00:00:10Paradox and Grace
00:03:05Paul’s Inner Conflict
00:04:12Humanity’s Broken Condition
00:07:13Christ Frees the Soul
00:10:02Spirit at Work
00:11:51New Creation, New Battle
00:13:12Psalm of Repentance
00:14:32Closing Blessing
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
This episode digs into something every believer wrestles with: wanting to live for God, but constantly running into our own weakness and failure.
Using Romans 7 as a guide, it walks through that tension between the Spirit's pull toward holiness and the flesh's stubborn resistance. But it doesn't stop at the struggle — it points to the beautiful paradox of Christ's grace, which somehow both frees us and restores us at the same time. There's a gentle invitation to humble repentance, and the episode closes with a prayerful reading from Psalm 51.
➡️ Feedback/questions? Anything else? I’d love to hear from you! Email me at: sentbeyondpodcast@gmail.com
Links/Resources:
Unless stated otherwise, all of the verses in this episode have been taken from the NLT translation of the Holy Bible. (New Living Translation)
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Scripture References:
1. Genesis 3:21-23, “And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.”
Exodus 13:21-22, “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.”
Luke 2:11, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
2. Romans 3:10-12, “As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”
3. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
4. Romans 3:23, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
5. 2 Thessalonians 1:9, “They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power.”
Revelation 21:8, “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
6. Philippians 2:6, “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.
7. Galatians 3:13, “But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
8. 1 Corinthians 1:27, “Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.”
9. Philippians 2:12, “Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.”
10. 2 Corinthians 12:9, “Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”
11. Matthew 16:25, “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”
12. 1 Peter 5:6, “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.”
13. James 1:2, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.”
14. Galatians 5:17, “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.”
English
United States
SHOW NOTES 🔗
TRANSCRIPT 🔗
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You have to lose yourself to find yourself. What you resist persists.
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Vulnerability makes you stronger.
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If you truly love someone, you will let them go. Less is more.
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This is a basic, incomplete list of some commonly heard paradoxes.
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A paradox may seem self-contradictory or absurd, but a closer look will often
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express something much deeper.
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A true paradox isn't designed to be illogical or untrue, rather the initial
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thought appears to violate our natural thinking process.
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At first glance, it appears nonsensical, but upon further examination,
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you find that the statement made is meant to hold a tension of two seemingly
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opposing standpoints, both being true at the same time.
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A paradox is a simple statement that is anything but simple.
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It was never meant to stay surface, it was always designed to go deeper.
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And some paradoxes are found to be more accurately lived than written.
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When I sat down to write and reflect for what God wanted to flush out of me
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this week, I had so many thoughts.
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I originally just wanted to unpack something that's been on the forefront of
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my mind, the unfortunate reality and deep conviction of my flesh being so weak
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despite the very willingness of my spirit to please God.
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If you've walked with Jesus long enough, I think we can all relate to the unraveling
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of Paul's stream of consciousness in Romans 7.
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I'm going to read it to you out of the New Living Translation.
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Bear with me. This is, of course, a little bit wordy, but I think we can get
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through it together. Let's start in verse 13.
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He writes, But how can that be? Did the law which is good cause my death? Of course not.
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Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death.
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So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God's good commands for its own evil purposes.
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So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good.
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The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.
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I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right,
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but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate.
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But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the
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law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong. It is sin living in me that does it.
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And I know that nothing good lives in me that is in my sinful nature.
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I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't.
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I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.
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But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong.
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It is the sin living in me that does it.
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I have discovered this principle of life, that when I want to do what is right,
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I inevitably do what is wrong.
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I love God's law with all my heart, but there is another power within me that is at war with my mind.
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This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.
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Oh, what a miserable person I am.
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Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
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Again, this comes to us from Romans 7, verses 13 through 24.
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Paul is narrating for us in real time this tension that exists within us,
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that are indwelled by the Holy Spirit.
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We know what we ought to do. We know what is right. We want to do what pleases
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God because we love God with all our hearts. We know we do.
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Yet there is a fight within us.
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Why can't I do what I know I should do? Why is it so hard for me to deny my flesh?
