Today is Thursday, January 18th, 2007; Karen's Korner #979

Our two-year-old grandson, Luke, was being babysat by grandpa a couple of months ago. Luke was using a red marker on some newspaper print, but grandpa fell asleep. When Grandpa woke up and I arrived home, Luke had red marker on the newspapers, on himself, on his clothes, on our coffee table, on the couch, on some magazines, pillows, and books!
 
We got the red markings off the coffee table, couch, and the boy! The magazines and newspapers we tossed. The books and the pillows we took to the thrift store. Luke's clothes moved from sort-of -good, to play clothes.
 
Luke's mom says he doesn't like to wear his gray tennis shoes now because "they have red all over them"!
 
I wonder if we are sort of like Luke:  we do some things we would just as soon not do, or we have some addiction that raises its ugly head. What about the new year's resolution that is now on the garbage heap of good intentions. We are now stuck wearing tennis shoes we don't like because we have "red marks all over them".
 
This isn't new news to Luke and to us today, Paul talks about it in Romans, chapter 7: (in part)...."I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong.....but I can't help myself.....when I want to do good, I don't; and when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway.....it seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong......Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature? Thank God! It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord. He has set me free!"
 
Dear God, thank You that You have changed my old nature to Your new nature. Thank You that I don't have to count on just me, but I can count on You and Your Son Jesus. Thank You that You remove stains from the "scribbled on" tennis shoes of my life. And best of all, thank You, that You have given me new shoes to wear....those bought and paid for by Your Son Jesus. Amen.
 

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