Day 10/14 – The Power of Sin

——://///

Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
The Power of Sin
Day Two Hundred Eighty-seven

“Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, working death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.” Romans 7:13

Saul of Tarsus met Jesus on the road to Damascus. When the Savior said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 365 Saul was confused, for he thought that he was helping God by persecuting the church. He was forced to recognize a distinction between what he thought obeying the Law looked like, and how God perceived it. When he persecuted the church he applied the Law mixing his will with what he thought to be the will of God. Once he saw this he realized that sin is more than violating the Law, for in persecuting the church, he broke no Law. “It was sin working death in me through what is good.” The Law produced the opposite of what he, as a good Jew, thought. Instead of giving life, the Law brought death.

Once Paul saw sin as a product of depravity rather than an act of breaking the Law, he realized that the Law was powerless to help him. He could not please God by resolving to keep the Law. An evil power lurked deep within him that he was powerless to destroy. “I find then the principle that evil is present in me.” 366 Most of Scripture views sin as hostile acts against God. Paul saw it as much more: a personal power working in the defective nature of people.

When Jesus said, “Paul, why do you persecute Me?” he knew that this “evil presence” warped his ability to please God. Conversion gained him forgiveness, but not the removal of this “evil presence.” The power of sin, broken at the cross, will be removed when you are in the presence of the Lord.

Don’t allow sin’s continued presence in your life to discourage you. Your willingness to resist it both assures you that you are God’s child, and prepares you for your eternal home.

365 Acts 9:4
366 Romans 7:21

———/://///

Isaiah 43-44 1 Thessalonians 2 (New King James Version)

