Romans 7:15-20
"I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
Isaiah 26:3
"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!
Ephesians 3:16
"I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit."
When I was playing tennis I remember my coach always instructing me to point my foot in the direction I wanted the ball to go. This was especially important when serving, because an inch or two outside the serving box dictated whether you would actually get into play with your opponent or fault [no point]. My goal was always to not only land inside the box, but even better, land an Ace and automatically get a point. However, as a leftie, I seemed to be constantly pointing my foot in the wrong direction because my natural inclination was to turn it the opposite of where I wanted it to go, so subsequently I would mess up my serve. Today, I was thinking how similar this is to us as humans. We move where our feet tread. We become what we think. We are all born in sin, with a sin nature inherited from Adam and a natural inclination to sin. The unredeemed [the unsaved] remain tied to the world and resist the Will of God. We need a change of heart that only God can provide, and as Paul found out, the Law cannot provide that. That is precisely why we need Jesus. To save us!
Now if my feet are pointing towards sin, then my body will start moving towards it. The solution? Point that "foot" , i.e. the mind, towards Christ and those things that are Godly via the Truth of His Word. The Holy Spirit helps Believers do this by empowering us to walk in Righteousness and land our "serve" where God intends. I will admit sometimes it is easy to veer off in the wrong direction because I am not watching where my foot is pointing. If I intend to land my serve, I must point towards Jesus by:
Reading His Word
Meditating on His Word.
Internalizing His Word.
Memorizing His Word.
Praying His Word.
The resulting fruit will be a serve that lands on:
His Will.
His Purpose.
His Plans for my life.
The point is that by the Power of the Holy Spirit our feet should always be pointing to Jesus by pointing to the Word of God and our Heavenly Father.
Takeaways for you to remember:
1. Point all of yourself towards Christ.
2. You will move in the right direction with Holy Spirit's help.
3. The result is walking confidently on the path of Righteousness.
Yours in Christ!
Dr. Quahana
Want to enjoy some of the Scriptures inspiring this entry?
[NLT version unless otherwise noted.]
Romans 7:15-20
Isaiah 26:3
Ephesians 3:16
Hebrews 12:1
Romans 8:26-27
Romans 15:13
Galatians 5:22-23
1 Corinthians 9:24
Comments