Forward Movement is an official, non-profit agency of the Episcopal Church whose mission is to create compelling content for Christian living. Since 1935 we have published the quarterly devotional Forward Day by Day, as well as pamphlets, booklets, and books that encourage and nourish people in their lives of prayer and faith.
SUNDAY, July 3 3 Pentecost
Romans 7:15-25a. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
Anyone who has ever been on a diet can identify with these words. If I decide to limit what I eat in order to lose weight, I become obsessed with when my next meal is and what I will cook. “I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.” For me, deciding to change what I eat is not enough to shed pounds because I end up fighting myself, wanting forbidden foods even more, and feeling cheated if I can’t have them. It takes more than willpower—I must be changed.
My most effective way to lose weight is to open myself to a different reality. I visualize and remind myself that I am a healthy, naturally thin person. As I image my altered self and send that message, I am transformed. My openness to changing into the person I was created to be results in fewer pounds and a healthier me.
The struggle to do what is good and right is similar. It can be helped by willpower but our minds alone are not strong enough to prevail. “Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” We need the power of Christ to see who we were created to be and to grow into that image.
PRAY for the Diocese of Osun (Ibadan, Nigeria)
Ps 45:11-18 or Song of Solomon 2:8-13 and Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67 – OR – Ps 145:8-15 and Zechariah 9:9-12; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
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A Meditation for Pentecost
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