DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDREL
—@bermixstudio, photographer
“O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. — Rom. 7:24-25”
Dear reader, I confess to you, that there have been times in my life that I felt I’ve have deserved the title of this devotional. Let me rephrase that: There have been “many” times in my “Christian” life, that I have felt worthy of this title! O but thanks be to God, I know that I have been born again by the incorruptible seed of the Word of God! (1Pet. 1:23) Whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world! (1John 5:4) Based on these 2 truths, even when it looks like we are losing, we are still winning!
Since my childhood, I have loved Hero movies. So many times, I have sat perplexed watching the hero be knocked flat on his back! Then the villain pounces on him and begins to pound away! Just when it looked as though the battle was lost, without warning the villain was overthrown and beaten into submission. How did it happen? The only explanation I can find is: heroes don’t lose no matter how bad it looks! Friend, Christ in you is the Hero inside you. Sometimes our flesh gets the upper hand and we’re knocked down, and guilt will always try to pin us to the mat, but glory to God, Jesus in us is invincible, so we get up and the tables are turned again!
“Leave the broken, irreversible past in God’s hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.”
“Your Redeemer is bigger than your past!”
I am so thankful for my Lord and Savior! He has gone the extra mile with me so many times! As David stated: "If You, LORD, should keep an account of our sins and treat us accordingly, O Lord, who could stand [before you in judgment and claim innocence]? —AMP
Maybe you can relate to this non-original statement: “ I am not who I ought to be. Thank God, I am not who I used to be. Praise God! I am not who I am going to be, for when I see Him, I will be like Him, for I shall see Him as He is!” says the Word of God in 1John 3:2
Rejoice with me! Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ:
In your struggle with the flesh, put all your confidence in The Hero of the ages. Jesus has never lost a battle and yours will not be an exception! You are not a dirty, rotten scoundrel! In Christ, you are a son or a daughter of the most high God! Beloved, how’s that for some Good News?
Every blessing!
—Tom