BBD 03.13.13 Good Intentions

#1 · March 13, 2013, 1:08 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on March 13, 2013, 1:08 pm
Posted by: wrathered <wrathered@...>

TO UNSUBSCRIBE from this devotional send an email to:
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Visit the Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net
www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 170
countries. Celebrating 15 years online since January 31, 1998. Since
June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth
of God's Word to more than 16,000 subscribers across the world.

You can now leave comments/feedback about the devotionals at
www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on theburningbush.net website in the top
left hand corner of all of the pages.

The Burning Bush Devotional
There are 16,000 Subscribers to the Email Devotional

03.13.13

Good Intentions

Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak. - Mark 14:38 NKJV.

For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not
to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no
longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that
evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight
in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law
in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me
into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched
man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank
God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! - Romans 7:19-25 NKJV.

It has been said “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Maybe that is true because it is hard to translate intentions into
actions. A Harvard economist, Dr. David Laibson has been doing some
behavioral research about how to turn good intentions into actions.
Dr. Laibson found that when people were given a choice between eating
chocolate or fruit it depended on the time frame as to what they
chose. If they had to wait a week to receive the food they would
choose the fruit. However, if it was the same day they would usually
choose the chocolate. Dr. Laibson stated that: “The problem is the
difference between good intentions for the future, and the reward
today. If you get the reward today, you give it full weight. A reward
in the future gets half the weight.” He also found that when working
toward a goal you will always be more successful if you start out in
the right place. Those people who were signed up for an automatic
payroll deduction for a 401(k) savings plan were much more likely to
continue than someone who had not actually completed the paperwork for
the plan. Dr. Laibson says: “It makes all the difference if you start
out in the right place.” (Seattle Times 03.04.13; NewsOk.com 03.12.13)

To most Christians, Dr. Laibson’s research findings are obvious. We
know how hard it can be at times to turn good intentions into reality.
As Jesus said, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
The apostle Paul in Romans 7 confesses of the spiritual war that rages
within him, and indeed in all Christians. As with Paul, the good that
we would do sometimes we do not do. As the apostle puts it, “For the
good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do,
that I practice.”

In this war with sin, with evil, there are some things that can help
us to turn good intentions into spiritual reality. Dr. Laibson’s
finding, “It makes all the difference if you start out in the right
place”, is helpful. How do you rid yourself of a habitual sin? Hebrews
12:1 says, “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so
easily ensnares us….” To start out in the right place with sin, we
must lay it aside. The sin must be cut off, and no more provision or
thought should be given to fuel the sin (Romans 13:14).

Jesus gives us more insight into battling this spiritual war by saying
to His disciples, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation….”
We should be aware of those things that can cause us to stumble, and
we should be praying for the Lord to lead us, not into temptation; but
to deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13).

The most important thing that we need to turn good intentions into
reality is not a thing but a person. The apostle Paul comes to this
conclusion when he tells us, “O wretched man that I am! Who will
deliver me from this body of death? I thank God - through Jesus Christ
our Lord!” Jesus is who we need. As Paul says in Romans 13:14, “…put
on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Put on the Lord Jesus by spending time with
Him in prayer, through reading His Word, by serving Him, and spending
time with His followers.

Copyright © 2013. Ed Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online
since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the
Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather began writing
devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first
devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to
prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Ed Wrather has retired from pastoring full-time and hopefully will
have more time now to write the devotional and to pursue other
ministry opportunities. If you would like to hear his testimony in
your church or at your event please fill free to make contact. Ed is
also interested in preaching revivals if there is an opportunity to do
so. You can make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or WratherEd@gmail.com

Prayer Requests: Please continue to pray for my wife, Jeanie. Many
prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer
Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there (Of course,
I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They
may subscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush
website. Here is the URL: www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the pure text version of the devotional by
sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then
respond to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending
a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste
the link.

Posted by: wrathered <wrathered@...>

TO UNSUBSCRIBE from this devotional send an email to:
burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then MUST RESPOND to the
confirmation email.

Visit the Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net
http://www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 170
countries. Celebrating 15 years online since January 31, 1998. Since
June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth
of God's Word to more than 16,000 subscribers across the world.

You can now leave comments/feedback about the devotionals at
http://www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on theburningbush.net website in the top
left hand corner of all of the pages.

The Burning Bush Devotional
There are 16,000 Subscribers to the Email Devotional

03.13.13

Good Intentions

Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak. - Mark 14:38 NKJV.

For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not
to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no
longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that
evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight
in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law
in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me
into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched
man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank
God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! - Romans 7:19-25 NKJV.

It has been said “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Maybe that is true because it is hard to translate intentions into
actions. A Harvard economist, Dr. David Laibson has been doing some
behavioral research about how to turn good intentions into actions.
Dr. Laibson found that when people were given a choice between eating
chocolate or fruit it depended on the time frame as to what they
chose. If they had to wait a week to receive the food they would
choose the fruit. However, if it was the same day they would usually
choose the chocolate. Dr. Laibson stated that: “The problem is the
difference between good intentions for the future, and the reward
today. If you get the reward today, you give it full weight. A reward
in the future gets half the weight.” He also found that when working
toward a goal you will always be more successful if you start out in
the right place. Those people who were signed up for an automatic
payroll deduction for a 401(k) savings plan were much more likely to
continue than someone who had not actually completed the paperwork for
the plan. Dr. Laibson says: “It makes all the difference if you start
out in the right place.” (Seattle Times 03.04.13; NewsOk.com 03.12.13)

To most Christians, Dr. Laibson’s research findings are obvious. We
know how hard it can be at times to turn good intentions into reality.
As Jesus said, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
The apostle Paul in Romans 7 confesses of the spiritual war that rages
within him, and indeed in all Christians. As with Paul, the good that
we would do sometimes we do not do. As the apostle puts it, “For the
good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do,
that I practice.”

In this war with sin, with evil, there are some things that can help
us to turn good intentions into spiritual reality. Dr. Laibson’s
finding, “It makes all the difference if you start out in the right
place”, is helpful. How do you rid yourself of a habitual sin? Hebrews
12:1 says, “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so
easily ensnares us….” To start out in the right place with sin, we
must lay it aside. The sin must be cut off, and no more provision or
thought should be given to fuel the sin (Romans 13:14).

Jesus gives us more insight into battling this spiritual war by saying
to His disciples, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation….”
We should be aware of those things that can cause us to stumble, and
we should be praying for the Lord to lead us, not into temptation; but
to deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13).

The most important thing that we need to turn good intentions into
reality is not a thing but a person. The apostle Paul comes to this
conclusion when he tells us, “O wretched man that I am! Who will
deliver me from this body of death? I thank God - through Jesus Christ
our Lord!” Jesus is who we need. As Paul says in Romans 13:14, “…put
on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Put on the Lord Jesus by spending time with
Him in prayer, through reading His Word, by serving Him, and spending
time with His followers.

Copyright © 2013. Ed Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online
since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the
Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather began writing
devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first
devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to
prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Ed Wrather has retired from pastoring full-time and hopefully will
have more time now to write the devotional and to pursue other
ministry opportunities. If you would like to hear his testimony in
your church or at your event please fill free to make contact. Ed is
also interested in preaching revivals if there is an opportunity to do
so. You can make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or WratherEd@gmail.com

Prayer Requests: Please continue to pray for my wife, Jeanie. Many
prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer
Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there (Of course,
I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They
may subscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush
website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the pure text version of the devotional by
sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then
respond to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending
a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste
the link.