THREE ANGELS BROADCASTING NETWORK DEVOTIONAL
Oh No. Not Again!

By Deborah Shaffer January 25th, 2026

“And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” Romans 6:13

Oh no, not again! No matter how I try to rationalize it in my mind and convince myself that it’s ok, we all have weak moments—God understands, my heart convicts me. It’s that moment when I let my guard down and throw caution to the wind that I make a choice to sin. It happened again a few days ago, and I have been drowning in a sea of shame and regret ever since.​

As I brought it to the Lord once more, it became clear to me that if I am serious—and I am—it has to stop… a battle plan must be put in place. I cannot continue this sinful behavior and expect God’s mercy and grace. I am fighting a spiritual battle and I need spiritual reinforcement.​

After confessing to the Lord, I grabbed a pen and paper and listed those specific sins that I continually seem to commit. This is serious business and calls for drastic measures. I once and for all confessed them and accepted God’s forgiveness. I never intend to go there again—I truly repented.​

Next, I preached the gospel to myself: God demands holiness. As a mere human, I cannot obtain this condition, for I am a sinner. I was born in sin. It’s my nature. I am hopeless in my natural state, but God loves me so much that He made a way to come to Him, despite my sinful state. He sent His Son Jesus to this earth to live a perfect life; and in doing so, He was the perfect sacrifice, willingly taking my sins upon Himself when they nailed Him to the cross. In doing so, God accepted Jesus’ payment for my sins, and all who put their trust and lives into His hands now stand perfect in God’s sight! Only Jesus could be the acceptable sacrifice for the sins of all mankind because only He lived a perfect life. Only Jesus conquered the grave (death due to sin) by rising from the dead, giving us the victory with Him! Hallelujah!​

I can now come boldly before God’s throne of grace because I am clothed in Jesus’ righteousness. My sins are forgiven and my conscience is cleansed. But it goes much further than that. Because of God’s great mercy, love, and grace through Jesus, my only response is one of love, gratitude, and commitment to Him. I owe everything to Him! I must be sincere in my commitment.

The final step is to rely on the Holy Spirit and trust in His grace to enable me to carry out my commitment. A quote by John Bunyan comes to mind, “He bids me fly and gives me wings!” God always provides the strength to do what He commands.

My battle plan is in place, and I can rejoice in Jude 24–25: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.”