Romans 7:18
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells. For to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
Not a very popular admission in our society today.
An admission that nothing good at all is found in our hearts.
"He's just no good!"
We all want to present ourselves and be seen by others as being virtuous and upstanding people. We want others to think the best of us.
Romans 7:18 is the key that unlocks the journey to new life in Christ and in recovery.
The admission!!!!
Not a verbal nod to your current state of being and living.
Not a mental ascent to your so called "problem".
But that point where you stand at the cross roads and can either admit to others, and yourself, that you not only have a "problem", but you are the problem.
Romans 7:18 puts you on the level ground that every human stands on. The admission that you are in need of being saved. That is someone with greater power doesn't intervene in your life, then you are not going to make it. To admit such is what is known as humbling yourself before God. I find it very interesting that it was the Apostle Paul who penned these words in Romans. The Hebrew of Hebrew's. The Pharisee of Pharisee's. Who later called himself the "Sinner of sinner's". He was fully aware of his own sin/nature and knew that all he had accomplish was to cover it and couch it with a bunch of religious hoopla.
Now, with Christ as his Savior (and Higher Power) Paul can truthfully say, "Nothing good lives in me." Aren't you glad that the story doesn't end here? With an admission of guilt and a cry for help. Aren't you glad that there is an answer to our need for help?
Romans 7:24
O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God---through Jesus Christ our Lord.
There he goes with that name calling again. "Wretched man"....Not because of what he'd done...wretched, not because of bad choices or bad behavior. But wretched because of his sinful heart which produced the bad behavior. Proverbs 23:7 says, "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." That is the place that salvation changes...the heart. Oh, our sins are forgiven and we definitely have the penalty of sin removed and the power of sin broken in us. But God creates a new heart. One that is in tune with His voice and possesses a willingness to follow God. We don't have to know all the answers. We don't have to see the future. We simply have to follow.
Every day....
In every way....
Simply follow....
Step # 1---
We admitted that we were powerless over our chemical dependency---that our lives had become unmanageable.
Such is the seed bed that produces new life.
Why wait?
Receive it today!
God on you...
mb
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