This wretched disease

Romans 3:9-12: What then? are we better [than they]? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

In my last devotional, I discussed how God's Word has been committed to the churches. This, however, does not make us immune to the same types of behaviors, attitudes and mistakes that are made by those who have yet to accept Jesus as Savior.

This was displayed very prominently during the 2007 Missionary Baptist Association of Texas messenger meeting. There, you had 150 voting messengers. All in all, there were probably close to 350 people. Most of these people probably have prayer lives and many probably study their Bibles. Most, if not all, want to see God's will done. Furthermore, many are probably ministering well in their respective communities. All pastors have at least one person who has been blessed by their ministry. So, why, when all these God fearing people get together, is there strife and contention? Why were the missionaries drawn and quartered on the meeting floor?

Why do loving, harmonious churches blow up during business meetings? What is the deal?

The problem is that we are all under sin. We still have the flesh nature dwelling within us. That's why we never quite seem to live like we know we should (Romans 7, we'll get there eventually).

So, what to do about what to do?

Rom 3:23-24 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

We have all sinned. We all have the sin nature... but we are forgiven of that sin (being justified) FREELY by God's grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus. Let's remember that it is sin that seperates us from God, and repent. Let's remember that it was God's idea to save us, and that we did not deserve it (grace). Let's praise Him for that and be thankful for Christ, who paid the penalty for our sin on the cross.

Application:

If you have not accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, do so today. You will find that having Christ in your life will give you strength and comfort to face your challenges. Not only that, but you will also find others just like you who will come along side you and help you face whatever it is that troubles you in life.

If you are Christian and you find yourself struggling with sin, repent of that sin today and turn back to the Lord. I have found that spending time in God's Word is an excellent way to turn to the Lord. Also, find some of your Christian brothers and sisters to fellowship with. If you can find a group to share your struggles with, you will be stronger for it. (Hebrews 10:23-25)

If you attended the MBA meeting and find yourself dissappointed, disenchanted and discouraged, let's pray together that the Lord will forgive us for our sins and restore the fellowship of the association. We can get through this by cleaving to the Lord.