OPERATION BACK TO SCHOOL: BASICS (5)

The beginning of August signals the beginning of back-to-school shopping, or at least back-to-school-shopping commercials. You may not know it, but whether you’re a freshman or senior, you’re going to need more than notebooks, pencils, and a strong book bag.

You need truth. 

Sure, you’re going to school, willingly or unwillingly, to learn, but there are truths you need before the algebra, literature, and biology. While you should develop good study habits for the new semester, here are some real keys to the classroom you probably won’t find in your syllabus.

1. Thinking may be the most critical thing you ever do.

You’re going to school to learn how to think, not to pass tests. Whatever Christians do with their lives, whether we eat or drink or run a company or teach second grade or develop software or change diapers, we aim to do it to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). If you’ve tried it, you know it’s rarely simple or obvious how that happens. It requires careful thought and discernment.

John Piper (my mentor) writes, “The well-educated person is the person who has the habits of mind and heart to go on learning what he needs to learn to live in a Christ-exalting way for the rest of his life — and that would apply to whatever sphere of life he pursues” (Think, 191–192).

If we’re going to apply God’s word to the world, we need to know our world. Every chapter in a history book, every science experiment in the lab, every interaction between classmates is an opportunity to learn about the world God created — the place he especially put us to see him, enjoy him, and help others do the same.

2. The most important book you’ll read this fall is your Bible.

Because of all the assigned pages, you’ll be tempted to sideline your Bible reading until the next test has passed, the next paper is done, or the next break is here. Instead, treat your time in the Bible like you treat your meal plan. (If this isn't clear to you try fasting for 3 days to grasp how important a meal is!) 

Your time soaking in Scripture will be the most fruitful and shaping time of your education. Nothing can replace the wealth you will find there, and nothing will prepare you better for life, family, vocation, basketball games or even your next class.

Again, Piper pleads, “Let us labor to memorize the Word of God — for worship and for warfare. If we don’t wear it, we can’t wield it. If we do not carry it in our heads, we cannot savor it in our hearts or wield it in the Spirit” (Desiring God, 154-1 of my favorite books).

3. Someone younger than you needs you.

As a teenager, it took me several years to appreciate the influence I had over those younger than me. Sixth-graders can’t wait to be eighth-graders, who can’t wait to be freshmen, who can’t wait to be juniors, who can’t wait to be in college.

So someone younger than you is watching you, and probably wants to be like you. Whether you choose to be or not, you will be a role model. Why not model Christ-like faith, joy, generosity, discipline and service?

If you were under the impression 2 Timothy 2:2 stops with elder-types in the church, remember that Jesus calls all his disciples, without distinction, to be making more disciples (Matthew 28:19).

Keep your eyes open for the guy (if you’re a guy) or girl (if you’re a girl) trying to find someone to look up to, and spend some time and energy to consistently point them even further up to Christ. Think creatively about ways you could invest the gospel and your life into them, and eventually show them how they can do the same for others.

4. Comparison in the classroom can be the birthplace of pride.

God opposes the proud (James 4:6). That’s enough to know pride is dangerous, really dangerous. No one opposes God and survives, much less wins. Your pride will defile you (Matthew 7:20–23) and keep you out of the kingdom. Your humility, however, testifies to God’s forgiveness of your sin and his grace at work in you.

The classroom naturally nurtures a culture of comparison. Humble brags are in full bloom: "Arrghh, I'm so busy this week because I have AP Basketweaving, AP Chemistry and AP Algebra 2 of which I am the oooonly freshman in the class!" 

Pride can certainly begin before our education, but school’s grades, awards, and social dynamics seem to breed the wrong kind of competition — a self-seeking kind. And this pride clashes with our Savior’s sacrifice like your dad’s white socks and his favorite sandals.

Your younger years are fertile ground for big dreams. At our BE THE ONE TOUR we recently encouraged a group of young ambitious dreamers to distinguish between influence and fame.  It is a good and honorable thing to want to change the world, but it’s wicked to want to be known for it.

