I have a question for anyone out there who has a hard time agreeing with and believing this message I share regarding the freedom from sin that Christ has called us to walk in... successfully.

Perhaps it seems like some ‘new strange teaching’ to you, which I can understand why. Or maybe you are struggling to accept it based on your own personal experiences and repeated...’sinful failures’. And if that is the case, my question for you is this: What sin have you failed to overcome in your life... that has proven to be a stronger match for the power that lies in both His name and His shed blood? I’ll give you a moment with that one.

Is it possible that just maybe you have been reluctant to truly repent and turn from that sin ... because you might be loving it and wanting to hold on to it a little bit longer as you tell yourself: “God understands...and besides...you are still ‘saved’ so it really is not that serious”?

Friend, I’m not here to cast stones at you nor judge you; on the contrary... I want to share some ‘knowledge’ with you lest you be among God’s people who will end up perishing or being ‘destroyed’ for a ‘lack’ of it. (Hosea 4:6; Luke 13:3,5; Acts 3:22-23)

Several years ago, a good friend of mine moved to Colorado. He envisioned living a new and exciting chapter of his life there in the mountains and doing the things he loved to do. Unfortunately, he got settled in there during a very dangerous wildfire season and fires were erupting all around him, which he obviously kept a close eye on.

Had he known beforehand what was about to happen to his place there, I can assure you he would have packed up all his belongings and valuables and got out of there in plenty of time. But he had no way of knowing how quickly the raging flames would engulf the area he lived in and late one night, he barely escaped with his life and what he was able to get in his truck before he drove like a wild man through the flames to safety. In the process, he lost many valuable tools and other items in his trailer because he had no time to hitch up to his truck.

That story came to mind as I was thinking of reasons as to why we allow sinful habits to ‘linger’ way longer than they need to or should. We just don’t see the ‘bigger picture’ of what is coming our way, because if we did, our ‘incentive to repent’ would be amped up exponentially if we truly saw the seriousness of the hour. I believe the Bible refers to this as the ‘fear of the Lord...which is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge’.

You might be convinced that your ‘sin problem’ is spiritual in nature, as if maybe a ‘demon’ had that much control over you. You do know that a secular, unbelieving world often refers to people’s ‘demons’ whom they fight with; granted it is more of a ‘figure of speech’ to them, but still an interesting expression, is it not?

May I remind you of a man we read about in scripture who was possessed with literally thousands of demons and seemed hopelessly doomed as he had lost all control over his life. But...’when he saw Jesus’...those demons had zero power over him in order to prevent him from running to Jesus with all his heart and falling at His feet to worship Him in complete surrender.(Mark 5:1-20) The results of his encounter with Jesus were nothing short of extraordinary and miraculous. So there goes that ‘excuse’ for not being able to overcome any hold the devil may have on you.

We sure like to sing that old hymn about their being ‘power in the blood’ because it can ‘wash away’ our sins. But that same ‘power’ also can ‘free’ us from those same sins that have bound us as well...in order that we can ‘go and sin no more’. IF...you truly want to be free....you  can be free, indeed. (John 8:32-36)

Happy Thanksgiving :- )