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Oh, what a miserable person I am. Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
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So the more I began to reflect on this tension, I saw that I no longer wanted
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to write on two different topics, but desired to unpack two things that are true at once.
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This tension of the spirit that wages war on our flesh is a paradox embodied.
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And maybe, just maybe, the truest of all paradoxes is us.
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There is a difference between endlessly contemplating a paradox,
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never seeing it come to its full resolution, and seeing a paradox become a living reality.
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While the concept of a paradox isn't unique to Christianity,
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the living reality of its certainty is.
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In a previous reflection, I addressed this idea that humans are above all a living paradox.
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From Genesis to Revelation, we see a holy God come near.
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To dwell amongst the ones he's created, only for us to push him away or foolishly
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proclaim we know better.
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From the time His mercy covered Adam and Eve in Eden, as sin-stained fruit juice
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dripped from their lips, to the guidance of a cloud by day and protection of
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fire by night as the Israelites journeyed away from Egypt, to the fulfillment of the virgin birth,
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our God has never made us question the certainty or faithfulness of His love and pursuit.
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From creation, to the cross, to the second coming, we are never left to wonder
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if our God is worth knowing.
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If we choose to turn away the foolishness of our own sinful nature by our own
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evil doing, brings its own eternal hardness of heart that we will not be able to undo.
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An uncomfortable truth we are often okay being blind to is the reality of our
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human condition, that there is no one, not a single one of us, that is good.
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No matter how hard we strive, goodness will never be about behavior modification or virtuous output.
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No amount of human righteousness, which, if you've picked up on it by now,
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holds its own paradoxical contradiction, will ever earn for us the holiness that God requires.
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If you are a created being, which you are, you have a heart that is sinful.
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If you have a heart that is sinful, which you do, you are going to sin.
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If you are going to commit sins, the payment for those sins is death.
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You can try to ignore it. You can attempt to argue it. You can even spend a
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lifetime trying to prove it wrong.
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But the reality is you cannot run from you.
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We do not like being told that we are the problem. In my experience,
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humanity will never like the sound of this.
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Just because there is no one good but God alone doesn't automatically mean that
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everyone is the most absolute corrupt they'll ever be.
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It doesn't mean you cannot find a single human able to produce an act that is morally right.
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You see, outwardly, we can produce works that appear good. Externally,
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we can show up and show off in ways that portray what is right.
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Someone doesn't need to believe in God, the unshakable truth of his word,
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or agree with the standard of perfection and holiness he requires to produce a good deed,
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Just because the outcome of the act was good doesn't mean the root was pure,
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That's because the heart of the issue will always be an issue of the heart,
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Assuming you believe in the truth of eternity You also believe that your mortal
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body houses an immortal soul,
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That immortal soul will need an eternal home It will either see the glories
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of heaven, an inheritance earned for you by Jesus alone, or it will see a second
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death, except that death will never end.
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So like Paul, we would be fools to not cry out, Oh, what a miserable person I am!
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Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
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There is only one who was and is worthy enough to earn heaven.
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Yet Jesus never considered his equality with God something that we should grasp.
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When you sit with the truth that you cannot save yourself, that you have sinned
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against God far more than you yourself will ever be sinned against,
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and you are helpless in your own strength to find life, only then will you understand
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the paradoxical grace that sits at the core of the Christian faith.
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Everything that is natural to my human heart Jesus came to turn on its head.
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Everything I am naturally drawn to, every facet I am prone to defend,
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every ounce of my sin that I am bound and shackled by, Christ made a way for
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me to be free and forgiven.
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He died so that I may live. He humbled himself that I may wear his robes of righteousness.
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He offers my unholiness grace upon grace that I may be able to grasp the magnitude of his holiness.
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He draws near to me that I may come close to the mystery of knowing the triune God.
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The one who is all-powerful showed his great strength as he conquered death
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by way of becoming cursed, specifically for the humanity that brought the curse upon themselves.
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He continually uses what the world considers weak to shame the strong.
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The written word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
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He gave us his law to show us the standard that we could never obtain,
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to teach us a way we could never choose on our own accord.
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The King of Kings met me in the valley of my own sin and became a servant that I may learn to serve.
