Philippians 3:12-14 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, ¹¹ so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. ¹³No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

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CHAPTER SIX – Dead and Buried

Did you ever wonder why it’s so hard for some people to quit doing things they know are bad for them?  It’s usually because they’ve been doing it for a long time.

If a person smokes one cigarette or drinks one beer and realizes that it’s gross and unhealthy, it’s easy for them to never drink or smoke again.  It’s even easier for people who have never even tried such things.  If they have watched other people’s lives destroyed by things like drugs or alcohol, it’s extremely easy for them to choose never to touch those things.  But for the person who has made it a habit and become addicted after months (or even years) of use it can be an extremely difficult struggle to break free of those bonds they have created.

It’s the same way with sin.  People choose to turn their backs on God, and break his commands.  And the deeper they go and farther they run from God the more they become enslaved by their own evil.  They become so used to living in sin and their minds are so darkened that they can’t even imagine what life could be like if they weren’t slaves to wickedness.

That’s why the fact that Jesus is willing to cleanse us from all sin is such Good News.  Not only does he save our lives from eternal damnation, he purifies our lives from the stain of sin and empowers us with the Holy Spirit to be able to live the way he commands us to live.  When we choose to repent and to turn away from sin and toward God, in his wonderful grace, God sets us free from that slavery to sin and death, and we are free indeed to live for Jesus and have a brand new life in relationship to him.

I don’t know about you…but I think that’s awesome!

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