Who has a harder fight than he who is striving to overcome himself. (Thomas a Kempis) We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin . And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:6-11 NLT) We were set free - nothing should give us greater hope that our lives are on a new trajectory than hearing those words. Especially when it doesn't seem like much has changed because we are still struggling with lifelong habits. Remember - change isn't always in...
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. (Psalm 23:1-3 NLT) The Lord is my shepherd. What does that statement really mean? It was not uncommon for the youngest boy in the family to be the shepherd in Old Testament times. He leaves home with the sole mission of tending the sheep. He carries little with him - a scrip and a staff, the clothes on his back, and his rod. His existence is quite remote - no one accompanies him, he shepherds alone. Jesus came alone. He didn't bring a legion of angels to protect him and the flock. He merely presented himself - he alone would tend the sheep. As we think of our lives in terms of the sheep, we need someone to 'tend' to our lives. This psalm is truly a 'declaration' of God's care over his people. The sheep actually 'trusted' the shepherd - knowing he would ...