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He humbled himself unto death on a cross, displaying his sovereignty in the
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form of submission for the sake of my soul finding life everlasting.
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There is no greater paradox than how a holy God loves an unholy you.
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So, church family, this question is for us all, and no matter how many times
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we've heard it, may we never become too familiar with it to ask.
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Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
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Jesus Christ, the Son of God, left his throne to rescue, redeem, and restore you.
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He came to offer you grace so that you may know the truth as you work out your salvation.
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He bids you to boast in your weakness that his power may be perfected in and through you.
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He calls you to lose your life here on earth that you may truly find life for eternity.
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He gently coaches you to humble yourself that he alone might exalt you.
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He gives you the ability to rejoice even in the face of trials.
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In his mercy, he grants sight to your eyes and conviction to your heart that
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causes you to be at war within yourself in the first place.
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Earlier this week, I was reflecting on Psalm 20, and I wrote this in my journal,
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so I felt that it was fitting to share here.
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I wrote, I don't like how much my humanity muddies the water of my life that
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I desperately want to live unto the Lord.
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And even as I write that, I know this is evidence of the Spirit at work in my heart.
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The fact I see my humanity as an obstacle to overcome, that I see my flesh as
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something to be put to death rather than make excuses for, is not my doing.
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The reality I care even an ounce about disciplining myself for godliness shows
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I am not the only one to occupy my heart any longer.
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As I sit here writing this entry, I watch my curtains gently move about.
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They billow softly against the window frame and let in trickles of sunlight
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from their sway. Why are they moving?
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I cannot see the air that is moving them about, but I can hear the soft hum
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of the air conditioning as the day is set to reach over 100 degrees.
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My ears can hear where the air is coming from, and my eyes can see the effects
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of it working in our home.
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So while the outside may reach sweltering heat today, my home inside remains
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temperature-controlled. Both are true and both exist simultaneously.
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I may not be a sinless vessel quite yet, but because of the effects of all Christ
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accomplished for me, both exist simultaneously inside me.
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That is my flesh that is being put to death and my soul that has been renewed,
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desiring to live for Him.
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I may not be able to see him yet with my naked eye, but I know him.
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I can see the effects of his power in and through my life. By grace,
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as I take refuge in him, I am given exactly what I need to pursue living in
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a manner that is worthy of the calling of Christ as I place my hope in him.
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In Christ, you and I are given the undeserved privilege of moving from death
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to life and becoming a new creation.
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The paradox of my new created heart does not erase my sinful flesh immediately,
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but it gives me the power to fight the good fight of faith, die to self,
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and be an ambassador for the kingdom of God.
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My new creation allows my eyes to finally have sight and my ears to truly hear.
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My new heart allows life to flow through my veins. My new estate is no longer helpless but free.
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The remaking of me from the inside out doesn't mean that I am fully cured of
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my sin all at once. It means something greater.
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I am finally able to start looking inward, that I may take accountability for my sin.
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My spiritual rebirth now sees what is displeasing to my Lord,
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and it doesn't excuse it. It grieves it.
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My heart anew is the paradox I live inside of.
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I am dying while being made alive. Grace hasn't handed me a finished self.
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Rather, it has created in me the desire to look in the mirror.
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It gives me the courage to surrender, finding true victory in the strength of
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the one who is all-powerful.
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Being shaped by this paradox, I no longer run from what I know I cannot hide
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from, and I humbly acknowledge my need for a Savior.
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Before we go out today, let's hide some of God's word in our hearts together.
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These verses come to us from Psalm 51. I'm going to read verses 1 through 10.
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This is a psalm of David regarding the time that Nathan the prophet came to
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him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
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Again, this is from the New Living Translation. He writes, Have mercy on me,
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O God, because of your unfailing love, because of your great compassion blot out the stain of my sins.
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Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin For I recognize my rebellion
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It haunts me day and night Against you and you alone have I sinned I have done
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what is evil in your sight,
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You will be proved right in what you say And your judgment against me is just,
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For I was born a sinner, yes From the moment my mother conceived me For you
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desire honesty from the womb Teaching me wisdom even there Purify me from my
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sins And I will be clean Wash me and I will be whiter than snow,
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Oh, give me back my joy again.
