Monthly Archives: December 2016

God Still Protects Israel

Isaiah 41:10-12 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ 11 “Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish. 12 You shall seek them and not find them– Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing.

I am about as anti-political a person as you will find. I don’t get wrapped up in any political jargon, discussion, arguments, nonsense, or to be honest even care. I am however dismayed by the poor leadership of most political officers; I do vote so that I may have the right to, and yes even sometimes express my opinion. My stance of politics is simple, and biblical, and many of you will argue as such. Many of you will argue with what God states throughout the Bible; that he sets leaders in power, and by his design removes them from power. No, the popular vote is not in control, and yes, I know many of you wish to argue that too. To boggle the mind even further, think of the idea that God is using your votes, your free-will as such, to accomplish his will in the eternal landscape; and yes, many of you will argue the glimpse of his sovereignty in that statement also.

Last night I learned of a supposed plan against Israel by our president in his last days. The more I read, the more it bothered me, so I withdrew from researching it. God woke me up at 3:30am with a burden on my heart for Israel, and he laid Isaiah 40 on my heart. I checked my daily scripture verse, which was Isaiah 41, and I knew God was clearly placing me in his Word there. I read in these two chapters of the sovereignty of God; of his protection of Israel, of his power and design, of his love and provision, and it reminded me not to worry, for he is in control today just as much as he was thousands of years ago when he spoke through his prophet Isaiah. 41:4 Who has performed and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? ‘ I, the Lord, am the first; And with the last I am He.’ “ I saw God’s promise to Israel, his promise of deliverance from their enemies, everlasting power and protection for eternity. I saw the power of God in the pages of time centuries before Jesus. Isaiah 40:21 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. 23 He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless. 24 Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

God spoke to me clearly as I read of the first account of the scripture we tie to John the Baptist’s proclamation of the coming Jesus Christ. 40:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. There is a biblical urgency of the gospel in this time; a call for repentance to those God has called unto himself. We must see clearly the world playing out with a biblical lens, sharpened by time in prayer and his Word to us. We must rely on God’s sovereign control over the universe, but we must diligently seek to share the eternal hope of Jesus for those who believe, and the Hell that awaits those who reject him. The days are upon us for his imminent return; are you living with that in view? Are you prepared for eternity that awaits? Are you sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ to those he has placed within your circle of influence? God applauds your affirmation, or begs to ask you why not.

The Universe and Your Heart

Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

I spent a long time this morning reading Genesis; deep into the sixteenth chapter I believe. I read of God’s creation, of man’s fall into sin, and of those who failed afterwards. I trudged through lists of genealogies (well somewhat anyway….) and I came to the passages of Enoch and Abram, and their relationships with God. There is very little about Enoch in the Bible, but his heart and faith are like none other, for he was (IS) one of only two people who never died, but went straight into the presence of God. The writer of Hebrews simply states, “he pleased God.” The writer then pens what is a requirement of pleasing God, to have faith, true faith in God. True faith produces a true heart for God; a true heart produces a soul that seeks God with all their heart, mind, body, and soul; that faith produces obedience, and that faith saves. Does true faith check salvation off a list? Does true faith rely on one’s good works, or lack of sins, or self-righteousness on any level? True faith does not……

If you spend enough time in your Bible, you will begin to see and understand the failures of many of the greats in the Bible. All their highs and lows are accounted for; these accounts show us so much of God’s continual gifts of mercy and grace; his level of love for his creation is unimaginable. Even Abram, praised in this context of Hebrews chapter 11, in Genesis fails repeatedly while being in the center of God’s will for his life. He lies about his wife, to protect his own life. Genesis 12:11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. 12 Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.” He was really “lucky” Pharaoh didn’t kill him after finding out, but Pharaoh feared God too much to take Abram’s life; Pharaoh had felt the plagues of God on his country because of Abram’s sin.

