Yesterday I woke up thinking about Romans 7:15, because I found myself in the same boat that Paul was describing:
As I continued to ponder these things, a phrase from 2 Timothy popped into my head: "having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof" (2 Tim 3:5 - KJV). I do NOT want to live that way. "God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid but a spirit of power and love and self-control." (2 Tim 1:7 - NCV)
I found myself thinking of a store manikin. It has the form of a human, but certainly not the power. How foolish to live my life as a manikin, when I can live an empowered life!
Father, thank you that you understand and do not condemn! And thank you for the Spirit you have put within me - one of power and love and self-control. May this Spirit guide each thought and action, Father, and break any chains of human nature that try to control me. May I do what I want to do - what you want me to do - instead of what I hate! I am so grateful for your love, Father! And this morning I am particularly grateful for the power of your Holy Spirit in my life. Thank you, Father! I love you.
"For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate." (NASB)It can be SO discouraging when this happens, but it helps to know I'm not alone in this situation - that even Paul the apostle experienced this! I'll admit that for me, this section of Romans is rather challenging to fully understand, but Paul says pretty clearly that when we find ourselves in this boat, it is not US, but SIN living in our human bodies that is the issue. And yet, isn't the whole point of Jesus death and resurrection the FREEING us from sin? The next chapter, makes it clear that if we are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation for this experience and that instead of focusing our mind on that, we are to focus on things of the Spirit.
As I continued to ponder these things, a phrase from 2 Timothy popped into my head: "having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof" (2 Tim 3:5 - KJV). I do NOT want to live that way. "God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid but a spirit of power and love and self-control." (2 Tim 1:7 - NCV)
I found myself thinking of a store manikin. It has the form of a human, but certainly not the power. How foolish to live my life as a manikin, when I can live an empowered life!
Father, thank you that you understand and do not condemn! And thank you for the Spirit you have put within me - one of power and love and self-control. May this Spirit guide each thought and action, Father, and break any chains of human nature that try to control me. May I do what I want to do - what you want me to do - instead of what I hate! I am so grateful for your love, Father! And this morning I am particularly grateful for the power of your Holy Spirit in my life. Thank you, Father! I love you.
No comments:
Post a Comment
This blog is simply a sharing of my "daily bread" - my daily walk with God. If something I've said has touched your heart, or sparked a new thought, I'd love to hear from you.