Saturday January 29, 2011

The Daily Battle of Sin

Romans 7:14-25

¹⁴ So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good.  The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.  ¹⁵ I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it.  Instead, I do what I hate.  ¹⁶ But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good.  ¹⁷ So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

 ¹⁸ And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  I want to do what is right, but I can’t.  ¹⁹ I want to do what is good, but I don’t.  I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.  ²⁰ But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

 ²¹ I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.  ²² I love God’s law with all my heart.  ²³ But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind.  This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.  ²⁴ Oh, what a miserable person I am!  Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?  ²⁵ Thank God!  The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.  So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

I have realized the enemy knows each one of our weaknesses for that moment in our life and at that second.  The enemy knows the things we used to battle and the things that we are now ultra sensitive to.  Normally these are not the things he uses to draw us away from God.  He is cunning and creeps back in slowly.  

Yesterday, I wanted to be patient but wasn't.  I didn't want to get angry but did.  It was subtle enough but also big enough to pull me away from sharing Jesus' Love in a perfect opportunity.  I missed an opportunity to show patience and be slow to anger.  I often get frustrated and ask myself why do I do the things I hate?  

Reading this scripture this morning helped me realize that I should continue to hate the things that cause me not to Glorify God, but also remember that it is the sin within my nature that our bodies are a slave to.  This doesn't give us a free pass, not follow God's Law and sin freely.  We all need to pray that the Holy Spirit  within us make us more and more sensitive to the things of this world and let us see with His eyes, hear with His ears, speak with His tongue and think with His mind!  We have all fallen short, but Great Hope and Assurance is and always should be in our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ!

I want to thank all of you for your support and starting your day with "God's Cup of Coffee".

P.S. Please keep lifting Hailey Dunn and her family up in prayer.

Godspeed,

James Boening