I JUST CAN’T BE GOOD!

 

Wednesday, May 27, 2026

 

I JUST CAN’T BE GOOD!

 

Rom 7:18-20

18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

 

          Paul was having a problem with Paul. He masterfully describes the conflict of the two natures. The spiritual nature has a deep desire to do good while the flesh struggles to maintain a lifestyle of sensuality and pleasure. In verse 18 he describes how goodness has eluded him. He admits to personal defeat in the matter.

 

          Paul gives voice to the cry of every believer: “How can I stop doing bad things?” Even in the midst of doing good, Paul found that evil was right there with him waiting for an opportunity to take control. The believer under Law grows tired and discouraged because he is trying to do the impossible. Paul screams: “Who shall deliver me?” Then he answers his own question in verse 25. Now the grace of our Lord has appeared.

 

Titus 2:11-12

11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.

 

Dear Savior, I know that in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. I do not have the personal power to be good or to do good. Every time I think I have reached the mark I look to see that it has run on ahead of me. I reach out to grab righteousness, and it flees from me. Evil is present with me and won’t leave me. But I am forgiven and I have been given your grace. Thank you for the cross and for your resurrection. AMEN

 

OPEN MY EYES!

 

Tuesday, May 26, 2026

 

OPEN MY EYES!

 

Ps 119:18

18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

 

          Jesus had told His disciples that he was “going away” and Thomas said “Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?” John 14:5 Then Philip said that it would be enough if they could just “see the Father.” Jesus then responded that if they had seen Him, they had already seen the Father!

 

          Like the proverbial calf looking at a new gate, they didn’t know what they were seeing. Comprehension was withheld from their eyes and minds because Jesus was so cleverly hidden in human flesh.

 

          The travelers on the road to Emmaus walked and talked with the resurrected Jesus but did not know him. “And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.” Luke 24:15-16

 

          The word “holden” is translated from the Greek krateo which means “to seize or retain.” They saw but they were “held, seized, and retained” from comprehending.

 

          Today, ask God to reveal Himself to you in a new and fresh way. What a joy it will be to you to see Him again for the very first time.

 

Dear Lord, remove the scales from my eyes that I might see you more clearly than ever before. AMEN

 

DECORATION DAY

 

Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, 2026

 

DECORATION DAY

 

Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 

 

          We called it Decoration Day because Tennessee people, wherever they had roamed, came home to place pretty flowers on the family graves. It was a time for reunion with others who had come home.

 

          Our loved ones were all buried in the small cemetery adjoining the Pine Hill Church, probably Baptist with a Pentecostal flavor. It was there that we gathered to forget trespasses and to remember good things. The church provided “all day singing” and “dinner on the ground.”

 

          Our family had migrated to Ohio, where there was work for daddy. We took highway 27 south through Kentucky. We stopped somewhere in the mountains at a log cabin restaurant. I remember that there was a Koi pond out front which fascinated me and my siblings. They were the biggest goldfish we had ever seen. Inside was a trinket shop with hillbilly stuff. There was a coonskin hat which we did not buy but wanted to. We ate … something.

 

Lord, let me sit a spell and forget trespasses and remember good things. AMEN