“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”- Romans 7: 24-5 (NIV)
I grew up in a home with a pendulum clock stationed in the living room. Invented in 1625 by a Dutch scientist Christian Huygens these were famous for being the most accurate for time keeping. Indeed, they would claim that honor for 270 years until the emergence of the quartz clocks in the 1927. Later, came the electric clocks in the 1930s and today few homes carry pendulum clocks for time keeping, except as antique items.
One thing I remember is that right at the top of the hour our clock would sound a bell, without fail. Another fascinating aspect was a harmonic oscillator which swung back and forth, with a ticking sound. The movement of that oscillator can in some ways also reflect our spiritual lives. How often do we see ourselves going back to things we once disavowed but yet are driven back in spite of our better self.
The Apostle Paul explains that as long as we are in the body we are in constant struggle with our flesh, often being tossed left and right. To amplify this point, Paul shared, “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me “ (vv 23).
What the Apostle Paul was seeking to clarify is that our earthly spiritual lives can never be anything like perfect. We all know that is only Jesus who lived a perfect and sinless life while here on earth (Hebrews 4:15). For the rest of us even after accepting Christ because we live in the body our lives are at war as we struggle to please the Lord and yet every now and then are pulled hither and forth, like a pendulum swing, by our flesh’s desire. “For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing” (vv 9).
It is here that Christians knows and speak of the power of grace. Everyone one of us needs grace because without it then one is left at the mercy of the law. And, yet in spite of all the efforts to live by the law man had failed until Jesus came to substitute for the law (1 Peter 3:8)! It is on whose shoulders we place all our struggles and failures, receive full forgiveness, and then walk by grace.
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, just as the scriptures indicate I am wretched knowing how I keep tossing to and fro between good and wrong, yet I thank you for the grace that we find through faith in Christ Jesus, in whose power I walk.
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06/05/2024 - 07/05/2024 All day“Do not confirm to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2)
Almost all cultivators are aware that if soils are used perpetually without rains but constantly under work they are deprived of all nutrients. So, though once productive, they lose all power to yield fresh crops as before. But so is our Christian life when we do not regularly feed our spirit life with the Word!
In our leading verse, the Apostle Paul is urging believers to “renew” their minds rather than make them stale, lest they end up losing all power to yield fruit. But how is this done? We renew our minds by constantly reading the Word of God, for there are always insights with God speaking to us afresh. Psalm 119:104-5 says, “I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” The Apostle Peter reminds us, “Like newborn babies hungry for milk, you should want the pure teaching that feeds your spirit. With it you can grow and be saved.” It is a beautiful illustration for any who have seen a hungry baby sucking the teats of a mother.
Renewing our minds is also by reading about the lives of people of faith who have walked before us and their created works. The Christian faith started in the first century after Jesus was crucified and resurrected from the dead. Now over two millenniums it has produced giants of faith who have shared their walk with God through inspired teachings that are a treasure to dig into. By scouring the writings of the great saints before us, listening to their recorded sermons, songs and preaching, which these days can be found on virtual medial channels like Yu tube, reading their biographies, our faith is renewed.
And then we also renew our faith through fellowship. When the Apostle Paul urges us, “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” ( Hebrews 10:25), he is reminding us that our faith cannot grow in isolation. During the Covid pandemic lockdown one bitter issue was denying Believers opportunity to meet fellow followers of Christ to share testimonies showing the work of God in their lives.
So today, if your faith is on a low keel, or you want it to flower, one thing you can’t help doing without is “renewing” your mind. The blessings to unfold are endless.
Prayer for today:Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, what a treasure we have of your rich Word to dig into always; books around us of faith to inspire us; and believers to share our faith- may we make use of these, this I pray in Jesus’ name.
