I often times am accused of fear mongering, of essentially being one of those street corner preachers who tells people to repent or burn.  I own that to some degree.  I think the reason I’m that way though is because more often in the US, people do not take seriously enough the claims of Jesus.  Jesus spoke of judgment often, and so if I’m speaking from the Bible, I’m going to have to talk about judgment.  My hope is to awaken an earnestness in pursuing the cross by juxtaposing our fallen condition and the coming judgment for sin against the love, mercy, and grace of Jesus Christ extended to all who love and follow Him in faith.  We still struggle though, and today I want to lift up Jesus, a man acquainted with every form of temptation, from whom we can draw great strength daily.

I want you to KNOW, deeply, that as Christians we are no longer under sin and judgment, but we are in Christ.  Therefore, my encouragement is for us to press forward, straining  towards Him every day.  You have no hope in yourselves, but in Christ you are already more than a conqueror.  In Christ, every sin you are struggling with has been conquered on the cross, and every step closer to Him is a step towards putting sin to death in your own life.  Putting to death sin in our lives is not legalism, it is finding joy in Christ, the same joy that led Him to the cross.  You are accepted by God because of Christ, and His blood.  You are not alone in your struggles with sin, but the very same Christ dwells within you.  Keep pressing forward, and know that your Christian brothers and sisters here and around the world are with you and for you.

Hebrews 12:1-4 – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.   Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.  In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”

 Grace and Peace,

Adam