Wretched 'rescued' man that I am...

You know, I'm always trying to reconcile my faith in God through my Belief in Jesus Christ with the reality of what is going on in my private life.

You know what I mean, right? That private life we all lead and hope no-one else can see too clearly. You have one, right? Of course you do....

Anyway, since we all have one, you may be like me.... I'm always running into my weakness and slothfulness and 'worldliness' and falling short of what I read in the Bible or expect to be as a Christian man.

I feel so guilty everyday, many times, every few hours, about what I am thinking, saying and doing in my actual life vs what I know I am called to be as an example of a Christian man.

Paul relates to this paradox when he talks about his private life in Romans 7

"23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin."

Paul, the greatest Apostle and self proclaimed 'greatest of sinners' admits that he has this same paradox. He reconciles his condition and proclaims that God, through Jesus Christ has rescued him.

Our Belief and faith in God through Jesus Christ is the only way out from our private lives. This does not mean, I believe, that we will be pure or holy, but that through our faith in Him we are able to practice godliness, self-control and, most importantly, empathy for others because we know we are all the same.... in our private lives.

We know that our rescue came from our faith in God through Jesus Christ, so we are forgiven and clean and equiped by His Spirit to 'put on' the wonderful attributes of God's spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, perseverence, godliness, brotherly kindness, self-control and to grow in the knowledge of God. And, Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1:8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are sinful beings, but it is the saving grace of God that has allowed us to get past our 'private lives' of sinfulness and to grow in the knowledge of God that we can ACT in love and hope and faith in this world.

Amen...

Love you all;