{"id":921,"date":"2020-11-25T10:29:24","date_gmt":"2020-11-25T15:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/?p=921"},"modified":"2021-12-13T07:05:10","modified_gmt":"2021-12-13T12:05:10","slug":"december-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/december-13\/","title":{"rendered":"December 13"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p style=\"font-size:14px\"><strong><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">1 Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (KJV)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:14px\"><strong><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">Exodus 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. (KJV)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-purple-color\">Are you still trying to fix yourself?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are you one of those people who believe you can use problem-solving skills to change? Theoretically, it seems possible. However, from a practical standpoint, though it may work for a time, you don\u2019t have the capacity to sustain the change. The basic premise for all problem solving is to determine the problem. You can rehearse the situation and try to identify what went wrong. You can think you have come up with the reason. The real problem is sin. Don\u2019t get bent out of shape and start to think the worse because of the word, \u201csin\u201d. Here are a couple of meanings that will help you understand why sin is the problem:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>You missed the mark God set for you.<br><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Isaiah 53:6 Like wayward sheep, we have all wandered astray. Each of us has turned from God\u2019s paths and chosen our own way; even so, Yahweh laid the guilt of our every sin upon him. (TPT)<br><\/span><\/li><li>You went beyond God\u2019s set boundary or limit.<br><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Acts 17:26 This God made us in all our diversity from one original person, allowing each culture to have its own time to develop, giving each its own place to live and thrive in its distinct ways. (The Voice TVT)<br><\/span><\/li><li>You were going in the direction God was leading and somehow you strayed off course.<br><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Romans 3:11-12 No one understands [no one intelligently discerns or comprehends]; no one seeks out God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have gone wrong and have become unprofitable and worthless; no one does right, not even one! (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition AMPC)<br><\/span><\/li><li>You are now on an alternate course not going in the direction God intended for you to go.<br><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Proverbs 14:12-13 What you think is the right road may lead to death. 13 Laughter may hide sadness. When happiness is gone, sorrow is always there. (Good News Translation GNT)<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You don\u2019t have the power to solve a sin problem. Rules can\u2019t fix it, God sent the Ten Commandments, and the people continued to sin. You can try to employ mind over matter. You can do the twelve-step, ten-step, or however many steps programs, the problem is still there. You can even begin to \u201cspeak the word over yourself.\u201d Paul describes the situation in Romans 7:14-25 (read below). You are just like he was, understanding what God desires, wanting to be obedient. And just like Paul, there is a problem. Will you also recognize that it is a sin issue, a part of human nature? Yes, God saved you, actually your spirit man, and translated you from darkness to light. However, salvation doesn\u2019t exempt you from doing the wrong thing. Your soul must be saved, and that is your job. It is not something you can talk yourself into, it requires action. You must be obedient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Philippians 2:12-13 So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed [my instructions with enthusiasm], not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ]. 13 For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure. (Amplified Bible AMP) <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"has-inline-color has-black-color\">The ultimate conclusion is you can\u2019t fix yourself. Don\u2019t give up. You, like Paul, can pray and walk in obedience to God\u2019s word. Then you can praise and give glory to God. He will fix you because He is Jehovah Mekaddishkem [ja-h\u014d-va ma-k\u0101\u2019-dish-kim] (The LORD that Sanctifies You).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Please agree with me as I pray:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Father, I have spent many days, years even, trying to fix myself. I\u2019ve read the self-help books and tried to apply the logic. I\u2019ve done the problem-solving matrices. The reality is, however intelligent I am, or what courses I have taken; I don\u2019t have the power to fix me. I want to do what You called me to do. I want to be obedient. I really do. My flesh gets in the way. I had to ask the same question Paul did, \u201cWho can separate me from the wretched person I am?\u201d I thank You that You are Jehovah Mekaddishkem. You are the one who sanctifies me. Only You have the power to clean me up. Place the coal on my lips and on my heart. Burn out everything that is not like You. Sanctify me holy unto You. That is the only way I can be a vessel You can use. I submit myself to You, be glorified and honored\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Ask the Lord what He wants to say to you about today\u2019s devotional and journal His response as described&nbsp;<\/em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/journal\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:172px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Romans 7:14-25&nbsp; I can anticipate the response that is coming: \u201cI know that all God\u2019s commands are spiritual, but I\u2019m not. Isn\u2019t this also your experience?\u201d Yes. I\u2019m full of myself\u2014after all, I\u2019ve spent a long time in sin\u2019s prison. What I don\u2019t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can\u2019t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God\u2019s command is necessary. 17-20 But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can\u2019t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don\u2019t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can\u2019t do it. I decide to do good, but I don\u2019t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don\u2019t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. 21-23 It happens so regularly that it\u2019s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God\u2019s commands, but it\u2019s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. 24 I\u2019ve tried everything and nothing helps. I\u2019m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn\u2019t that the real question? 25 The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. (The Message MSG)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1 Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (KJV) Exodus 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[485,486],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=921"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2664,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921\/revisions\/2664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelarussell.org\/teach\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}