Tag: Battling sin

Morning Musing: Romans 7:22-25

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“For in my inner self I delight in God’s law, but I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

You’ve been there before. You knew the right thing to do in a situation. You further knew what the consequences of doing the wrong thing would be. But you did the wrong thing anyway. And now you’re facing the consequences. There aren’t many feelings worse than that. The right word for that feeling is wretched. Let’s join Paul as he concludes his reflections on the nature of our struggle against sin and the sense of wretchedness that brings.

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Morning Musing: Romans 6:1-2

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“What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

What should be the relationship of the follower of Jesus to sin? Obviously we shouldn’t do it, but let’s be honest: a simple “ought not” isn’t usually sufficient to keep us from it. We need to understand the why behind the should not before we’re going to wrap our heart and mind around it to a sufficient degree that it begins to have the kind of power in our lives it needs to have. Here in Romans 6, Paul explores this very idea. His treatment may not be exhaustive, but it is powerful. Let’s spend some time unpacking this together. 

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Morning Musing: James 4:7

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“Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

Have you ever felt like you were up against something you weren’t prepared to fight? Something you didn’t have the power to overcome? There are times we all feel like that. When it comes to spiritual warfare this is generally even more true. What power do we have to stand against the spiritual forces of darkness in this world? James offers us one here that is both simpler and more powerful than anything else the world has produced. Check it out with me. 

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Digging in Deeper: Ephesians 6:11

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“Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

This Friday, we are going to take a look at James’ contribution to the topic of spiritual warfare. He says that we should submit to God and resist the devil. The result will be that the devil will flee from us. Here, we encounter Paul’s even more famous thoughts on spiritual warfare. How does what he says fit with James’ words? Let’s take a look at this together and set a context for what is to come. 

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Digging in Deeper: Hebrews 3:13

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“But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Battling sin is a task for today.  We live in a world of doing the hard stuff later and the fun stuff now.  Battling sin isn’t fun.  It’s hard.  It’s dangerous.  It brings guarantees of success, yes, but also of pain.  And yet it is a task we cannot put off until tomorrow.  We must tackle it today. Read the rest…