Damage Control

Romans 3:10-18 (NET) - just as it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one, there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, not even one.” “Their throats are open graves, they deceive with their tongues, the poison of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood, ruin and misery are in their paths, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

These words from the book of Romans spell out the human condition quite clearly.

They hold nothing back.

The opening words set the record straight.

“There is no one righteous, not even one, there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God.”

This is clearly a set of circumstances we should address.

Where do we begin?

Perhaps Nehemiah can give us some insight.

When he arrived in Jerusalem he knew what God wanted him to do.

God wanted him to rebuild the wall that lay in ruins.

Nehemiah did not begin by gathering materials or assembling workers.

His first response to God’s call was to assess the damage.

He got up during the night and took a few men with him but he informed no one of God’s plan,

He examined where the wall had been breached and the gates burned.

Only after this assessment did he make the plan known.

Nehemiah 2:17-18 (NET) - Then I said to them, “You see the problem that we have: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates are burned. Come on! Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that this reproach will not continue.” Then I related to them how the good hand of my God was on me and what the king had said to me. Then they replied, “Let’s begin rebuilding right away!” So they readied themselves for this good project.

Just like the wall in Nehemiah’s day, we are broken.

As we continue our journey through the season of Lent let us assess our damage.

Let us also turn to the One who can repair that damage and put us right.

Romans 3:23-24 (NET) - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, March 24, 2017.

I’ll be back here on Friday, April 7, 2017