WHY SIN WINS

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  Romans 7:15

If someone asked me the question, “Would you like to be like Jesus today?” I would say yes.  That is the deepest desire of my heart.  So what happens when my desire is overridden by my next sin?  Was my intent just not strong enough?   Continue reading “Why Sin Wins” →

FALLS LIKE A SWORD, THEN SAVES

It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.  Roman 7:13

Scriptures, without application, do nothing for me.  It was the Word, falling like a sword, that opened my heart to the awareness that I was a sinner.  The Word exposed my heart, made me take a look in God’s mirror, and showed me the way home to His heart.

“People perish for lack of knowledge,” Hosea said.  My journey into the Word, who is Christ, had only just begun when I became a Christian.  Continue reading “Falls Like A Sword, Then Saves” →

LIVING AT ARMS LENGTH

But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.  Romans 7:6

“Your mother died.” When I heard those words spoken by my father, my whole world rocked.  The life drained out of me at the implication.  My next questions were, “How?” and “When?” And yet the words, “Jesus died!” can have so little meaning.  Jesus, the One I say I love more than anyone else.

Two days ago, here in Athens, Georgia where I live, a group of men stole a car and put the driver of the car in the trunk, who was able to escape out of it while the car stopped at a red light.  Continue reading “Living At Arms Length” →

AFTER ALL IS SAID AND DONE – IT’S BEAUTIFUL!

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.  Romans 7:4

Let’s not miss the forest for the trees!  After all the delicate study of law, works, grace, abundant life, sanctification and justification, it boils down to this ~ I belong to someone else now and the effect of that is changing my life everyday, forever.

Ever feel like an orphan?  You wonder where you belong.  Who will fully embrace you?  Continue reading “After All Is Said And Done, It’s Beautiful!” →

WHAT HAPPENED TO PASSION?

For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.  Romans 7:5

Passion can be evil.  It can also be good.  It is a neutral thing.  When I became aware of the law (the moral code of what is good and bad), my passion was ignited to break the rules.  Tell a child not to do something and rebellion is ignited.  Passionately, I wanted to do what was not good for me.  Satan knew how to prepare sin’s party so that it looked inviting; looked like it was tailor-made for me. Continue reading “What Happened To Passion?” →

DEATH TO THE LAW

Or do you not know, brothers ~ for I am speaking to those who know the law ~ that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives?  You have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.  Romans 7:1,4

Each person has been born under the burden of moral law.  I have a conscience.  I know when I’ve sinned.  Embarrassed, I hide my sins and failures.  I know that I’m deeply flawed, evidenced by my early discomfort around God.  This moral code is binding.  The bar is set so high that there is no way I can possibly live up to it.  Nevertheless, I tried.  I hid my sins and flaunted self-righteous attempts to look good to others and God.  It didn’t work. Continue reading “Death To The Law” →

STRIVING

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 6:23

I learned this verse as a small child.  Did you?  I was taught that this was the Gospel in a nutshell, the foundation of salvation by faith.  But like many things I memorized, the beauty and meaning was absent until I lived a lot more life.

This verse alone is the reason many people ignore the scriptures and the revelation of God in nature.  Their personal theology is this.

My sin earns me death.

My righteousness (good deeds) earns me life in heaven.

If they believe in God, the spend their life trying to tip the balance of the scales on the righteousness side.  All their striving has to earn them something in the eyes of a loving God, right?  But God’s theology is this:

Your sin earns you death.

Your righteousness earns you death. Continue reading “Striving” →

THE OTHER SIDE OF REGRET

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.  Romans 6:22

Yesterday’s devotional prompted a lot of you to write to me.  Regret was a powerful topic and most of you expressed why you struggle with it.  You are not having trouble moving on for your own sake, but for the sake of those you hurt.  The consequences of past choices are ever in front of you in the lives of family and friends who are still paying for your bad choices. Continue reading “The Other Side of Regret” →

IF ONLY I COULD GO BACK

But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed?  For the end of those things is death.  Romans 6:20

What are the things you regret?  Regret is a powerful emotion and if I choose to live in it without having placed all my hopes in a God who redeems, I will become depressed and withdrawn.  There were words spoken that I can’t take back.  There were a series of selfish acts that seemed so small at the time but yielded great pain for those around me.  That is the cruelty of sin; what looked like no big deal led me to do it a second time, then a third, and it wasn’t long before guilt became my ever constant companion.  I have thought many times, “If only I could go back and do it right!” Continue reading “If Only I Could Go Back” →

WHEN I DON’T WANT TO

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.  Romans 6:14

For years, I numbed out to Christian realities like sin and grace.  I knew how they were both defined and I believed I understood them.  However, I had no knowledge of the limitless expanse of sin within myself and the unfathomable expanse of grace within Christ.

I was like a patient who feels mildly ill, goes to the doctor, and just wants a pill for whatever is wrong; not wanting to know how sick they are nor what disease they have. I treated sin like that.  I had a vague sense that I was a sinner but didn’t understand how serious it was.  I was completely unacquainted with myself through the mirror of the Word. Continue reading “When I Don’t Want To” →