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You have broken me. Now let me rejoice.
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Don't keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.
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Create in me a clean heart, oh God.
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Renew a loyal spirit within me. Amen.
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Thanks be to God for the gift of his infallible word.
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Thank you as always for being with me today, friends. I am Gianna,
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your host for this podcast.
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If you were encouraged today, I'd love it if you joined me again.
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So don't forget to subscribe and to tell a friend that they might be encouraged to.
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You can find the various ways of how to get a hold of me down below in the show
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notes. I love hearing your feedback.
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I also have included down there some verses that you can reference from today's episode.
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Until next time, I pray that you find the war that rages inside your heart to
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be a convicting blessing, one that you will be victorious over as you submit
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humbly to the Spirit of God.
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I hope you remember that today and every to be shared. I'll see you next time, church.
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You have to lose yourself to find yourself. What you resist persists.
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Vulnerability makes you stronger.
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If you truly love someone, you will let them go. Less is more.
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This is a basic, incomplete list of some commonly heard paradoxes.
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A paradox may seem self-contradictory or absurd, but a closer look will often
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express something much deeper.
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A true paradox isn't designed to be illogical or untrue, rather the initial
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thought appears to violate our natural thinking process.
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At first glance, it appears nonsensical, but upon further examination,
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you find that the statement made is meant to hold a tension of two seemingly
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opposing standpoints, both being true at the same time.
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A paradox is a simple statement that is anything but simple.
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It was never meant to stay surface, it was always designed to go deeper.
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And some paradoxes are found to be more accurately lived than written.
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When I sat down to write and reflect for what God wanted to flush out of me
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this week, I had so many thoughts.
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I originally just wanted to unpack something that's been on the forefront of
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my mind, the unfortunate reality and deep conviction of my flesh being so weak
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despite the very willingness of my spirit to please God.
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If you've walked with Jesus long enough, I think we can all relate to the unraveling
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of Paul's stream of consciousness in Romans 7.
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I'm going to read it to you out of the New Living Translation.
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Bear with me. This is, of course, a little bit wordy, but I think we can get
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through it together. Let's start in verse 13.
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He writes, But how can that be? Did the law which is good cause my death? Of course not.
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Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death.
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So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God's good commands for its own evil purposes.
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So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good.
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The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.
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I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right,
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but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate.
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But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the
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law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong. It is sin living in me that does it.
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And I know that nothing good lives in me that is in my sinful nature.
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I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't.
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I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.
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But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong.
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It is the sin living in me that does it.
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I have discovered this principle of life, that when I want to do what is right,
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I inevitably do what is wrong.
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I love God's law with all my heart, but there is another power within me that is at war with my mind.
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This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.
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Oh, what a miserable person I am.
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Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
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Again, this comes to us from Romans 7, verses 13 through 24.
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Paul is narrating for us in real time this tension that exists within us,
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that are indwelled by the Holy Spirit.
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We know what we ought to do. We know what is right. We want to do what pleases
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God because we love God with all our hearts. We know we do.
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Yet there is a fight within us.
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Why can't I do what I know I should do? Why is it so hard for me to deny my flesh?
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Oh, what a miserable person I am. Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
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So the more I began to reflect on this tension, I saw that I no longer wanted
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to write on two different topics, but desired to unpack two things that are true at once.
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This tension of the spirit that wages war on our flesh is a paradox embodied.
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And maybe, just maybe, the truest of all paradoxes is us.
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There is a difference between endlessly contemplating a paradox,
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never seeing it come to its full resolution, and seeing a paradox become a living reality.
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While the concept of a paradox isn't unique to Christianity,
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the living reality of its certainty is.
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In a previous reflection, I addressed this idea that humans are above all a living paradox.
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From Genesis to Revelation, we see a holy God come near.
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To dwell amongst the ones he's created, only for us to push him away or foolishly
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proclaim we know better.
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From the time His mercy covered Adam and Eve in Eden, as sin-stained fruit juice
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dripped from their lips, to the guidance of a cloud by day and protection of
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fire by night as the Israelites journeyed away from Egypt, to the fulfillment of the virgin birth,
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our God has never made us question the certainty or faithfulness of His love and pursuit.
