"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it."
"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."
Thought for the Day
Can you just feel the frustration that Paul is expressing? How many times have you thought that? "I know what is right and what I am suppose to do, but every time I am tempted with that sin, I do the exact opposite of what I want to do; I sin again. Arrrggghhh."
I know that I have said those words many times. There are two points that hopefully will encourage you. First, as Paul was describing, you are dead to sin, and alive to Christ. Sin has NO power over you anymore. The connection to this power is the Holy Spirit, you received this amazing power when you first accepted Christ. All you need to do is to activate Him. Pray Him into your day each morning. Verse 8:26 Pretty much captures the essence of it: "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."
The second point lies in verses 8:5-8. What are you inputting into your body and mind? You have heard them say, "You are what you eat". The same holds true to what you focus your mind on. Are you reading magazines that are not worth your time to read? Are you watching TV shows that you know in your heart are not right? Are you looking at filth on the internet? If you are putting these images into your mind and you wonder why you are having a hard time not sinning???
One suggestion I have; is I picture Christ right next to me (Which He really is), and if I would feel ashamed looking at that image, if Christ was sitting next to me, then I should not be looking at that image!
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