ScriptureRomans 7:24-25a (NRSV)"Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"ReflectionMost people think of themselves as good people. We work hard, care for our families, help our neighbors, and try to do the right thing. If we're honest, many of us hope that our goodness counts for something.Paul's journey in Romans 7 leads h...  Read More

ScriptureRomans 7:21-23 (NRSV)“So I find it to be a law that, when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”ReflectionFew things are more discouraging than giving your best effort and still feeling like you'...  Read More

ScriptureRomans 7:15-19 (NRSV)"I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me. For I know that the good does not dwell within me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do the good lies close at hand, but not the abil...  Read More

Scripture2 Samuel 24:22-24 (NIV)Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. Your Majesty, Araunah gives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.” But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I wi...  Read More

Scripture2 Samuel 24:10 (NIV)David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”ReflectionOne of the clearest signs of spiritual growth is not perfection but responsiveness to conviction.Earlier in David's life, Nathan h...  Read More

Scripture2 Samuel 24:1-4 (NIV)Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.” So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.” But Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord yo...  Read More