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can’t” statements with conviction: “I can’t help but hate him after what he’s done to me.” “I can’t quit this sin.” “I can’t forgive again!” Such fervor makes it sound as if each “I can’t” statement is an unchangeable, universal law.
    If you’re a member, your pledge echoes the club’s premise: No one can win over sin. You believe its promise: Defeat is normal. And you promote its purpose: to fill each mind with futility.
    One law of science to which everyone is subject is the law of gravity—the force that pulls every object toward the center of the earth. Likewise, the members of the “I Can’t Club” are prisoners to the downward pull of defeat. They are not only ground-bound, but also sin-bound.
    Do you feel bound to a specific sin? Does quitting the “I Can’t Club” seem impossible? As a child of God, the word can’t doesn’t have to control your life. Upon your salvation, He gives you the Spirit of God so that you will have the strength of God. He deals a deathblow to the “I Can’t Club.” He makes it possible for you to overcome any sin. How? By replacing one law for another: “The law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).
    Can you imagine a 190-ton mass of metal rising against the pull of gravity? Impossible! It can’t be done! Oh, yes it can, by using a “higher law.” When you, in faith, give yourself over to the principle of aerodynamics, you can enter an airplane with full confidence it will fly you from one city to another. You are no longer ground-bound.
    Similarly, when you, in faith, give yourself over to the Spirit’s control, the “I can’t” statements will no longer keep you from leaving the runway of life. When God fills your spirit with His Spirit and infuses you with His strength, you no longer have to be sin-bound. Seeing yourself through God’s eyes, you now know “I can” cancels out “I can’t” every time.

    “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak …But those who hope in the L ORD will renew
their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles”

    (I SAIAH 40:29,31).
     
    Personalize these verses in your own words:

    Ephesians 3:16

    Philippians 4:13

    Father, through Your eyes I can see that I…

    I have worth because…I am given strength from God.

Day 20

    I Am Given the Mercy of God

    “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy”

    (E XODUS 33:19).

    A ll eyes are on the woman. Her face is masked with fear. Heart pounding and blood racing, her mind is frantic as the Pharisees fling her before Christ and the curious crowd. Her fate lies with them. With slanderous delight, her accusers recount how she had been caught in the act of adultery. Reminding Jesus that according to Jewish law she must be stoned, they demand, “Now what do you say?” (John 8:5).
    As Jesus’ eyes scan the crowd He realizes an opportune time has come to teach a lesson about compassion, as well as conviction of sin. And Jesus’ concern is for this woman’s soul rather than for her sin. He shifts the focus to the “faultless” Pharisees, stating, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7 KJV ). What? You mean they must scrutinize themselves? The Lord cuts open the conscience of the crowd. One by one they retreat, dropping their stones and leaving the woman alone to face the Man of mercy, the only One who could rightfully throw a stone.
    “Has no one condemned you?” asks Jesus. “Neither do I condemn you…go now and leave your life of sin” (verse 11). Jesus looked past her fault, saw her need, forgave her sin, set her free. An adulteress deserving death is given another chance at life. What matchless mercy!
    Mercy means, literally, “the outward manifestation of pity.” Mercy is more than emotion; it is active compassion meeting a need. No one has a right to mercy. It is extended simply because of the heart of the giver and the need