Thank You, Jesus!

[dave c]

HEALING SHELTER MINISTRIES #131d Re-Written 22NOV08 http://groups.msn.com/AHealingShelter/welcome.msnw

Save Me Today—Part Four: Thank You, Jesus!

by rev dave c

Romans 7:18 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. 19 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. 20 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. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 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 (NIV).

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Some years back I heard a teaching on these verses that described a particularly nasty method that was sometimes used by ancient Romans to execute a person convicted of murder. The prisoner would be literally tied to the body of the victim, so that, as the flesh began to rot and to be consumed by insects, animals, and corruption, the murderer would eventually become diseased and overwhelmed by the very body whose life had been taken. While there is a definite sense of poetic justice in this method of capital punishment, I can’t quite allow myself to imagine the horror of the process. I do not know how accurate this teaching is (I have no reason to question its authenticity), but it does powerfully illustrate the very real nature of existence for each and every one of us as we transverse this life in pursuit of daily habits and desires. The real person that I am—the life force that bears my personality—is tied to this pile of mobile flesh and blood and bone, even as the energies of metabolism give way to the forces of catabolism. In a very real sense, my body is a “body of death” and with Paul I cry out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from it?”

Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! Scripture assures me that although this body will continue to go down hill—because I have called upon the name of Jesus to forgive me all of my past, present, and future sins—because I have asked Him to come into my life and to begin to change me from within—because I have been born again and I am a new creation— in the next life I will be given a perfect and eternal spirit based body to replace this temporal body of flesh (1Co 15:39-55). The fact of resurrection, first for the Son of God/Son of Man 2,000 years ago (Ro 1:2-4), and then for believers at some undisclosed point in the future (1Th 4:14-17), sets Christianity apart from all other faiths and religions. The truth is, we will not just pass into nothingness, nor will we become disembodied spirits, nor will be become “one with the universe.” Through the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit, our spirits have been revitalized (He 12:9), our minds/souls are right now being transformed (Ro 12:2), and we have the promise of new tangible “spirit bodies” so that we might dwell forever in the new heaven and the new earth of New Jerusalem (2Pe 3:10-13 & Re 3:12). Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Job tells us in 33:27-30: `I sinned, and perverted what was right, but I did not get what I deserved. He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light.' "God does all these things to a man-- twice, even three times-- to turn back his soul from the pit, that the light of life may shine on him (NIV). I occasionally hear people say things like, “Life isn’t fair”… “I deserve better”… “I’m a good person.” Life really isn’t fair—I’m doing much better than my thoughts and actions warrant. The last thing I want in this world, and in the next, is to “get what I deserve.” I am not a good person, and if my quality of life is dependent upon my own efforts, I am in some really serious trouble. Years ago, a close friend told me, “Jesus didn’t come to Earth to make bad people good, or to make good people better—Jesus came to make dead people alive.” I subscribe whole heartedly to that sentiment and I am a living example of its import, and its impact. Thank You, Jesus!

Our lives should be a continuous testimony as to the real nature and power of God to overcome our weaknesses and dire circumstances. Our praise should begin with a recognition of His awesome holy name and presence. Our prayers should be filled with thanksgiving born of broken and contrite hearts for so great a salvation gained by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for you and for me, right here and right now. Let us lift our voices with Paul: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Ph 4:4-7; NIV). And finally, may we always live within the Apostle to the Gentiles’ benediction from First Thessalonians 5:16-24, Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it (NIV). Amen.