Have you ever done something wrong after saying you would never do it again? Falling for the same sin over and over? Paul puts it so well in Romans 7:15-25.
For I do not understand my own actions [I am baffled and bewildered by them]. I do not practice what I want to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate [and yielding to my human nature, my worldliness—my sinful capacity]. Now if I habitually do what I do not want to do, [that means] I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good (morally excellent).7 So now [if that is the case, then] it is no longer I who do it [the disobedient thing which I despise], but the sin [nature] which lives in me. For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh [my human nature, my worldliness—my sinful capacity]. For the willingness [to do good] is present in me, but the doing of good is not. For the good that I want to do, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want to do, I am no longer the one doing it [that is, it is not me that acts], but the sin [nature] which lives in me.
So I find it to be the law [of my inner self], that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully delight in the law of God in my inner self [with my new nature], but I see a different law and rule of action in the members of my body [in its appetites and desires], waging war against the law of my mind and subduing me and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is within my members. Wretched and miserable man that I am! Who will [rescue me and] set me free from this body of death [this corrupt, mortal existence]? Thanks be to God [for my deliverance] through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Once you come to the realization of the hopeless state you are in as a human being without Jesus, you will understand why a whole battalion of singing angels was sent down to earth to proclaim the greatest of good news: JOY TO THE WORLD! THE SAVIOUR HAS COME!!!!
Paul’s question in Romans 7:25 is not one of those sad rhetorical questions with no answer that leave you feeling worse off than before you even asked the question. No. Paul’s question finds an answer in Jesus and in Jesus alone.
Romans 7:25: Wretched and miserable man that I am! Who will [rescue me and] set me free from this body of death [this corrupt, mortal existence]? Thanks be to God [for my deliverance] through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Hallelujah! Jesus has come to save us because without Him we are doomed in a fallen, failed state.
The words spoken to the Shepherds by the angels announcing the birth of Jesus did not find them doing any extraordinary thing. They were just going about their lives as ordinary Shepherds taking care of and watching their flocks by night when the most extraordinary thing happened in their presence. What a beautiful and majestic sight that must have been. A preview of the glorious and majestic choir we will enjoy in heaven.
Luke 2:10-14 – But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people. For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (the Messiah).
And this will be a sign for you [by which you will recognize Him]: you will find [after searching] a Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Then suddenly there appeared with the angel an army of the troops of heaven (a heavenly knighthood), praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest [heaven], and on earth peace among men with whom He is well pleased [men of goodwill, of His favor].
So it was with Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was going about her ordinary day when she was visited by the most extraordinary visitor, proclaiming to her that she had found favor in God’s sight.
Luke 1:28-38 And coming to her, the angel said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly perplexed at what he said and kept carefully considering what kind of greeting this was. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Listen carefully: you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and eminent and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin and have no intimacy with any man?” Then the angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a cloud]; for that reason the holy (pure, sinless) Child shall be called the Son of God. And listen, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For with God nothing [is or ever] shall be impossible.” Then Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel left her.
When Mary declared, “be it unto me as you have said, I’m a servant of the Lord”, I do not think she could have ever imagined how her beautiful response would affect all of mankind. What happened to her and through her did not just affect her household but reverberated through the entire world and we are still feeling the glorious effects thousands of years later. That is a sobering reminder that as we choose to respond to the instruction of God with obedience and humility, this will not only bring great blessing and tidings of great joy to our immediate family but those around us, as well as many generations that will come after us.
In the past, God visited His people. The Good News of Great Joy is that now, we have Immanuel. God with us. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. (John 1:14)
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
God has chosen to have His abode with us. That is the Good News of Great Joy, because it is no small thing to have the Almighty God, Creator of all things, choosing to tabernacle with us.
This brings me great joy, to know that as I just go about my ordinary, everyday life the King of Kings is with me, His power working in me both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).
I hope you are open to the possibility that as you carry out that seemingly simple and small task the Lord has placed in your laps, your response in obedience to God will affect the whole of mankind in ways you could never have imagined.
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