I Blew It Already
I BLEW IT ALREADY
Read Romans 7:15-25.
Emma took her pen and wrote carefully on a piece of paper, “I resolve never to fight with my brother, David, again.” Then she taped the paper on her bedroom door so she wouldn’t forget what she had written. All went well for two hours—until David came home! “You dummy,” he yelled at Emma. “You were riding my bike, weren’t you?”
“I was not!” Emma yelled back at him.
“You were too!” screamed David.
Emma screamed even louder. “Oh, yeah? Just try proving it!”
Later, Emma was discouraged. “I promised myself never to fight with David again, and already I broke my promise,” she told Mom. “It’ll never work, so why bother trying?”
“You sound like the apostle Paul,” said Mother. “In Romans 7 he wrote that he often did things he knew were wrong and didn’t do things he knew were right. He knew it was because his old sin nature was still active within him.”
“What did Paul do about it?” Emma asked.
“He understood that we can’t do what’s right without Jesus’ help,” Mom replied. “You see, honey, saying that you will never fight with David again doesn’t work if you try to do it in your own strength. You and David are both human. Instead of saying, ‘I will never fight with my brother,’ why not try doing something nice for him each day? I think the end result will be less fighting as well.”
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Do you set impossible goals for yourself, such as “I’ll never be bad again”? We all have a sin nature within us. Even Christians don’t do what is right all the time. Recognize that you cannot make a change in your life without the Lord’s help. Be positive in your goals, make sure they are reasonable, and rely on Jesus to help you achieve them.
TO MEMORIZE:
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1
CHANGE COMES THROUGH THE LORD.
From the book