Let’s try and be quick to celebrate others (Romans 12:10), slow to speak, especially about our own successes, and slow to think more highly of ourselves than we ought (Romans 12:3). Remember you are a sinner bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19–20), and that in all your good papers, projects, and tests, it is God working through you for his glory (Philippians 2:13).

5. Only the gospel saves anyone, even A-students.

Whatever the grades may say, none of us really measures up — no, not one (Romans 3:11–12). Regardless of how hard you work this year, you will fail. You may fail to serve your teammates patiently or steward your time effectively or respect your parents humbly or do your schoolwork faithfully.

Fortunately, every student who trusts in Christ has an advocate before the one with infinitely more power and authority than any teacher, dean, principal, or president (1 John 2:1). God loves you and promises to be with you and help you because his Son died for you, not because of how well you do in school or how many friends you have or how happy your parents are with your performance.

You might have a new computer or a new study partner or an improved living situation or some new resolve to do better, but ultimately your only hope this fall or any fall is the gospel. And that is a really, really strong place to stand and study!!

So whether you’re going to walk, drive, or take the bus for the first day of classes, as you pack up, prepare your heart and mind for the work. By God’s merciful, student-loving grace, this year could be a breakthrough in your personal passion for him, your ministry to others on campus, and your readiness for a long life lived with and for Jesus.

You're NOT a student first....you're a Christian first...then a student.

Grace be with you--Robbs

HOW TO REPENT

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

A vague, bad feeling that you are a horrible-crummy person is not the same as conviction for sin. *Feeling* rotten is not the same as *repentance.

This morning I began to pray, and felt unworthy to be talking to the Creator of the universe. It was a vague sense of unworthiness. So I told him so. Now what?

Nothing changed until I began to get specific about my sins. Crummy, guilty feelings can be useful if they lead to conviction for sins. Vague feelings of being a bad person are not very helpful.

The fog of unworthiness needs to take shape into clear dark pillars of disobedience. Then you can point to them and repent and ask for forgiveness and take aim to blow them up.

So I began to call to mind the commands I frequently break. These are the ones that came to mind.

• Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Not 95%, but 100%. (Matthew 22:37)
• Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Be as eager for things to go well for him as you are for things to go well for you. (Matthew 22:39)
• Do all things without grumbling. No grumbling—inside or outside. (Philippians 2:14)
• Cast all your anxieties on him—so you are not being weighed down by it anymore. (1 Peter 5:7)
• Only say things that give grace to others—especially those closest to you. (Ephesians 4:29)
• Redeem the time. Don’t fritter or dawdle. (Ephesians 5:16)

So much for any pretensions to great holiness! I’m undone.

But now it is specific. I look it in the eye. I’m not whining about feeling horrible. I’m apologizing to Christ for not keeping all that he commanded.

I’m broken and I’m angry at my sin. I want to kill it, not me. I’m not suicidal. I’m a sin hater and a sin murderer. (“Put to death what is earthly in you,” Colossians 3:5; “Put to death the deeds of the body,” Romans 8:13.)

In this conflict, I hear the promise, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Peace rises. Crumminess gone. 

Prayer feels possible and right and powerful again.

Come, I'm serving up a cup of refreshment today (Acts 3:19) 

Robbs

GIVE ME A DRINK!

