Devotions Archive Archive: 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Search Archive Print This Article Donning the clothes of the King Sunday, December 2, 2007 Romans 13:14 Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. The sky is gray with dawn after 7 and dark again by 5. Every day is shorter. The season of Advent, celebrated with so much purple and gold and light indoors, is the darkest time of the year. Under this winter sky I yearn for the sun. Sins seem easier to commit in the night, at least for me. I have less self-control and I feel less observed, God's omni-vision notwithstanding. The nights are long and cold and bleak and I am alone. The whimpers of my "sinful nature" drown out the hallelujahs of the morning. All kinds of drooling demons raise their ugly heads. These long nights and short days take their toll. What better time to get dressed up in Jesus? Like Adam and Eve, I can't cover over my sin. The puny fig leaves I find for cover only emphasize my nakedness. The more I think about my sin, the more ashamed I feel ... the farther I move from my Father. Paul wrote earlier in Romans, "Who will rescue me from this body of death?" (Rom 7:24) So I am not so much desperate to crush out my sin; instead I rejoice in the robes Jesus shares with me. His love is warm and regal, thickly woven, covering my sores from head to toe. In his presence I shed sin like a duck sheds water. Warm I am in the arms of Jesus. In his light even the depths of night hold no fear. Your grace, Jesus, shows me the way to walk. Step by step. Into the shorter, darker days I follow you. "; Add      Edit    Delete