. Somewhere along the way, Christianity became something we believe instead of someone we become like.

The Gospel of Christ is radical because it turns the world’s systems upside down, not just to rescue us from sin. The Good News is that we are reconciled to God and restored into the image of Christ so that His resurrection life can pour through us into a broken world.

This transformation into Christ’s image begins with knowing. We have to know that the old self is dead. We have to know that through the Holy Spirit, we are alive to Christ’s ways. We also have to know that our identity is determined by who God is, not by our failures, temptations, family history, wounds, or circumstances. Colossians says we are being renewed according to the image of our Creator. God is restoring us into alignment with who he intended us to be all along.

Knowing alone is not enough; we also have to resist. Romans tells us not to present ourselves to sin. That means we stop cooperating with the old life. We stop feeding the things that once enslaved us. If we are serious about freedom, we cannot casually place ourselves in environments that strengthen old temptations. Here’s where victory gets highly practical: If we’re a former alcoholic or if it runs in our family, we don’t need to buy bubble gum from a package store.

Unfortunately, many believers stop at resisting. They spend all their energy trying not to sin while never fully stepping into the abundant life God created them to live.

That is why we must also present ourselves to God. Faith begins in belief but spreads immediately to active participation in the Kingdom of God. We present ourselves through serving, loving and sacrificing, discipling and being discipled, encouraging and correcting, giving and sharing, praying for others and receiving prayer, sharing in boundless hospitality, volunteering in our communities, and caring for the families right in front of us. Basically, we are called to live out the Great Commission Christ gave us in Mark 16.

The Bible says we were not only rescued from darkness, but we were also equipped for good works.

Grace is not valuable because it excuses us from transformation and slides us into heaven under the radar. Grace is valuable because it empowers transformation and refuses to leave us as we are. To accomplish this miracle, the Holy Spirit gives us power not only to resist the old life but to actively participate in the new one.

The victorious Christian life is not merely avoiding sin. It is showing up for the Kingdom of God and participating in Christ’s ministry to a waiting world.

Reflection Questions

1. In what areas of life are you still presenting yourself to old patterns instead of to God? Pray a prayer of surrender when tempted to do so.
2. What is one practical way you can actively walk out the Great Commission this week?

Prayer

Lord, thank You for the flow of grace from Your death, burial, and resurrection. Thank you for the forgiveness, transformation, and equipping You provide. Teach me to live from my new identity in Christ instead of returning to old patterns. Help me resist the things that pull me away from You and faithfully present myself for the good works You have prepared for me. Let my faith become visible through love, service, obedience, and worship. Amen.

Devotional Written By: Cathy Garland