FBC Daily Devotional – February 11, 2022

Well, a good Friday morning to you. I hope your week has gone well and you're looking forward to a good weekend. What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do this weekend gonna get outside in the cold weather and enjoy it in some way?

I do hope that you're planning to get to the Lord's house on Sunday and the gathered together with God's people and worship him and I know it'll be a blessing to you if you will you Make it to Faith Baptist.

We'd be glad for you to do that. At our Sunday Bible study at 930 again, dr. Eric Foreman who was trained in the field of anatomy and physiology. Also very gifted in the word. He's been doing a Sunday school series entitled fearfully and wonderfully made and just looking at some very integral parts of the human body and showing how The power and wisdom of God is involved in the creation and the forming and framing of our of our bodies.

They're doing that in the Sunday morning service or in Sunday school and then the morning service then preaching through this the book of first Peter and and that's a blessing as well, and then we do have an afternoon service at one o 'clock and Lord willing be focusing on The gospel of Mark.

Well, actually not this not this Sunday I'm getting ahead of myself. The following Sunday. We'll be back in the gospel of Mark this Sunday. We have our annual church Meeting and just be a devotional time and that meeting.

But anyway, if you can make it to Faith Baptist on Sunday we'd be glad for you if you're not in the area get to a church on the Lord's Day that preaches and teaches the word and Worships the Lord in spirit and in truth.

Hope you can do that. All right. Have you ever Have you ever kind of you know moped along for a few days just feeling responding to something in a way? I'm just thinking you know you were alone in feeling that way and in thinking that way and Then I was all of a sudden you came across somebody may maybe on social media or maybe a friend just happened to Talk with you and say man, you know I've been really this is what I've been thinking lately and this is how I'm feeling about it.

And and you your eyes light up you say really you you felt that way, too I I thought I was the only one I thought I was I thought I was nuts. And I'm not the only one that's dealing with this and and that's been that was an encouragement to you, right?

The Shared Struggle of Romans 7

Well, this is the way I feel about Romans chapter 7. So the thing that I'm going through doesn't Encourage me so much. But the fact that I'm not the only one is an encouragement. I'm talking about this internal conflict that Paul writes about here in Romans 7 that every Christian experiences and Paul describes it quite vividly.

He said what I am doing. I don't understand I don't understand why I do what I do. He said What I will to do That I don't practice and what I hate that I do and He goes on to say I know that in me that is in my flesh.

Nothing good dwells for the will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I don't find for the good that I will to do I don't do but the evil that I will not to do that. I end up practicing.

He says all wretched man that I am Wretched man that I am. Wow, this is Pretty common experience, isn't it? Can you relate to this? Many times of you Said the same thing. I I don't want to be thinking this way.

I don't I don't want to talk that way I don't how in the world. I didn't want to be like this. I read the other day about a A guy who was in local politics a local politician. I Can't remember where it was.

I'm thinking this off the top of my head now, but he he was at a basketball game a high school basketball game between a Christian high school and another high school and this politician guy got so irate with the Calls some of the calls that the refs were made that he actually left the Bleachers went out on the floor and started yelling at the referees and then when they tried to kick him out The guy actually went up to one of the refs and yanked down the guy's pants.

I Mean, wow, what in the world you talking about losing it? Well, then later, I mean he felt absolutely smitten and He wrote a letter of apology and a public he did a public apology and said this I am so sorry this I Something got a I got carried away and this is not who I this is not who I this is not who I wanted.

This is not who I am. This is not what I want to be like and so forth. And he's expressing the same thing. This is not how I wanted to respond. Something inside of me took over and I ended up behaving in a way that I don't I don't I despise All right.

That's what Paul is saying. Well, you can at least find encouragement in knowing that your conflict that you'd battle with inside is is not a Battle that only you face it is common to God's people and it is one though that only Christ Can deliver us because he goes on to say in verse 24 who will deliver me from this body of death.

Ah. He says I thank God Through Jesus Christ our Lord He will deliver me from this body of this death now this conflict and The fact that it is just going to be an ongoing thing until Christ finally delivers us holy and completely that could lead us to a sense of defeat and really, you know a dread of Condemnation.

Because after all and too often I end up doing the things I don't want to do and the things that I want to do I don't do and so forth that could lead me to dreading condemnation, however. This is how chapter 8 begins.

Because of what Christ has done and because Christ delivers me from this body of death. He says there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. I'm not saying that there is no there are no consequences or some of those things that we do that.

We don't want to do I'm saying that but there's no condemnation. You will not be cast away from God for eternity. You will not be condemned and damned and destroyed for eternity. Because of this conflict going on within you there is no condemnation.

To those who are in Christ Jesus he took that upon himself in your place when he took his place on the cross and died for you. Oh Listen, if you're a child of God today, I understand the struggle and we grieve over the struggle, but we are so grateful and I trust you are That there is no condemnation.

To those who are in Christ Jesus, thank God. Paul says for the deliverance from the body of this death the deliverance that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord let's Rejoice in that today and give thanks to God for that freedom and we do.

Thank you father. We do thank you that there is no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. Father our hearts often are heavy and grieve over this internal conflict that too often. We don't we don't get the victory.

We don't experience what we want to experience. But father we thank you. That in at all, there's no condemnation that we shall experience. We thank you for your grace. Thank you for your loving-kindness.

Thank you for your forgiveness. Bless now these thoughts to our hearts today we pray and we ask this in Jesus name. All right. Well, have a wonderful weekend, and I trust that God will bless you in it.