Wednesday, February 18, 2009

I Need Something More--And God Provides

"What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.

"But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes.

"...I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?

"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.

"With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. ...God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all.

"...So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us?"

--excerpts from Romans 7 and 8, The Message

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Do you like the Message bible? I've not read it, but I've heard it has caused quite a stir among Christians and biblical scholars.

Amy said...

Marcy--I've had it for a long, long time, but hadn't read it again until recently. I actually got the NT/Psalms & Proverbs version back in high school when that was all that was available. I read through it back then, but hadn't really used it in years. I just pulled it off the shelf last week and was enjoying it. To be honest, I have not read it enough recently to speak to any controversy. I loved it in HS, but my theology and perspectives are very different now :)

That disclaimer aside, while I would never recommend it as a primary/only Bible, I think it can be vaulable as far as bringing a fresh perspective to Scripture. I know for me, sometimes the words become so familiar that I gloss over them without really hearing what God is saying, and I think The Message can help with that.

Anonymous said...

Hi Amy, I enjoy using the Message and also I use The Promise. It is a good way of seeing God's word in different versions. These two bibles are a little easier to understand for some people.I am all for reading God's word in all texts to get a good feel for what he is saying to me.