Man!.. why do I sometimes act the way I do?
O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death.——Paul, Romans 7:24
Just need to refocus on the living Word.. Christ ..cuz He has actually freed us from sin’s penalty. Yup, His Spirit frees us from self, from the power of sin, from Satan, and the old fleshly nature!
Have failed.. have stumbled before. I tell my wife that she's a much better Christian than I am. I blow it, like when I get cut off on the road. I haven't given the anyone half a peace sign backwards as is often seen, but I have sure felt like it. It's not a daily thing, but it has happened. Bad-dumb attitude.. so been there. O wretched man that I am--I'm not supposed to be a hypocrite! But I have acted that way before. You know after the first time of turning away from sin to Christ, repentance really needs to be an ongoing posture with me... cuz I'm still under construction. Ain't done, just ain't there yet. I have a long ways to go.
I am not proud to say, but I know that walking in the Spirit sure beats walking in the flesh! Wanna be ready daily.. and take preventative measures early so it's easier to do the former rather than the later.
Why be all self-confident or cocky like a proud cock towards others.. that gets into one fight after other with individuals? We can fight the good fight of faith instead and win.
How can you or I win over the circumstances of life, or even begin to win others if we can’t even get a grip on how to win over our old fleshly nature?
You’ve undoubtedly heard how centuries ago, some Roman emperors all about inflicting the hideous punishment of binding the corpse of a murderee (the murder victim) to the back of the person who was convicted of doin’ that crime–it was on the murderer until it rotted on his back, and on into his flesh.
The attacker now became physically attacked by the now dead attackee that he or she made that way (dead).. bringing a consequence to the sinner. It sends a message to all other would be attackers who would see this.. to leave innocent citizens alone and safe.
Under penalty of death, no one was allowed to remove the dead body from the condemned person–the soon to be killed person. I know this sounds so gruesome and uber-macabre a practice, but it does call to mind the words of the apostle Paul. You remember what he said in the Bible–Romans 7 don’t you? It’s as if something dead were strapped to him and that accompanied him wherever he went. How does one deal with that old person, that death giving consequence?
Jesus can. And the people of Paul’s day knew what he was talking about. His illustration was so fitting. Yes, for new Christians of every era who didn’t want and don't ever want to be brought down into defeat by that old nature with them.
The flesh says do what you would do—
Just be what you would be;
But Christ says do what’s right and true
If you would be like Me. —DJD
