OUR DAILY BREAD Thurs., February 9, 1995 --------------- READ: Psalm 32 THE CURSE OF IMPERFECTION "What I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do." - Romans 7:15 One of the most exciting major league baseball games I ever saw came excruciatingly close to being one for the record books. One mistake, however, turned it into just another game. Matt Wilcox of the Detroit Tigers was pitching against the Chicago White Sox. He retired the first 26 batters. With two outs in the last inning, he was just one man away from a perfect game -- only the eleventh in more than 100 years of major league baseball. But White Sox batter Jerry Hairston got a hit, and Wilcox missed his place in history. Perfection eludes all of us. We get up in the morning determined to get it right today, but before we know it we've sinned. The same thing happened to God's servants in the Bible. We can see from great biblical characters how tough it is to achieve perfection. God called David "a man after My own heart" (Acts 13:22), yet even he fell (Psalm 32:5). And Paul, the greatest missionary ever, admitted that he did what he didn't want to do (Romans 7:15). Sadly, all of us fall short of perfection. When we do, it's our responsibility to confess our sins to God and accept His mercy. Even when the curse of imperfection hits, we can learn from it and keep on growing. -- J. David Branon To be like Jesus -- that's our goal Though it doesn't happen fast; We trust the Spirit -- He's our Guide, Till we're glorified at last. -- JDB ------------------------------------- THOUGHT FOR THE DAY ------------------------------------- Conversion takes only a moment -- Christlikeness takes a lifetime. THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Numbers 15-17 --------------------------------------------------------- Our Daily Bread, Copyright 1995, used by permission of Radio Bible Class, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49555, USA. Written permission must be obtained from RBC for any further posting or distribution. RBC provides a variety of Bible resources, which are free of charge. RBC is not funded by any group or denomination, and support comes voluntarily from its Members and Friends. Write for more information, or call 1-800-598-7221. This copy redistributed by Larry Holder (larryh@utm.edu) with express written permission of RBC, from an original distribution by Ken Foster(kfoster@sptekwv14.wv.tek.com). Redistribution is only to individuals and lists that have expressly consented to receiving a copy, in accordance with the policy of Radio Bible Class. --------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/Our.Daily.Bread: db950209.txt .