What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Romans 7:24
Have you ever felt like that? Do you ever share this dark and dismal feeling of the apostle Paul? Do you ever feel that life is a fizzle, a failure, a fraud? Does your conscience nag and gnaw at you or beat you down with a long list of failures, sins, and shortcomings?
Like Paul, we struggle with sin. We struggle with our “Old Adam,” as Martin Luther describes it. We review and reflect on this past week – the encouraging word we didn’t speak, the ugly gossip or profanity that came from our mouth, the unkind thoughts and words and deeds. “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” (Romans 7:19).
There is help and healing. There is the gift of forgiveness. There is strength for the soul. It is the good news of God’s glorious Gospel. Let’s go to church and bask in the blessings of this Gospel! The cross of Christ will be preached and proclaimed. Jesus died there for you and for me. That message will lift us up and give strength to our souls.
PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for the gift of free and full forgiveness through Your merit. Strengthen our souls as we gather for worship in God’s house. Amen.
(Devotions from “The Abundant Life” copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: 2 Samuel 21-22 Psalms 18 John 6:22-40
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