Month: January 2021

I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. Romans 7:25 At the gym the other day, we did a warmup called the half-moon. I found it to be an amusing name and so, I made some semi-crass joke about it. One of my…
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Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:24-25 On a college visit with my daughter recently, I got up early one morning to go hiking in the mountains. Out there, alone in the wind, looking down on the…
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Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Romans 7:24 When I’m really trying to eat healthy – like I am now – I use a calorie counting app on my phone, which can be an effective tool to keep me accountable. Often, I’ll eat a breakfast of one…
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I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Romans 7:22-23 Twenty years ago, I daily watched a particular cable news show in…
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Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. Romans 7:20 It’s not uncommon for the addict to blame his behavior on some struggle in an effort to relieve himself of responsibility. The addict in fact, often does use chemicals to…
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For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Romans…
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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 One of the challenges of struggling with anything, is the feeling of isolation. Often, we keep our failures and trials a secret because we’re ashamed of the struggle. We…
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For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 Today’s passage makes it very plain – following our own sinful nature leads to death and destruction. Following Christ, however, leads to eternal life. It isn’t complicated, and it makes me wonder…
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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 6:21 Addiction, tragically, can and does sometimes lead to overdose and death. I once thought that this physical death was what Paul referred to in today’s passage. Though…
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For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. Romans 6:19 When my wife and I were first married and considered buying a house, the idea was daunting. Paying something off for thirty…
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