Thursday, August 9, 2007

Escape from Sin's Prison

We fall down
We lay our crowns
At the feet of Jesus
The greatness of mercy and love
At the feet of Jesus

We cry holy, holy, holy
We cry holy, holy, holy
We cry holy, holy, holy
Is the lamb

(Kutless - We Fall Down)

I have to admit that my failure the other night has reminded me how much I love and need Jesus. I need His joy, His peace, His presence in my life. After experiencing this for a while in my life I had forgotten how miserable it is to be 'me.' I'm not talking about the me He created me to be, but the me I am without Him. Romans 7:14-20 (The Message) says what I'm trying to say:

"Yes. I'm full of myself - after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary. But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time."

But Hallelujah~! "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." (Galatians 5:1a NIV)

1 comment:

Erica said...

So true! That verse, put that way, is such a good reminder that we are nothing and can do nothing good on our own. It is only Him living in us that brings forth good fruit!