Jesus Thoughts …

  • “I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.” (Romans 7:22-23, NLT)

    You have a war inside of you that will rage for your entire life between who you used to be and who you’ve become in Jesus Christ. Even Paul, the most decorated missionary in the history of Christianity and the author of most of the New Testament, battled with it.

    The Bible says in Romans 7:22-23, “I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me” (NLT, second edition).

    I hate to tell you this, but you’ll always have this battle. You’ll never outgrow it. You can’t read enough Scripture to make the temptations go away. You can’t hide from them.

    Until you get to Heaven, you’re stuck with an all-out battle between your two natures. I’ve been a believer for a long time, but my old nature is still there. My old nature wants me to be prideful, lustful, self-centered, deceptive, and downright sinful sometimes.

    You have the same old nature, always trying to get the best of you. The question is, what are you going to do about it?

    Willpower won’t solve the problem. Just because you want to change and put everything into making that change doesn’t mean you’ll make the change. It may work for a bit, but you’ll get tired and stop the effort.

    In your spiritual walk, you have to choose to follow your new nature, meaning you choose not to follow your old nature. For instance, if you’re tempted with lust but you immediately remove yourself from the temptation, you’ll starve the old self. If, when you’re tempted with pride, you remember your dependence upon God, your old nature can’t last long.

    You have to make choices — maybe a hundred a day — to put the old nature aside and follow your new nature that is becoming like Jesus Christ.

    Prayer

    Lord, help me to set aside my old nature of sin, and give me Your peace and strength to follow my new self as a child belonging to You. And for the times I fail, I ask You to give me Your mercy and love to lead me back to the right path. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

    Stay encouraged!

    Pastor Mike


From the Past Week …

  • Devotion for March 26, 2024

    “Paul devoted himself … to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. But when they … became abusive, he … said … ‘From now on I will go to the Gentiles.’” (Acts 18:5-6) The apostle Paul had become God’s “chosen instrument to proclaim [Jesus’] name to the Gentiles and their kings and…

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  • Devotion for March 25, 2024

    “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8, NIV) We lie to ourselves all the time: “I haven’t gained any weight.” “I’m not hurting anyone.” “No one even noticed.” But one lie is more dangerous than most: “It’s not really a problem.” We…

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  • Devotion for March 24, 2024

    “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7) To live in Ephesus meant being surrounded by the worship of false gods. The temple to Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The…

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  • Devotion for March 23, 2024

    “Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.” (Hebrews 12:1, NLT) The most important word to remember for your spiritual journey may be a surprising one: No. Your faith journey is a long one. Too many people start off well in their spiritual journey…

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  • Devotion for March 22, 2024

    “Gather to me my consecrated ones …” (Psalm 50:5a) In this psalm, God summons all the people of Earth before Him and addresses them: Those who have been faithful to their special connection and those who haven’t. To the faithful, He says he will deliver them (verse 15), and to those who have dishonored Him,…

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  • Devotion for March 21, 2024

    “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (Revelation 2:5) The Lord Jesus has the authority to reveal the truth and call his people to repentance. He stands among his churches…

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