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”  The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water" (John 4:7–11, ESV)? For anyone who is serious about becoming more like Jesus, this exchange between Him and the woman at the well in Sychar is a conversation to study. Jesus’ opening line, “Give me a drink,” may read rather abruptly, but the woman’s reply reveals that His tone was a genuine request rather than an order. “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria? Her response could have been taken by Jesus as a personal affront. But He was not put off. When she asked, in effect, “Why are You talking to me?” His answer took the conversation to a whole new level: “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”  Jesus was basically saying, “You hesitate to give Me water I deserve; but I am not going to hesitate to give you living water you don’t deserve.” What an awesome way of expressing what He might also say to each of us: “You hold back your life from Me, when I am freely offering you eternal life.” Wowsa! The Samaritan woman didn’t have this insight—she did not realize what He was telling her. She lacked the knowledge of two things: the gift of God and the identity of who she was speaking with. Her focus was on the impossibility of drawing water from a deep well without a bucket. She revealed she was stuck in the physical realm. Jesus wanted to give her a spiritual reality, but she couldn’t think beyond her immediate circumstances.    How often have we been stuck on what’s going on around us (or where we've *been) when the Lord is trying to take us into a (longed for) spiritual reality?  How often do we limit God to the ways and means we can see rather than remembering who He is?  It’s so easy to have our attention focused on earth and glance at heaven than to fix our eyes on the final prize and leave the world to our peripheral vision. This woman shows us how we often miss the spiritual point. How often do you do the same thing? How carefully are you listening and watching for God’s efforts to speak into your life? You're in the middle of a busy, hectic day, going a thousand miles an hour—and God is trying to get your attention, trying to take you to the mat with the full weight of who He is. God has something better for you.  Waaaaaaay. Waaaaaaaay. Better.  He wants to draw your focus beyond the immediate and obvious to the eternal and less-than-apparent. If your soul is thirsty, if you’re not hearing from the Lord or seeing Him at work, but you want to, it’s time to slow down and pay attention.  One way to do this is to build a discipline of experiencing God in Christ by the Spirit, each day. I recommend purchasing EXPERIENCING GOD Workbook by Henry Blackaby as a tool (like a glass) to help you drink deeply from the spring of life-giving water.  Pray with Me Heavenly Father, I want my eyes to be more open and my heart more tuned to hear Your voice. Help me listen for Your true and eternal Word among the lies and distractions that surround me. Keep me aware that the life You have for me goes beyond my physical senses, and You invite me to fix my mind on things in heaven, not on things on earth. Thank You for drawing me into Your presence. Help me to truly understand that "to die is gain!" In the Life Giving name of Jesus, amen.

HEY, WANDERER!!

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6, ESV).

Hey, Wanderer! !

Yes, you. Stop glancing over your shoulder. Look in the mirror. 

The sobering truth is we are all wanderers—either we did wander (past tense) or we are still wandering (present tense) or someday we will wander (future tense). It’s the universal condition of the human heart.

To wander is to proceed without a proper sense of direction—lose clarity or turn aside from the main subject of attention,  going astray, turning to our own way, as Isaiah describes. Like foolish sheep, we wander away from our Good Shepherd, away from the safety of the fold, and we expose ourselves to countless dangers. But the Shepherd calls us by name to come home, and He gives His own life to bring us there (see John 10:1–18). Let that land on you for a minute. 

This is the good news of the gospel, the life-giving truth every wanderer desperately needs to hear. The past can be forgiven. Hurts can be healed. Sin can be atoned for. And we can celebrate what Jesus Christ has done for sinful people—starting with ourselves!

The story of Robert Robinson illustrates this well. In 1757 Robinson wrote a beloved hymn, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” His insightful lyrics describe our human tendency to wander:

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Take my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for thy courts above.

Curiously, some accounts of Robinson’s life suggest that after writing it, he wandered from God—not for a year but for decades.  Unbeknownst to him, wandering became a pattern in his life. 

Thirty years after he wrote that hymn, Robinson met a young woman who happened to be reading a collection of poetry and hymns. He asked her to read aloud from her book, and she unknowingly read to him the very words of the hymn he had written years before. 

Apparently Robinson not only admitted to having written the lyrics but also to his deep longing to feel again what he had experienced with God when those words had been inspired. “Madam,” he said, “I am the poor unhappy man who composed that hymn many years ago. And I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I then had!”

Do you know that familiar tendency, a proneness to go your own way, intentionally or inadvertently? 

Like Robinson, have you wandered from God? 

Hear the invitation: You can wake up right now and get back to following Christ. Stop being foolish and playing around with nonsense that will only trash you and the people you love.

Maybe you made a foolish decision 3 years ago. Maybe you were sitting on the throne of your own heart, and forgot God last week. Maybe you allowed a wrong desire to begin to grow in you. Maybe you’re playing with fire right now. 

You might arrogantly think, See? I’m not singed! I'm ok. I didn’t get burned. Yet. 

