2026 Lent Devotions
Wednesday, March 18
Romans 8:6-11
6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed, it cannot, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, then the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
“… 6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. …”
Paul’s argument centers around the difference between things of the world and things of the Spirit. For him, that which is of the “flesh” is worldly – adopting and living according to worldly standards. Setting the mind on the Spirit is to act and live according to God’s will. In other words, one lives either to the flesh or to the Spirit. There is no middle ground.
Of course, most would argue that we all live in the “middle ground” between what the world says and what the Lord says. Martin Luther talked about having one foot in the kingdom of God and one foot in the kingdom of this world. We are caught in the midst which creates the continuing conflict. We are, as Luther said, simultaneously saint (justified by God’s grace) and sinner (turned away from God).
Living like this means that we are constantly in need of God’s grace. Knowing that leads us again and again to the altar where we confess our sinfulness and receive God’s forgiveness. Therein lies the hope we all share – our need for God. The recognition of the very sin that turns us away from God simultaneously leads us back to Christ and his salvation where we find the life and peace we seek.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for continuing to beckon me to the salvation You have given us through Jesus Christ. Amen.