Tag: Christian Life

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Do You Want Victory?

victoryWe often lose in our battle because we don’t really want to win.  We talk about desiring victory over sin, but we keep the emblems of sin around, “just in case.”  Sure we want victory, just not the victory that requires sacrifice.  We want the victory that doesn’t require giving up anything.  We want an easy victory

Romans 6:11 gives us the key to victory.  It is a key that is not easy.  It is not what we want to hear.  But it is simply to “reckon” or “consider” yourself dead to sin.  This is a very interesting image.  Reckon yourself dead to sin.  How does one do that?  You do that by simply treating yourself as if you already have the victory.  This is not to say that you will not fall again.  You probably will.  But what it does say is that you are not aiding the enemy in your defeat.

You are acting as if you are victorious.  You are living as if you have already won.  You are standing firm in the victory that God has already given to you.  If you want victory, go ahead and stand in it.  Go ahead and live in it.  Victory is already yours.  For we are simply living in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. (Romans 6:8-Romans 6:9)

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The Complete Savior

crosschristAs we near the close of this earth’s history, we find ourselves in need of a complete savior. Too often we fall into the trap of only wanting a partial savior. You know the savior who drapes us with a superficial sappy “love”, but never disciplines us.

However, the Jesus who came to this earth is both a savior and a from the penalty of sin and from the power of sin in our lives. We need to stop being happy with the “Jesus-lite” that forever promises us money and fame and success, but never changes us. We need to stop being happy with a Gospel that forgives but never empowers. We need to stop being happy with an incomplete savior.

Yes, Jesus is able to keep us from falling (Jude 1:24). Yes Jesus will forgive us, but also cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9). Yes! Let us stop being happy with the “beginning things” and move on to the other things that God wants us to understand and live (Hebrews 6:1-3).

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Laughing at God

When Abraham was told that he and Sarah were to have a child, Abraham fell down and laughed. (Gen 17:15-17). He laughed. Sarah, according to Gen 18:11-12, laughed as well. They both laughed at God because both were advanced in years. They were well past the child bearing age. However, the promise that was given to them was not based on their ability. The promise was not in Abraham or Sarah’s child bearing possibilities, but in another reality created by the powerful Word of God. The promise was based in the ability of the One giving the promise to fulfill the promise.

Abraham and Sarah desperately wanted this, but it was beyond reason to think it could be true. Think of laughing at God when God makes a promise. It was ridiculous, but this was God’s Word. It was impossible, but there is still the promise.

We Have Promises on Our Lives

All of us may have a promise on our lives. God has given us the promise, but it is too hard…nay maybe even impossible. You cannot do it. It is beyond your capability to complete. Perhaps your promise from God is not having a child, but maybe it is completing that degree. Maybe it is changing careers into one that God has been pushing you towards for so many years. Perhaps it is victory over that sin that so easily besets you. I don’t know what it is, but I know that you have a promise. This is probably something that you cannot complete, and yet there is still God’s promise.

Like so many stories in the Bible, I understand completely where Abraham and Sarah are coming from. It was impossible. It was their very understanding of their inability that clarified the impossibility. But understand or not, the promise is still there.

Understanding the Impossible

And God comes to us who think that God’s promise is too big for our understanding and simply says, “Is there anything too hard for God?” (Gen 18:14) This week hold on to that idea as you seek to live in God’s promise in your own lives. Then you will see God turn that laugh of disbelief into a laugh of celebration….