Sunday, November 25, 2012

Romans 4-7

Daily Reading
Romans 4-7

Daily Thought

You could attempt to not sin.  Benjamin Franklin tried, and recorded the effort in his autobiography, "It was about this time I conceiv'd the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection. As I knew, or thought I knew, what was right and wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one and avoid the other."  He made a chart of virtues: Temperence, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity, Humility.  He recorded his success (and failure): Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and "was supris'd to find myself so much fuller of faults than I had imagined."  In the words of the apostle Paul, "I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing" (Romans 7:19).  

Our sin is not just personal, but ultimate, against God our Creator, who made us in his image to be holy, and "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), eternal separation from God. So Paul cries, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24).  Good question.  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.(Romans 7:25; 8:1). Good answer.  

Daily Prayer

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. We worship You, adore You, praise You. But how, then, do we approach You? For we are not holy. Far from it.

By the blood of Jesus Christ, who bore our sins, we are made righteous with his righteousness. We may approach You, O God, with confidence, through a holiness not of our own, but through our Savior, our Lord, our God, Jesus Christ.

Amen

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