So, there it is. I admit that I am powerless over my sin! I have no will power, and very little self-control. I cannot control my angry responses, they seem to have a life of their own! And don’t forget my self-righteousness and pride. Wait a minute, I better stop my confessional there. I completely identify with Paul when he says:

“…The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.” (Rom. 7:14-20, NLT via Biblegateway.com)

I know that most of us think Paul was kidding. That he didn’t have any really big sin problems. He wasn’t involved in the biggies: adultery, sexual immorality or for that matter, a homosexual lifestyle. He probably just drank coffee, yes, in some circles that is a sin along with drinking any kind of alcohol. Well, I have to come to the conclusion that Paul was not kidding. That the more he walked with Christ, the more he saw his own shortcomings.

I am sick of living a sin, shame, guilt, sorrow, confession cycle. Where is the joy in that? I begin to feel like I am simply hanging on by my fingernails. There is no way that this can be good news. Yes, Christ died for our sins, but we are stuck with getting rid of them.

Paul agrees with my miserable condition: “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.” (Rom. 7:21-25 NLT via Biblegateway.com)

If you want to read more about Paul’s answer to sin management, read Romans Chapter 8. Thank God we are not stuck in the spin cycle of sin management. “So Christ has truly set us free,” Paul proclaims in Galatians 5:1 (NLT). He concludes in Romans 8:35-39: “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Now, this is good news. God is with me and he loves me, what more do I need? I can live a spirit-filled life in all circumstances and turn the job of sin management over to God. He is powerful enough to handle it!

Judicial temperament is the ability to remain impartial and to apply the law to a situation without bias or predetermined outcome. It is the ability to decide without passion.

Jesus said:

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. ² For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

³ “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? ⁴ How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” (Matt. 7:1-5, NLT via Biblegateway.com)

You have to read this passage closely in the English (forget about the Greek!) to grasp its true meaning. Let’s face it, as human beings we are constantly judging others, ourselves and situations. Maybe if we stated these principles in the positive they would make more sense. They seem like commandments, the way Jesus is being quoted, and you know how well we do on keeping commandments.

Let me give it a try: “Keep on judging others. Remember, though, you will be judged the same way. Keep on trying to fix the behavior of other people. Of course, you have a lot about your own behavior that needs fixing, it might be a good idea to start with yourself.”

I’ve heard it said recently that there is my business, your business, and God’s business. It’s really a shame that God is so ineffectual in changing people’s lives that he needs our help! I know that I often feel powerless to change my own behavior. Are you hearing me? I can’t seem to fix myself. Wishing I could do it doesn’t work. Trying real hard and exercising will power doesn’t help. Those in recovery have learned that being fixed is entirely a work of a “higher power.”

Perhaps those of us who claim to be members of Jesus’ family might just plain give up! Surrender to Jesus. Give the Holy Spirit the job of fixing us up, transforming us into the kind of people that we think we want to be. Wow, is that even possible? Can I really trust that God is powerful enough to transform me and to keep on transforming me, without my constant “whipping myself with a wet noodle” approach to life? If that is true, then I could be free to stop trying to fix and control others. I sense that there might be a real freedom there. Can you feel it? Just over the horizon is a land where I can simply rest in the hands of the one true shepherd, Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Jn 15:12,13. He is also quoted: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” Mt. 5:43-45.

Clearly, if I disagree with you about something, depending on your family rules, you might think I am being argumentative. If your family doesn’t ever argue, then that might not seem loving. If I am not loving, then it is pretty hard to love me. Here’s a solution, just tell me that you don’t want to “fellowship” with me and by doing so, ask me to leave. But wait a minute, Jesus seems to say, when there are those who are not easy to love, love them anyway.

In the life of the church, it seems we get stuck on the easy ones. Don’t commit adultery. There’s an easy one. Anyone can see that this is clearly a sin. A man living with a woman without the benefit of a marriage ceremony. It’s a little less clear when young people are just exploring their relationships with one another, and they are “dating.” Hormones run wild in the teenage years. Are adulterous thoughts as sinful as adulterous deeds? Jesus preached that, didn’t he? It’s a little harder to judge another’s thoughts. Luckily, though we usually have an example of a person in our circle, who is clearly, defiantly sinning, an easy case to condemn. Oh, wait a minute, I used the words judgment and condemnation, can you engage in those actions in a loving way?

What about this one? Someone begins to attend a home group connected to your church and then your church services. But they don’t hold back when they disagree with you. Can you love them, anyway? Church membership in most organizations requires something similar to the following: “I WILL PROTECT THE UNITY OF MY CHURCH…By acting in love toward other members…By refusing to gossip…By following the leaders.” (Saddleback Membership Covenant) Where a congregation doesn’t have formal written covenants, there are unwritten rules: Submit to the leadership of the pastors, attend church services, tithe, find a job to do in the church, and clearly that includes, be lovable.

If you are lovable we will adopt you into our family until you are not, then we will un-adopt you. It’s a good thing that the rules of our society do not allow us to operate our families that way. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of lousy parenting in our society. But at least, it isn’t easy for fathers and mothers to legally disown their children, adopted or natural born!

But here is an interesting truth: I can’t make you love me. For that matter, God can’t make you love me. The impulse to love, is in itself, a gift from God. So, here is my morning prayer: Father, fill me with your love. Overflow my cup. Let me be an ambassador of your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

There were moments as we talked that I thought that if I tapped in to that pain hard enough, that a dam would break and a wellspring of healing tears would come. I knew in that moment that there is a moment of healing coming for me in the near future. As we drove along it wasn’t the time or the place for that catharsis, but a glimpse of it’s nearness gave me a lot of encouragement.

We all come from a story of brokenness and redemption. The cry of the human heart is for the compassionate and listening ear of a friend. Slowing down to listen to the heart of one another is an important step in the healing process. How amazing it is that God always bends such an ear toward us. It helps if our brothers and sisters are nearby. But knowing that God is there for us is one of the amazing benefits of following Jesus.

We have some give and take, you know the kind that followers of Jesus have as they attempt to use words to explain the unexplainable. We even got busy slicing and dicing some pretty deep concepts. I really feel like I am getting to know and care about these people, and that part is fun!

As I was thinking about our interaction this morning I felt like the Lord gave me an insight into what appeared to be some contentious moments in our discussion. The first paragraph of the letter talks about having “fellowship” so that our “joy” can be complete. As we wrestled with words choosing to have fellowship and having joy about it seemed elusive. I wondered about this. I have relationships of many years with the two men in the group. We have stood side by side through some tough years and tough situations. We have deep caring for one another and for that reason cut each other a lot of slack.

I realized that each of the members of our church are at different places in their journey with Christ. We are each having the thrill of victory that comes from new revelation and the agony of defeat that comes when our flesh jumps up and bites us in the rear end! There is no way that we can really join hands and sing Kum-ba-ya about our understanding (revelation) of Jesus. If we were a committee I doubt that we would agree about anything. When I think about it, I just want to laugh my head off! But Jesus whispered to me this morning that we are absolutely perfect as a mighty missionary team! Hilarious! He has put us together and is forming us into his image, each of us at our own individual place in our journey with him, and as a team for some exploits and adventures he has in store for us.

In the meantime, we read the tea leaves to determine if we are “alive” or “dead” in Christ! I think our meetings are playing as a reality shown on the heavenly cable TV channel. The drama and the comedy must be great fun. But I see Jesus among us. Encouraging us. Loving us. Shepherding us. And encouraging us to ‘respect the journey’ of each one of us.