"For what I am
doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do,
but I am doing the very thing I hate" (Romans 7:15).
Hey Gang: I did it
again! I promised myself I would never
do that again, but zappo, I fell off the wagon.
Did you every say that? Do you
have a tough time breaking old habits? It
is a known fact that New Year's Resolutions last about as long as it takes to
write them down. I wonder if people even
make such promised today. Do You?
You might not believe this but in my earlier years I
smoked. Yes, I really did. And then I got married and along came a
little bambino and I made up my mind (well sort of) not to contaminate my home
and family with smoke. So I quit, and
then I fell off the wagon, and then I quit and I fell off the wagon, and so I
quit and the beat went on and on. I
learned, too, that each time I failed I did not return to the previous levels
of the habit but in each case it was increased.
Smokes were sticking out my ears and nose and under my arm
pits - just joking of course- my conscious just felt that way. And then one day I confessed, "Lord I am
a bust, I cannot quit this habit that is taking money from my family (and at
that time cigarettes were less than fifty cents a pack), stinking up the car
and house and certainly not doing much good for my lungs.
After 189 attempts or so, I finally confessed to Father God
I do not have the guts to say no and break the bondage. Paul tells us the key to breaking bondages
is to "Let the peace of Christ rule
in your heart, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be
thankful. Let the word of Christ richly
dwell with you, with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with
thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks through Him to God the Father" (Col. 3:15-17).
I believe most would agree that Paul was one tough hombre
and was an example of what it means to walk by faith. But notice what he said, prior to telling us
that he found himself doing things that he ‘hated’: "But
I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.
For what I am doing I do not understand; for I practicing what I would
like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate" (Rom. 7:14-15).
Been there and said that! I have often sensed a little of
his frustration when he cried out, "Wretched
man that I am! Who will set me free from
the body of this death?" (Vs.
24). But he does not leave us dangling
he went on to declare "Therefore,
there is now no condemnation for those who are Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ
Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death" (Rom. 8:1).
Sooo, my friends, Jesus said “If you trust me I will be your
bondage breaker!” Tough? Yes, but keep in mind Jesus words, "Let your actions and words be yes, yes and
no, no for everything else is sin."
(Matt. 5:37) I could not quit cold turkey without God's
help. Now we have 57 different varieties
of little round pills, tons of mind games and a vast number of so called
bondage breakers but take it from al old salt, the only thing that works is
prayer and fasting and giving to the Bondage Breaker the thing that holds you
captive.
Blessings,
Gramps
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