Daily Dose of the Word of God - Romans 3: 23

Gregg DeMay, Lead Pastor

Transcript

Gregg DeMey  0:06 

Good morning and welcome to Elmhurst CRC's daily dose of the Word of God. This is Gregg DeMey, Lead Pastor at the church and it's Friday September 8, and Sunday's coming. This week, we will be climbing the ladder of Faith with an emphasis on the letter F, which signifies our fallenness. Here is a short, direct, powerfully humbling verse from Romans 3, verse 23.

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For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

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When I was a kid, I thought, "Wow, adults are really amazing. They know so much. They have their lives together, they have jobs and are raising families." It's a childish way of thinking. I thought that adults know how the world works and that they were so good at life. It's probably good that we're wired up to think this way as kids, otherwise the world would seem too unsteady. But as I got older, I remember the dawning of the uncomfortable realization that adults (my parents, their friends) don't really know everything about everything - that adults had problems and struggles. Sometimes they lost friends or marriages or got fired from jobs. In fact, adults were struggling and failing all the time, and that the stakes were even higher as grownups because they had more influence and responsibility than the kids do.

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Do you remember when that realization dawned on you? That all adults were as broken and flawed as you are? Everyone we see going through life is carrying something: some hidden pain, shouldering some unsolvable problems seemingly fighting a battle that often we don't know about. Some of it is collateral damage from the sin-marinated world; some of it is of our own doing because we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. As elders, we've recently been talking about how we are collectively living through a time of great shaking (Globally, culturally). Most of us feel it in a variety of ways and if we are living in a period of shaking or earthquaking, it is no wonder that so many people around us (especially young people and young adults) feel unsettled, uncertain about the future.

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But in response to an earthquake, two main identities quickly emerged: those who are victims of the earthquake and those who are part of the rescue team. And of course, these are not mutually exclusive. Some folks in Maui chose to help their neighbors to safety, even as their own homes and possessions burned in the recent fire. As Christians, we are a part of God's rescue team, following in the footsteps of our great rescuer and Redeemer, Jesus. Of course, we are still human, broken, sinful, imperfect - but God loves to work with those who self-identify as broken sinners, and who yet aspire to be more than merely broken and part of the rescue team. Does this describe you today?

Gregg DeMey 3:06  

Let's pray. Oh, Jesus, I am constantly falling short of the kind of man I desired to be; the kind of man you called me to be. And yet, I know because of that honest admission and the desire to be more like you, that those things actually please you. So please, Lord, please don't leave me as I am - as we are - but in your faithfulness, keep wooing us away from our sins and their consequences into the healing and wholeness and integration that you purpose for us and for our loved ones, and for the life of the world. In your strong, gracious beautiful name we pray Jesus, amen.