Give what it takes to follow Jesus!

Life is hard. Sometimes I feel like I go through an emotional rollercoaster and just don’t know why. Do you feel that way too? Well, at least it is for me. This past week has been incredibly difficult and challenging. It’s been a fight. It seems like so many factors find its way to pull me down from my purpose in life. I know I have the victory and I’m holding on…

Whether or not you’re a born again believer, you will discover that things don’t just happen they way you want it to happen. Sometimes we just feel so out of control! We actually mean to do well, but something enticing comes in our way. We do things we don’t want to do and we don’t do things that we want to do. Seems ironic? But it’s a reality.

The Apostle Paul shares some of his lessons (Romans 7:7-25) that he learned in trying to deal with his old sinful desires. He says in Romans 7:15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Paul noticed that he was sinning in ways that weren’t even attractive to him. Who knows what he was struggling with, but there were just as much temptations during his day as it was when Jesus was on earth. (Here, I must note that even though Jesus was tempted, He never sinned – that is why he is the perfect sacrifice for us. Praise the Lord!) There sure is heck as much temptations in our lives today. Nothing has changed…sin still remains prevalent in our daily lives.

We can do absolutely nothing for ourselves to live a perfect life. Each and every one of us has sinned. All of us have fallen short. We find that one of the Apostle Paul’s lessons show that self-determination doesn’t succeed. This means we try to struggle and win with our own strength. Here’s an example, how many times have you left a buffet feeling properly nourished? I’m sure we’ve often left the restaurant beyond stuffed. What happened to our will power? Or maybe we ate an extra chocolate chip cookie because it looked so delicious. It’s not enough to have just one. We have to have two…maybe three…or more? Now, I'm not saying that eating is sinning, but the temptation is there for us to eat more than what we can handle. What about what you see on television, the magazines, or billboards? Everything seems so enticing. Romans 7:15 is a description of a Christian struggling against sin or trying to please God by keeping the rules and laws without the Spirit’s help. There is no way we can live a perfect life and that is why Jesus Christ came for us…and there is no way to win our salvation by attaining perfectionism because we fall into legalism. We will fall short anyways and even IF we don’t, God's main desire is our heart. God looks towards the inside of us more than He looks on the outside. Thank God for the Holy Spirit’s help because when we fall, He (Jesus Christ) lifts us up.

Thank God we have the Holy Spirit available to us in giving us the strength we need to resist temptations and to lift us up when we need it. God’s grace surpasses it all! Ephesians 2:5 says, “…it is by grace you have been saved.” When we come to Christ with our life, the penalty of sin and its power over us have been destroyed by Christ on the cross.

My challenge to you is to keep fighting the good fight for righteousness and holiness. Being a part of God’s army is a lifelong journey. As we continue to follow Him and training ourselves to be godly, we must embrace the cross. Embracing the cross doesn’t mean that things will always go the way we expect it to go. In Luke 9:23-24, “Then he (Jesus Christ) said to them all, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.’” I dare you…give what it takes to follow Jesus Christ.