Although Jesus chose to enter the world as a meek and gentle baby boy, for those who call on His Name, He is anything but meek in their lives. It wasn’t for “Christmas” that Jesus entered the world, but rather for Good Friday and Easter (the days He died and was resurrected). Through His death, He regained the ability for man to be intimate with God. Through His resurrection, He gave each of us the ability to be born again, to be new in every way, and to defeat the sin within us. For me this is my toughest battle. Still, I know that it’s not with my power, but with His power that victory is mine. As we allow ourselves to join Him in His death–denying ourselves, picking up our crosses, and following Him, then we find the power we need. We talk a lot about the need for a “personal relationship with Christ” in today’s evangelical churches. I say “amen” to that, but we also need to remember that the ability to defeat the sin that is within us is found inside that relationship! He won the battle for us, but as long as we’re still in these bodies, we’ve got to assert His power to live righteous lives.
“If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that thee body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin–because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” Romans 6:5-7
In Christ,
PastorJimKilby @Kilbin8er
Jim@JamesKilby.com
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