The Most Basic Lesson

“I know that in me (that is,
in my flesh) nothing good dwells.”
ROMANS 7:18

It is a great day for the Lord when a disciple of Jesus learns this most basic lesson: that in “me,” in myself, in my flesh, dwells no good thing.

This is a very difficult thing for people to learn. Jesus says that without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). This verse is very well-known. Even so, Christians still attempt to do many things apart from the Lord. We feel like we simply must do something, anything. And even though the Bible says there is nothing good in our flesh, and the flesh profits nothing, we spend a lot of time doing fleshly things apart from the Spirit of Jesus, thinking they are good and profitable.

It is impossible to say for sure just how many of the things we “feel led” to do and say are actually just things we feel like doing and saying. A lot of the time the Lord has very little to do with it.

Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden