After writing yesterday’s post, I questioned God, “Are you sure I am the one you want writing this blog? Isn’t there someone who has it all together that would do a better job? I’m sure there are others who never let the sun go down on their anger.” His answer came in the first verses I read today.
Romans 5:1, 2, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and so we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Modern English Version
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“By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us – set us right with him, make us fit for him – we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand – out in the wide open space of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.” The Message
Later in my reading, one verse confused me.
Romans 7:8, “But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of coveting. For apart from the law, sin is dead.” Modern English Version
I went back to The Message for clarity.
“The law code had a perfectly legitimate function. Without its clear guidelines for right and wrong, moral behavior would be mostly guesswork. Apart from the succinct, surgical command, ‘You shall not covet,’ I could have dressed covetousness up to look like a virtue and ruined my life with it….What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of ‘forbidden fruit’ out of it….But once sin got its hands on the law code and decked itself out in all that finery, I was fooled, and fell for it. The very command that was supposed to guide me into life was cleverly used to trip me up,…” The Message
“Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.” That command made going to bed angry and giving David the silent treatment seem attractive. But ignoring that command would eventually ruin my life.
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