Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Word
for the Day
February
- 23 - 2014
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Fall/Sin-
a violation of the purpose of creation
“When I want to do
good, evil is right there with me.” (v.21)
In Romans 7:15-20 we see Apostle Paul being very bold
about not being able to carry out his desire to do good. Paul also
confronts the fact that we are slaves to sin and evil is right beside us even
when we want to do good. As per Apostle Paul, “it is the sin living within him
that makes him do what he does not want to do.” This passage is a story
of our everyday life; torn between right and wrong, the battle of mind and
body, the wanting to do the right thing but constantly failing. Also in
verse 23, Paul talked about the war within ourselves that makes us the prisoner
of the law of sin; constantly making us guilty of wrong doings.
The inner conflict; the desire to do what is good and the
inability to carry it out seem to be true about my own life. We all struggle
with sin every single day of our lives. From the time of Adam and Eve evil has
been waging war against human beings. The temptations to sin are everywhere.
Like Paul said “it is the sin living in us that make us do what we do not want
to do.”
If you are burdened by the sense of guilt and believe
that your sin has violated the purpose of creation you can rely on Romans 3:23
“ For all have sinned, and fall short of glory of God and are justified freely
by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” The more we
get closer to God the greater will be our understanding of how sinful we are, but
we can take refuge in Romans 3: 10: “ There is no one righteous, not even one.”
When sin wages war within ourselves, constantly battling with our
conscience, destroying our joy and confidence, and when discouragement and
disappointment comes crawling in, remember the precious blood of Jesus Christ
cleanses and purifies us from every sin (1john 1:7). Apostle John states
that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9). Are we willing to
acknowledge our sin and the need for a Savior? Confession in itself is a
sacrament, but we need to do it with true repentance. Jesus makes us righteous
in God’s sight and we must accept it in faith. Nothing can separate us from our
God, but we must be willing to acknowledge our true state and seek help. The
price for our sin has been paid for and the bible says ‘if any man is in CHRIST
he is a new creation and behold all things are new’. Our past is
accounted and settled.
Prayer: Gracious and merciful Father, I confess that I
have sinned against you in thought, word and deed. Please wash and
transform me. Father, help me to live in the power of the Holy Spirit and
walk with Jesus each day. Strengthen us as we face trials and temptations.
YOU are our only defender. Amen.
Thought for the Day: May the
inadequacies of our lives and the conflicts within our conscience help us to
embrace our relationship with God.
Joseph C Mathew, Long
Island Mar Thoma Church, NY