Slaves have one option

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)

Perhaps this new year brings with it a greater commitment to dealing with some life-dominating sin that has been hanging on - something you are asking God to deal with once and for all. Truth be told, he has already 'dealt with' that sin at the cross. The thing we are asking God is for the help to break free from the desires or cravings of our flesh that lead us into that sin time and time again. We are dead to that sin; we just aren't living like it yet. No longer slaves to sin, but then why do we continue to deal with life-long habits that God doesn't want us engaging in any longer? If we silent ourselves long enough in his presence, we usually begin to get some inkling of why we continue down a path we obviously don't really want to be on in the first place. The thing is that we don't allow him to take us through the change that we need. We keep taking back control of our lives, making excuses that it is too hard or a 'see, that didn't work' mentality when we approached it with nothing more than half-baked commitment in the first place.

Slaves have one option - serve their master. To refuse to serve the master is to put one's life on the line. The master will 'exact a price' for the servant's refusal to serve, won't he? Do we think the moment we let Satan know we aren't going to be pursuing those sinful habits any longer he is about to make life easy for us? No, he will want to exact a price for us refusing to serve what he knows is keeping us from being fully committed in our service to Christ alone! We declare a change of 'mastery' over our lives, and he gets his 'crew' working overtime to keep us 'enticed' with whatever appeals to that weak area in our lives.

Hear this clearly - Satan isn't going to sit back and watch as you grow leaps and bound within your relationship with Christ this year. In fact, he will set up 'tripping points' all along the way because he doesn't want us to get close to Jesus. Why? He knows his ultimate power is broken, but he wants to convince us that we don't have any either! Jesus declares to us: "He whom the Spirit sets free is free indeed." You may have to repeat a few steps now and again on your quest to overcome your habitual sins, but you are already free. Keep declaring your freedom, refuse to be taunted by your enemy, and discover practical ways to overcome your habitual sin. Jesus will show you what those are - ask him, then take note of what he says, get into his Word, journal your journey, and see if he doesn't do great things for you in the process. It is a new year - new beginnings await. Just sayin!