Listen and hear these words as coming from the Lord Himself. Don’t think you can beat the odds; you can’t. If you have wandered, come back—today, right now! 

It’s time.

Come back—perhaps to your home, to your family, or to your church family. Come back to the Truth himself. And come back to a Person—the Good Shepherd who searches for, runs to, fights for, redeemed, died for, and loves you.

Welcome home, wanderer. 

• Every sheep has wandered from the fold. Describe your wandering, whether it was decades ago or yesterday. Write it out. Pledge a clear conscience before God. 
• Why must God’s children acknowledge their tendency to wander? Why is the gospel only satisfying to those who know their sin?

Pray with me: 

Father in Heaven, I echo the words of Robinson’s hymn: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, / Prone to leave the God I love; / Take my heart, O take and seal it, / Seal it for thy courts above.” Forgive me for wandering, God. On my own I am helpless, lost, and self-destructive. But You are the Good Shepherd. Thank You for laying down Your life for me. Thank You for the good news of the gospel, the only salve for my sin-sick soul. In the name of the Word of Life, My Savior, I pray, amen.

LIFE CHANGE AHEAD

EXPERIENCING GOD

God reveals himself, his purposes and his ways through scripture. Each week I will create a post to guide your TAG (Time Alone with God) to help you get to know and experience God on an intimate level. (Week Two will follow this important post) 

RESPONDING TO TRUTH
Before we begin this week, I want to teach you what I've learned about RESPONDING TO TRUTH. 

Understanding spiritual truth DOES NOT lead you to an encounter with God; it is the encounter with God.  You cannot understand God's purposes and ways UNLESS the Spirit of God teaches you.  If God has revealed spiritual truth to you through a passage of Scripture, you have encountered God Himself working in YOU!! 

Having said that....

I always approach the Scriptures with excited anticipation!  
Why? 
Because I know that the Spirit of Truth (the Holy Spirit) is the only person who knows the mind of God.  Because He knows what God wants to do in my life, He begins to open my understanding about God, His purposes and His ways.  I take that work seriously!  

Therefore when God reveals truth to me in His Word, I underline or highlight the passage of Scripture. Then I meditate on the passage, immersing myself in its meaning.  I adjust my life to the truth and thus to God.  I agree with God and take any action necessary to allow God to work in the way He has revealed.  Finally, I watch for ways God may use that truth in my life during the day.  

Here is an example of the way God may use His Word to speak to you.  Suppose you are reading Psalm 37.  Although you've read this a bazillion times before, you come to verse 21 and read, "The wicked borrow and do not repay." You are drawn back to that verse. You read it again. Then you remember someone you have failed to repay. You realize this Scripture applies to you. You feel the weight of your sin. You move to immediate action to repay your debt. 

The Holy Spirit has just spoken to you through that verse.  

You have encountered truth. 

 

Now you understand that those who borrow and do not repay are sinning in God's sight.  The Holy Spirit has called your attention to a specific instance in which the verse applies to you.  He is CONVICTING you of sin.  He is the only One who can do that.  God has spoken to you by the working of the Holy Spirit and through His Word.  God wants you to have no hindrance to a love relationship with Him in your life. 

Once God has spoken to you through His Word, your response is crucial.  You must adjust your life to the truth.  In this case the adjustment is this: 

• You must agree with the truth: those who borrow and do not repay are morally wicked in God's sight. 
• You must agree that the truth applies to you in the "particular instance" God has brought to your memory.  This is confession of sin. You agree with God about your sin. 

In this way you have adjusted your understanding to agree with Gods will in this matter.  To agree with God, you must change your understanding (heart and mind) to comply with His.  This requires an adjustment. Is that all you must do? NO! 

Agreeing with God in confession is not enough.  

Until you take immediate action, you have not repented of your sinful ways. This is where obedience comes in.  You obey God's will by making any necessary amends or steps in the "right"-eous direction.  After you respond, you are free to experience a more complete relationship with God.  This helps you grow in love with God.  Always connect revealed truth with your understanding of God and your relationship with Him. 

God is more interested what You become that in what you do. 