We all fail so much; so many times over and over again. Even Paul, the writer of most of the New Testament, struggled with his sins openly; again the Bible points us to the failures of those we might tent to elevate or worship so that we see they are human also. Satan takes our sins and turns the screws of failure down upon us. Only a humble repentant hearts pleas for forgiveness lessen the pain of Satan’s tools. If you will just draw near to God daily, in prayer and his Word, he will reward you justly. The reward is likely not measured by worldly means, but heavenly, eternal rewards that moths and rust cannot destroy. Live your life in this faith, that God was, and is, and shall forever be the God of this universe, and your heart, and you will walk with him one day in paradise forever.

More Important than Family

Luke 8:19-21 Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. 20 And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.” 21 But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

The Christmas season has past, and likely the families have gathered and gone. Celebrations, laughter, good times, and yes even stresses and strains are behind us. The holiday season brings us together, and brings out the best and worst in us. Family times bring both joy and pain, for Satan can always hurt us the deepest with those closest to us; he always seeks to divide. I lie there reflecting this morning on some of the highs and lows, and the highlight of mine was a stoplight encounter with someone struggling in this life. I was able to share the good news of Jesus, the hope of the next life, and witness God using me to encourage him. I was blessed deeply when I saw him again a few days later, stopping for a quick 15 seconds of encouragement, but seeing his smile encouraged me more than anyone knows. I would have honestly rather spent time with him this Christmas talking about Jesus, than my family exchanging gifts and small talk to pass the time.

What did Jesus say about his “earthly family” here? He said his family was those who obey the word of God. He said he considered the ones who put him above anyone, to be his family. We don’t get that; we don’t understand anyone being above our family. It is slammed all over social media; “nothing more important than family.” It is dredged deep in our society, deep in our physic, evidence of the deep power our sin has within us, the power to still place family above our God. That is biblically wrong, and Jesus points it out all through his gospels, the cost of discipleship to him. Matthew 10:34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. How does that line up with our statements of family about everything; how does that align with our hearts for Jesus above everything? Only one thing can be at the top of the list, or there is no first place in our hearts.

Jesus is not saying to not love your spouse, your kids, your mother and father, and anyone else down the genetic line; he is saying to love him more. He is a jealous God that knows your heart, and demands your heart first, for then you will love them as He loves them. You will love them in a way you can’t without loving Jesus more. You will have a depth that only He can know and share, a depth that can rebuke, and a depth that can edify, and depth that only cares for their souls, and not this Christmas season. Loving Jesus more than your family is truly what Christmas is all about, the greatest gift ever, and the only one worth re-gifting.

Your Lot

Psalm 17:14-15 From men with Your hand, O LORD, From men of the world, whose portion is in this life, And whose belly You fill with Your treasure; They are satisfied with children, And leave their abundance to their babes. 15 As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake. (NASB)

Yesterday at a stoplight, I came upon the second man in so many days struggling in this life. I never question their lot, or their motives, and what they do with my gift, it is between them and the Lord Jesus. I always tell them the money is in the name of Jesus Christ, and I tell them to honor it to him. This guy was really struggling, you could tell it was real, and then God stepped in and I became just a mouthpiece for him. You could see it in his eyes as the Lord encouraged him to live for the next life, no matter how tough this one was, the next one will be better. I don’t recall (a good thing) all that was said, but I could see the blessing before me, more than, and not really the physical monetary gift. I left him with a Merry Christmas as the light turned green, and I was on cloud nine as I knew God had used someone as useless as me, to encourage someone he loved like him, and me, and you.

This morning as I read Psalm 17, you see the lot of David, and how some prosper, and others struggle in life sometimes. I am always encouraged to dig deeper when translations struggle with interpretations of the text, it makes you dig deeper into God’s Word and rely on God more for understanding. The simplicity of the division of the text lies before me; those who live for this world and all it can give, and those who patiently wait on all that comes in eternity. David’s life was a roller coaster, but through all of it, David loved God with all of his heart, through all of his failures, David loved God. Acts 13:22 And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ God knows your heart; God assigns your lot in this life, and has predestined your lot for eternity. God always gets his plan, he is all knowing, all controlling, and with it all has combined a lot of free-will by his design, in a complexity that our limited minds cannot begin to comprehend. God knows your heart, and all that lie behind any ruse, any struggle, and truth you may proclaim. Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