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From creation, to the cross, to the second coming, we are never left to wonder
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if our God is worth knowing.
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If we choose to turn away the foolishness of our own sinful nature by our own
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evil doing, brings its own eternal hardness of heart that we will not be able to undo.
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An uncomfortable truth we are often okay being blind to is the reality of our
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human condition, that there is no one, not a single one of us, that is good.
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No matter how hard we strive, goodness will never be about behavior modification or virtuous output.
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No amount of human righteousness, which, if you've picked up on it by now,
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holds its own paradoxical contradiction, will ever earn for us the holiness that God requires.
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If you are a created being, which you are, you have a heart that is sinful.
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If you have a heart that is sinful, which you do, you are going to sin.
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If you are going to commit sins, the payment for those sins is death.
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You can try to ignore it. You can attempt to argue it. You can even spend a
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lifetime trying to prove it wrong.
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But the reality is you cannot run from you.
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We do not like being told that we are the problem. In my experience,
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humanity will never like the sound of this.
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Just because there is no one good but God alone doesn't automatically mean that
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everyone is the most absolute corrupt they'll ever be.
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It doesn't mean you cannot find a single human able to produce an act that is morally right.
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You see, outwardly, we can produce works that appear good. Externally,
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we can show up and show off in ways that portray what is right.
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Someone doesn't need to believe in God, the unshakable truth of his word,
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or agree with the standard of perfection and holiness he requires to produce a good deed,
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Just because the outcome of the act was good doesn't mean the root was pure,
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That's because the heart of the issue will always be an issue of the heart,
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Assuming you believe in the truth of eternity You also believe that your mortal
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body houses an immortal soul,
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That immortal soul will need an eternal home It will either see the glories
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of heaven, an inheritance earned for you by Jesus alone, or it will see a second
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death, except that death will never end.
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So like Paul, we would be fools to not cry out, Oh, what a miserable person I am!
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Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
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There is only one who was and is worthy enough to earn heaven.
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Yet Jesus never considered his equality with God something that we should grasp.
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When you sit with the truth that you cannot save yourself, that you have sinned
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against God far more than you yourself will ever be sinned against,
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and you are helpless in your own strength to find life, only then will you understand
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the paradoxical grace that sits at the core of the Christian faith.
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Everything that is natural to my human heart Jesus came to turn on its head.
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Everything I am naturally drawn to, every facet I am prone to defend,
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every ounce of my sin that I am bound and shackled by, Christ made a way for
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me to be free and forgiven.
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He died so that I may live. He humbled himself that I may wear his robes of righteousness.
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He offers my unholiness grace upon grace that I may be able to grasp the magnitude of his holiness.
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He draws near to me that I may come close to the mystery of knowing the triune God.
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The one who is all-powerful showed his great strength as he conquered death
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by way of becoming cursed, specifically for the humanity that brought the curse upon themselves.
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He continually uses what the world considers weak to shame the strong.
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The written word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
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He gave us his law to show us the standard that we could never obtain,
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to teach us a way we could never choose on our own accord.
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The King of Kings met me in the valley of my own sin and became a servant that I may learn to serve.
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He humbled himself unto death on a cross, displaying his sovereignty in the
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form of submission for the sake of my soul finding life everlasting.
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There is no greater paradox than how a holy God loves an unholy you.
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So, church family, this question is for us all, and no matter how many times
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we've heard it, may we never become too familiar with it to ask.
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Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
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Jesus Christ, the Son of God, left his throne to rescue, redeem, and restore you.
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He came to offer you grace so that you may know the truth as you work out your salvation.
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He bids you to boast in your weakness that his power may be perfected in and through you.
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He calls you to lose your life here on earth that you may truly find life for eternity.
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He gently coaches you to humble yourself that he alone might exalt you.
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He gives you the ability to rejoice even in the face of trials.
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In his mercy, he grants sight to your eyes and conviction to your heart that
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causes you to be at war within yourself in the first place.
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Earlier this week, I was reflecting on Psalm 20, and I wrote this in my journal,
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so I felt that it was fitting to share here.
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I wrote, I don't like how much my humanity muddies the water of my life that
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I desperately want to live unto the Lord.