If you are not using a notebook during your TAG's or keeping a spiritual journal, you need to.  When God speaks to you through a verse of Scripture, write it down, what it means to you, and what you need to do to adjust your life to God so you can begin to experience Him relating to you this way. Add your prayer response, as well.  This helps you keep a record of the encounter with God that you have experienced, what He said, and the way you responded to Him.

One other thing before we bounce: TRUTH IS A PERSON
Truth is not just a "concept" to study.  Truth is a Person. Jesus did not say, "I will teach you the truth." EVER. He said, "I AM...the Truth!" (John 14:6)

God is the GOSPEL, when you come to Him, He gives you the gift of HIMSELF. (John 17:3) His Holy Spirit, who lives in you, reveals Truth. When the Holy Spirit reveals truth, He is not teaching you a concept to consider.  He is leading you to a relationship with a Person, Christ Jesus.  HE IS YOUR LIFE! When God gives you eternal life at conversion, He gives you a Person. He gives you HIMSELF. 


Which leads me to add one last thing about prayer.

Prayer is a relationship, not just a religious suggestion or activity.  Its purpose is to adjust you to God, not to align God with your thinking. In fact, God already knows what you're thinking and what you're going to say, before you say it.  Prayer is so God can work in and through your life, for His glory.  It goes something like this: 

(As you read note a key word in each statement.) 

1. . God takes the initiative by causing you to want or need to pray. (Yup, that's right, you've never prayed a genuine prayer God didn't give you to pray!)
2. The Holy Spirit takes the Scripture and reveals Truth to you. 
3. By the Spirit, you pray in agreement with God's will. 
4. You adjust your life to Truth. (God)
5. You look and listen for further directions from the bible, circumstances, etc... throughout the day.
6. You Obey.
7. God works in you and through you to accomplish His purposes.
8. You experience God. You grow in Faith, Hope and Love. (The greatest of these is LOVE.)

OK, I've said a mouthful.  Time to land this plane. 

If this has helped you PLEASE leave a comment below. To help me fight against getting weary in doing good.  Oftentimes, I'm challenged by feeling like I'm wasting time writing on a blog that no one benefits from. 

This cup of  "theoffee" is on house...of The Lord. 

With warm thanks, 
Robbs

WISE AS...SERPENTS?

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves (Matthew10:16, ESV).

SHEEP. WOLVES. SNAKES. DOVES. 

Know any people who are “wise as serpents” or, in some translations, “shrewd as snakes” (NIV)? Who comes to mind—a savvy business manager, a wily investor, a friend with an uncanny acumen? Those who are wise or shrewd often navigate business, and other affairs of life, adeptly and earn the respect of those around them. Jesus wants us to be shrewd.

Shrewd means astute, sharp, clever, discerning, rigorous in practical matters. Some Christians can be described as “so heavenly minded they are no earthly good.” In other words, we lack shrewdness. Jesus was noticeably worked up about this problem. “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light” (Luke 16:8, ESV). He did not mean this as a compliment to His followers. He expects us to be wise and shrewd in our dealings with this world.

Jesus commands both shrewdness and innocence in our daily living. When you consider those two desired traits, how would you assess yourself? Are you a shrewd, wise-as-a-snake person who needs to work on your dove (love) trait? Or are you more of a loving, caring person who needs to work on your snake side (shrewdness)? Both are required.

Here is why....

The text goes on to say that the “wolves” will deliver the “sheep” to courts, and flog them, and drag them before governors, and have parents and children put to death, and hate them, and persecute them from town to town, and malign them, and kill them (Matthew 10:17-31). So it is clear that when Jesus says he is sending us as sheep in the midst of wolves, he means that we will be treated the way wolves treat sheep.

But, even though sheep are proverbially stupid—which, on the face of it, is what it looks like when they walk toward wolves and not away from them—Jesus counters that notion by saying “be wise as serpents.” So vulnerability, not stupidity, is the point of calling us sheep. Be like snakes, not sheep, when it comes to being smart. I take that to mean that snakes are quick to get out of the way. They go under rock. They are clever, calculating, and wise. 