When we begin to grasp the meaning of eternal, the life after this one, the problems of this life become much smaller. When we begin to grasp their are no political saviors, not one in history has not been ordained by God (not our election but his), we begin to understand Who truly rules. The problems we face in life, we begin to grasp He has a purpose for them, likely sanctification through them, and we can use them to draw glory to Him as a result. The fear of death leaves us, for we realize our immortality lies in paradise. What in this world can effect the outcome of the next? Hebrews 13:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Your lot in this life is ordained by God; live it as such understood, and point others to Jesus as a result of that knowledge. “It all gets better on the other side for those that know Jesus.”

Seasons of the Calendar

Psalm 3:5 I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.

In a period of only three nights, I have not slept from worry in a brutal battle of anxiety and insomnia, slept soundly awoken by the Lord and drawn to his Word, and this morning deep sleep then drawn by him to the Psalms and the book of Job reading about sleep patterns. I love how God works, the intimacy of his revelations of himself to us, of how we read in his Word the history of those before us with the same struggles and victories. We prayed before bed last night a primary prayer for good sleep, and God granted our request.

Job was in the midst of the most detailed recording of spiritual warfare that is given to us. Job was the one God has used in history to encourage anyone who suffers; to anyone who needs to see how real faith is when the time gets real hard. It is unimaginable the suffering of Job; the anxieties of Job, of how the misery did not kill him, of how he simply did not die from a broken heart. These anxieties kept Job awake, likely a many of a restless night. Job 7:3 So I have been allotted months of futility, And wearisome nights have been appointed to me. 4 When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise, And the night be ended?’ For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn. King David spent a season in fear for his life from his own family and others that sought to kill him. He spent a season of his life on the run, hiding in caves in the desert. He too understood God had allowed these things in his life, but he openly struggled and plead to God as we read how he poured out his heart to Him. During these seasons, under incredible duress, only the deep seeded inner peace of God can explain how David could rest, sleep soundly when the world was after him. Psalm 4:8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Our lives as we know it are similar to the seasons of the calendar. God continually allows seasons of change as the act of sanctification for our time here. The wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, penned in a book little read, a broad stroke of a picture of the sanctification of God in us: Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: 2 A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; 3 A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; 7 A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak. All we must do, to grasp a small understanding of how God works in our lives, is to seek him daily in prayer and his Word. These great men who endured great pain, still remained true in their faith. These great patriarchs show us that God allows it all in a blend of design we cannot comprehend, but can have faith in his Will for our lives. True rest comes to those that understand the words penned in Ecclesiastes, that our lives are like the seasons of the calendar.

He Moved First

John 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

There is no scripture in the Bible with the depth of this passage; the sovereignty of God displayed on a level that boggles the mind; a complexity that only the heavenly blessed grasp a minuscule glimpse of it’s understanding, yet with the simplicity that a even a child can understand, God moves first.

How can you begin to explain what God gives?
How can you begin to explain what God withholds?
How can you explain free-will intertwined with complete fulfillment?

There is both a complexity and a simplicity in this understanding. There is literally no way I can begin to explain one of God’s most complex statements in the Bible, uttered by his Son while walking his creation, before dying for his creation. The depth and understanding of this passage, is only granted by God, given by God, as with any other scripture. Yes…..I said as with any other scripture. If your mind is opened to the truths of any of the Bible, it is a gift from God, through the Holy Spirit living inside of you. Even the complexity that lies in the next verse speaks of that. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. God may use any means he deems right to open up the truths of his Word to you. He may use pastors, teachers, mentors, reading alone, etc, but it is always a given gift through the Holy Spirit that opens up your mind to his Word. John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. You even truly cannot understand the Bible, until the gospel opens your heart, and you respond to God’s tug on it.

We want so bad to see all our family and friends saved. We want so bad to share our faith with the lost, and that is a response to God living inside of us. Those desires are proofs of your salvation, and the lack of them is a proof of the question of it. That is a very big deal if you do desire for others to possess, what you claim to possess, what you may truly not have. But… we must understand we cannot “save” anybody, no matter how hard we desire or try. We must understand if they respond to our sharing of the gospel, it is God’s heavenly work in them first, and they are only responding to hearing our words of this good news. Every, single time, God moves first.