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And even as I write that, I know this is evidence of the Spirit at work in my heart.
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The fact I see my humanity as an obstacle to overcome, that I see my flesh as
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something to be put to death rather than make excuses for, is not my doing.
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The reality I care even an ounce about disciplining myself for godliness shows
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I am not the only one to occupy my heart any longer.
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As I sit here writing this entry, I watch my curtains gently move about.
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They billow softly against the window frame and let in trickles of sunlight
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from their sway. Why are they moving?
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I cannot see the air that is moving them about, but I can hear the soft hum
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of the air conditioning as the day is set to reach over 100 degrees.
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My ears can hear where the air is coming from, and my eyes can see the effects
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of it working in our home.
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So while the outside may reach sweltering heat today, my home inside remains
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temperature-controlled. Both are true and both exist simultaneously.
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I may not be a sinless vessel quite yet, but because of the effects of all Christ
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accomplished for me, both exist simultaneously inside me.
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That is my flesh that is being put to death and my soul that has been renewed,
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desiring to live for Him.
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I may not be able to see him yet with my naked eye, but I know him.
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I can see the effects of his power in and through my life. By grace,
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as I take refuge in him, I am given exactly what I need to pursue living in
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a manner that is worthy of the calling of Christ as I place my hope in him.
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In Christ, you and I are given the undeserved privilege of moving from death
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to life and becoming a new creation.
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The paradox of my new created heart does not erase my sinful flesh immediately,
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but it gives me the power to fight the good fight of faith, die to self,
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and be an ambassador for the kingdom of God.
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My new creation allows my eyes to finally have sight and my ears to truly hear.
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My new heart allows life to flow through my veins. My new estate is no longer helpless but free.
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The remaking of me from the inside out doesn't mean that I am fully cured of
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my sin all at once. It means something greater.
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I am finally able to start looking inward, that I may take accountability for my sin.
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My spiritual rebirth now sees what is displeasing to my Lord,
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and it doesn't excuse it. It grieves it.
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My heart anew is the paradox I live inside of.
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I am dying while being made alive. Grace hasn't handed me a finished self.
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Rather, it has created in me the desire to look in the mirror.
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It gives me the courage to surrender, finding true victory in the strength of
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the one who is all-powerful.
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Being shaped by this paradox, I no longer run from what I know I cannot hide
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from, and I humbly acknowledge my need for a Savior.
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Before we go out today, let's hide some of God's word in our hearts together.
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These verses come to us from Psalm 51. I'm going to read verses 1 through 10.
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This is a psalm of David regarding the time that Nathan the prophet came to
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him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
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Again, this is from the New Living Translation. He writes, Have mercy on me,
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O God, because of your unfailing love, because of your great compassion blot out the stain of my sins.
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Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin For I recognize my rebellion
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It haunts me day and night Against you and you alone have I sinned I have done
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what is evil in your sight,
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You will be proved right in what you say And your judgment against me is just,
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For I was born a sinner, yes From the moment my mother conceived me For you
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desire honesty from the womb Teaching me wisdom even there Purify me from my
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sins And I will be clean Wash me and I will be whiter than snow,
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Oh, give me back my joy again.
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You have broken me. Now let me rejoice.
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Don't keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.
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Create in me a clean heart, oh God.
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Renew a loyal spirit within me. Amen.
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Thanks be to God for the gift of his infallible word.
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Thank you as always for being with me today, friends. I am Gianna,
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your host for this podcast.
00:14:00.366 --> 00:14:02.653
If you were encouraged today, I'd love it if you joined me again.
00:14:02.653 --> 00:14:05.834
So don't forget to subscribe and to tell a friend that they might be encouraged to.
00:14:06.537 --> 00:14:09.443
You can find the various ways of how to get a hold of me down below in the show
00:14:09.443 --> 00:14:11.175
notes. I love hearing your feedback.
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I also have included down there some verses that you can reference from today's episode.
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Until next time, I pray that you find the war that rages inside your heart to
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be a convicting blessing, one that you will be victorious over as you submit
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humbly to the Spirit of God.
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I hope you remember that today and every to be shared. I'll see you next time, church.
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