Isaiah 43-44
The Redeemer of Israel
43
But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
2
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
3
For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I gave Egypt for your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
4
Since you were precious in My sight,
You have been honored,
And I have loved you;
Therefore I will give men for you,
And people for your life.
5
Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your descendants from the east,
And gather you from the west;
6
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’
Bring My sons from afar,
And My daughters from the ends of the earth—
7
Everyone who is called by My name,
Whom I have created for My glory;
I have formed him, yes, I have made him.”
8
Bring out the blind people who have eyes,
And the deaf who have ears.
9
Let all the nations be gathered together,
And let the people be assembled.
Who among them can declare this,
And show us former things?
Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified;
Or let them hear and say, “It is truth.”
10
“You are My witnesses,” says the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
That you may know and believe Me,
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
Nor shall there be after Me.
11
I, even I, am the Lord,
And besides Me there is no savior.
12
I have declared and saved,
I have proclaimed,
And there was no foreign god among you;
Therefore you are My witnesses,”
Says the Lord, “that I am God.
13
Indeed before the day was, I am He;
And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand;
I work, and who will reverse it?”
14
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
The Holy One of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon,
And bring them all down as fugitives—
The Chaldeans, who rejoice in their ships.
15
I am the Lord, your Holy One,
The Creator of Israel, your King.”
16
Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
17
Who brings forth the chariot and horse,
The army and the power
(They shall lie down together, they shall not rise;
They are extinguished, they are quenched like a wick):
18
“Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
19
Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.
20
The beast of the field will honor Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I give waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My people, My chosen.
21
This people I have formed for Myself;
They shall declare My praise.
Pleading with Unfaithful Israel
22
“But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob;
And you have been weary of Me, O Israel.
23
You have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings,
Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings,
Nor wearied you with incense.
24
You have bought Me no sweet cane with money,
Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
But you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have wearied Me with your iniquities.
25
“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake;
And I will not remember your sins.
26
Put Me in remembrance;
Let us contend together;
State your case, that you may be [a]acquitted.
27
Your first father sinned,
And your [b]mediators have transgressed against Me.
28
Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary;
I will give Jacob to the curse,
And Israel to reproaches.
God’s Blessing on Israel
44
“Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant,
And Israel whom I have chosen.
2
Thus says the Lord who made you
And formed you from the womb, who will help you:
‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant;
And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3
For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
And floods on the dry ground;
I will pour My Spirit on your descendants,
And My blessing on your offspring;
4
They will spring up among the grass
Like willows by the watercourses.’
5
One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
Another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
And name himself by the name of Israel.
There Is No Other God
6
“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
‘I am the First and I am the Last;
Besides Me there is no God.
7
And who can proclaim as I do?
Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me,
Since I appointed the ancient people.
And the things that are coming and shall come,
Let them show these to them.
8
Do not fear, nor be afraid;
Have I not told you from that time, and declared it?
You are My witnesses.
Is there a God besides Me?
Indeed there is no other Rock;
I know not one.’ ”
Idolatry Is Foolishness
9
Those who make an image, all of them are useless,
And their precious things shall not profit;
They are their own witnesses;
They neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed.
10
Who would form a god or mold an image
That profits him nothing?
11
Surely all his companions would be ashamed;
And the workmen, they are mere men.
Let them all be gathered together,
Let them stand up;
Yet they shall fear,
They shall be ashamed together.
12
The blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals,
Fashions it with hammers,
And works it with the strength of his arms.
Even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails;
He drinks no water and is faint.
13
The craftsman stretches out his rule,
He marks one out with chalk;
He fashions it with a plane,
He marks it out with the compass,
And makes it like the figure of a man,
According to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house.
14
He cuts down cedars for himself,
And takes the cypress and the oak;
He [c]secures it for himself among the trees of the forest.
He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it.
15
Then it shall be for a man to burn,
For he will take some of it and warm himself;
Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread;
Indeed he makes a god and worships it;
He makes it a carved image, and falls down to it.
16
He burns half of it in the fire;
With this half he eats meat;
He roasts a roast, and is satisfied.
He even warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm,
I have seen the fire.”
17
And the rest of it he makes into a god,
His carved image.
He falls down before it and worships it,
Prays to it and says,
“Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18
They do not know nor understand;
For He has [d]shut their eyes, so that they cannot see,
And their hearts, so that they cannot understand.
19
And no one considers in his heart,
Nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say,
“I have burned half of it in the fire,
Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals;
I have roasted meat and eaten it;
And shall I make the rest of it an abomination?
Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”
20
He feeds on ashes;
A deceived heart has turned him aside;
And he cannot deliver his soul,
Nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
Israel Is Not Forgotten
21
“Remember these, O Jacob,
And Israel, for you are My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant;
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me!
22
I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions,
And like a cloud, your sins.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
23
Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout, you lower parts of the earth;
Break forth into singing, you mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And glorified Himself in Israel.
Judah Will Be Restored
24
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
And He who formed you from the womb:
“I am the Lord, who makes all things,
Who stretches out the heavens [e]all alone,
Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;
25
Who frustrates the signs of the babblers,
And drives diviners mad;
Who turns wise men backward,
And makes their knowledge foolishness;
26
Who confirms the word of His servant,
And performs the counsel of His messengers;
Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,’
To the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built,’
And I will raise up her waste places;
27
Who says to the deep, ‘Be dry!
And I will dry up your rivers’;
28
Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,
And he shall perform all My pleasure,
Saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,”
And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ’
Footnotes:
• Isaiah 43:26 justified
• Isaiah 43:27 interpreters
• Isaiah 44:14 Lit. appropriates
• Isaiah 44:18 Lit. smeared over
• Isaiah 44:24 By Himself

1 Thessalonians 2
Paul’s Conduct
2 For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But [a]even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict. 3 For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit.
4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. 5 For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a [b]cloak for covetousness—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. 8 So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. 9 For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.
10 You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; 11 as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and [c]charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, 12 that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
Their Conversion
13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. 14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are [d]contrary to all men, 16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.
Longing to See Them
17 But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. 18 Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? 20 For you are our glory and joy.
Footnotes:
• 1 Thessalonians 2:2 NU, M omit even
• 1 Thessalonians 2:5 pretext for greed
• 1 Thessalonians 2:11 NU, M implored
• 1 Thessalonians 2:15 hostile