I see

Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.

I see a world so consumed with itself
That eternity is not in view.
I see people looking inward only
That sin among me and you.

I see the technology of evil
The phones constantly at our side
The evil lurks with us
In our hands we cannot hide.

I see the need for any news
The constant surfing of the space
The web has brought good and evil
Now for hours in our face.

I see lost communication
The broken texts we send
Our hearts for each other
The time we cannot amend.

I see the battle with our children
This generation will demand
This technology and both distance
A drifting generation is at hand.

I see Satan using these devices
To steal intimacy away
To make us forget relationships
To forget God every day.

I see us not having time
To open God’s written Word to us
I see the battle brewing within us
The archaic means seems such a fuss.

I see the Bible in homes
As God’s written words to each
Truly the eternal life’s lessons
Of what He desires to teach.

I see the need to slow down
To rebel against technology today
To open their Bibles and seek God
Each and every day.

For his Word will not return void
He will waste no time when you
Seek him wholly with your heart
I will see Him in you.

Why?

Psalm 73:23-28 Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. 24 You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. 26 My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 27 For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry. 28 But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, That I may declare all Your works.

How do you gain the peace of God in an out of control world? How do you slow down enough to rest, in a world that demands immediate action? How do you rest with life’s questions of the prosperity of the wicked while the good suffer? The writer of this Psalm asked the same question to the point he had to quit asking it. Asaph was really struggling with the world around him. He spent the first part of this Psalm pointing out the prosperity of the wicked, and how he struggled with why God was allowing it. 12 Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. 13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. 14 For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning (ESV). He struggled with understanding why he and other good people were having so many problems in this life; the “why of life.” Asaph began to ponder it deeply, and God spoke to him clearly; he had pondered it too deeply and was in danger of loosing his faith. 15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,” Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children. 16 When I thought how to understand this, It was too painful for me– 17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end.

How did he come to this understanding? How did he gain peace in his world out of control? How did he begin to understand within, the sovereign control of it all; God gave him a glimpse of his sovereignty because He saw the true desires of his heart. God opened his mind to understanding because of the humble nature of Asaph’s pursuit of God. God opened the doors to his mind through his heart. Paul wrote of these worldly stresses and worries, these mind games that draw our attention away from God. Paul wrote of how we are to trust God just as Asaph wrote many years before Christ. Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. God lets you go down every rough road you will ever travel. God lets the wicked prosper for a time here, and they pay for their mistake eternally. If God can speak a star into existence, the details of our lives are a simple task. Free-will and Sovereignty are a complexity that boggles the mind, and exemplify how great our God is.

The depth of your relationship and understanding of God, is measured by your ability to refuse Satan’s temptation of the question of why.

We Don’t Belong Here

John 17:16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

I had someone tell me recently that my writings have lost their joy; I replied I am not a joyful person right now. I am in a season of darkness, a season of struggle that God is allowing, with a purpose he has not yet revealed. It is maybe a mid-life crisis of sorts, one that has brought painful reflection, not the stir for a new Corvette. My mind constantly ponders, constantly reflects in this season, it is who I am and what I do. As we are entering into our 25th year in business, the business side of me has pondered into a reflection of half my life, and it has been a painful journey.

I am 49, half way through life at best, closer to the end than ever at the least.

My granddad died at 52, likely from the stress of running a small business. I have said I never wanted that to be me, and I am following in his footsteps.

I have nothing to show for investing half my life, pouring my life into my business, only debt, and the constant strain of employees and work related problems.

I have the strength of a 12 year old boy, when in my pride I was always physically strong, and could do whatever I wish. Now even the simplest tasks break me with pain and my inability to perform them.

I live in physical pain to the point I could be hooked on strong medication, it’s why I don’t even take Advil or Aleve daily, for I know I couldn’t stop. I cannot articulate how bad my shoulders and my feet hurt, every, single, day. My physical pain plays a major role in the battle of my mind, the depression.