So, yes, go among wolves and be vulnerable (especially as you preach the gospel), but when they lunge at you, step aside. When they open their mouths, don’t jump in. And not only that, be as innocent as doves. That is, don’t give them any legitimate reason to accuse you of injustice or immorality. Keep your reputation squeaky clean.

So both the snake-intelligence and the dove-innocence are both designed to keep the sheep on top of things.  He means: Risk your lives as vulnerable, non-combative, sheep-like, courageous christians, but try to find ways to conduct yourselves that do not bring down unnecessary persecution.

In essence Jesus was saying, “The majority of My kids are on the dove program—strong in the love thing. But I get tired of seeing them run over by people. I want them to step their shrewdness game way up.”

So how do we up our shrewdness? 

Jesus told us,“Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9,ESV). One practical, shrewd use of wealth (meaning your possessions, not just your currency) involves making friends. Utilize what God has given you. Don't hoard. Use what you have to help those around you and forge friendships.

Do you have a car? You might give a "Lyft" to a co-worker or casual friend who doesn't have a ride somewhere. Creative carpooling can be a first step in developing an influential relationship.

Do you have a house or apartment? Do you have extra space where you live? You might share your home with someone in need for a period of time. You could host a Bible study or prayer group. Opening your home and showing hospitality is a way to use what you have to benefit others and make forge friendships. 

Do your neighbors know they can borrow your things and ask for your help? Or would they describe you as isolated?

Whatever you have, use it for the Lord. Someday, you may meet some friends in heaven who will say, “I’ve been waiting for you to get here! You used what you had and it enriched my life. You’re part of the reason I’m here.” This isn't optional. Jesus expects us to be wise and shrewd stewards of everything we have, to help others and forge relationships—with His kingdom in mind.

Add some shrewdness to your love!! 

Tall Drip with cream and sugar. Keep it simple. 

Robbs

PRAYER IS FOR SINNERS!

 "Lord, teach us to pray.”   Luke 11:1-4

God answers the prayers of sinners, not those who think they do not sin. And you can become perfectly paralyzed in your praying if you do not focus on the cross and realize this.

I could show it from numerous Old Testament texts where God hears the cry of his sinful people, whose very sins had gotten them into the trouble from which they are crying for deliverance (for example, Psalm 38:4, 15; 40:12–13; 107:11–13). But let me show it from Luke 11 — in two ways:

In this version of the Lord's Prayer (verses 2–4) Jesus is answering His disciples who have asked Him to "teach" them how to pray.

Jesus says, “When you pray say” . . . and then in verse 4 he includes this petition, “and forgive us our sins.” So, if you connect the beginning of the prayer with the middle, what he says is, “Whenever you pray say . . . forgive us our sins.”

Why?!

I take this to mean that this should be as much a part of all our praying as “Hallowed be thy name.” Which means that Jesus assumes that we need to seek forgiveness every time we pray.
(ahem... which should be daily and without ceasing.... ..but that's another blog post.) 

In other words, we are always sinners. 

Nothing we do is perfect. As Martin Luther said, on his deathbed, “We are beggars, this is true.” It doesn't matter how obedient we have been before we pray. We always come to the Lord as sinners — all of us. And God does not turn away the prayers of sinners when they pray like this.

The second place I see this taught here is in verse 13: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Jesus calls his disciples “evil.” Pretty strong language. And he did not mean that they were out of fellowship with him. He did not mean that their prayers could not be answered.
He meant that as long as this fallen age lasts, even his own disciples will have an evil bent that pollutes everything we do, but that bent doesn't keep us from doing much good.  In fact, it keeps us clinging to the cross of Christ, crying out for forgiveness, being broken hearted about the darkness that remains in us, and begging for His grace to transform us by the Holy Spirit. 

We are simultaneously evil and redeemed. 

We are gradually overcoming our evil by the power of the Holy Spirit (through bible study and prayer ...ie the sword). But our native corruption is not obliterated by conversion, or "being made new."

We are sinners and we are beggars. And if we recognize this sin, fight it, and cling to the cross of Christ as our hope, then God will hear us and answer our prayers.

LORD, Teach Us To Pray!

Dark Roast No Cream. 
Robbs