The roller coaster of anxiety and depression is a lengthy topic, but God allows it, and I do not seek medication to change it; I tire of that advice. I know when I abide with the Lord, the battle isn’t there, it is won. When the world commands my attention, that opens the door for Satan to come at me with the battle of the mind. It is brutal, to the point of tears many do not see way too often. Our enemy is like a lion, preying on the weak. The only solution to this inner war is spiritual strength.

I am extremely unhappy with the place I used to call home. Our family farm is now the city to me, and my biggest desire is to move, or find a retreat in the country. I have been trying for about 4 years to find a way to escape Charlotte, and I will not give up. God wired me for the peace and quiet of the country, and the draw of the woods is genetic with our boys. I know this will help in the battles of my mind, and lower my stress, for I don’t like being home.

I have no church home also, and this pains me greatly. The one I used to call home, where we attend now. has too many painful memories, and I struggle with what I see, and mainly what I don’t see there. Sadly……..

Why do I share with you some of my real, very personal struggles? Because I am no different from you. Except……even in and through all my personal struggles, I do have the inner peace and joy of knowing my Savior, my Lord, Jesus Christ. Knowing that all I face in this temporal home, temporal life, is temporary, and my eternity lies with him in paradise. Knowing that all the battles that I face inwardly and outwardly have flowed through his sovereign hands, understanding he allows them, brings me strength to endure them. Knowing the battles aren’t there when I abide with him, which helps me to understand the importance of spending daily time with him.

You see, God has given me the understanding of one’s heartfelt pursuit of him. He has blessed me with the understanding of what is missing from so many of the supposed Christians lives; how can we call ourselves Christians, or even saved, if we don’t ever seek God with our hearts, and not the religion that Jesus condemned on Sunday’s alone? How can we think that our lip service, our Sunday time allotment, or even our good deeds and money will get us into heaven? THEY WILL NOT!!!!!

ONLY your heart, your true hearts desire and understanding of the grace God bestowed upon us through the gift of his Son, will open the doors to paradise for you. There will be many who sit beside you every Sunday, who you will not spend eternity with. The Bible demands belief and repentance; repentance is a changed life. A changed life begins with time spent daily with him in prayer and his Word. You cannot remain the same person you were the day before, when you spend daily time in God’s Word. He will open up his truths to you, and begin to change you from the inside out. Life will not be a pathway of ease, for you will become an enemy of the ruler of this world. But, you will also begin to realize, you don’t belong here anyway.

The Struggle is Real

1 Timothy 1:15-17 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever.

The verse fifteen of this passage haunts me….. I look at my life, my sins, and Satan bulldozes the path through my mind with the gravity of the sinner that I was, and still am. I look at the struggles I face each day, the failures before God each day, and Satan haunts me with them. I remember my pastor once saying, “If you knew what goes through my mind, you would never listen to me.” Satan continually hammers us with our failures, many times even leading us down paths of lies of the most painful sorts. He leads us by growing the gravity of our sins into things they never were; morphing failures into travesties, trying to convince us of unworthiness; the battle in my own mind is great at so many times, that I will not reveal it to those closest to me for their protection. Satan wants to convince you of hypocrisy; the level of that is only between you and God. God knows your heart, knows your struggles, and knows who and what lie behind them. Satan never wants you to remember God’s mercy, (withholding the punishment we deserve), he only wants to remember your sin. When I look at my life, I am amazed at the mercy God continually gives me, and only the love of God I cannot explain can explain the grace he bestows me.

When Satan hammers you, taking you down roads of defeat, remember the Apostle Paul and the testimony God built in him. This man lived a life of great sin, and proclaimed a life of God’s grace and mercy. This man persecuted the church, and then suffered a life of persecution. This man still struggled throughout his life; in one of his most personal accounts below, he opens up about his continual struggle, in his pinnacle writing to the Romans. Let the words of the man who wrote most of the New Testament encourage you, when Satan is seeking to defeat you.

Romans 7:14-25 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (ESV)