Day 290: It's Possible

Hebrews 4:15

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

That last statement makes the point I want to make today. Today we are going to continue on the subject of living and take it a bit in a different direction. Have you ever been under the impression that living a Christian lifestyle is hard? Have you ever felt like living a sinless life was impossible? Because we are human and we are going to mess up. However the above scripture is proof that it is possible. We sometimes forget that Jesus was fully human as much as He was fully God. We forget that He was born like the rest of us, He was given free will like the rest of us, He had to grow up from a child like the rest of us. He experienced the same things we did growing up. He had to listen to His mother, it didn’t matter if He was the Messiah or not. He experienced pain, loss, grief, and anger. He cried when Lazarus died, it hurt Him. I say all of this to be reminded that Jesus is human, just like we are. With that being said, He knows what’s it’s like to be tempted. To live in a world full of sin. We read about how satan tempted him in the gospels. We are not serving a God who does not know what we are going through. We are not following someone who sat on a throne and just told us how to live. No we know how to live because He came here to Earth and showed us, He gave us an example not just verbal instructions.

Going through all of this to get to the point of today, He was without sin. He went through all of this, He went through so much, He was tempted and yet He is without sin. That’s someone that we can look up to. That’s someone we can look to as an example on how to live a sinless life. Jesus did it, so can we.

Sometime we lean too much into the idea that we are human and making mistakes is inevitable. We kind of use that as a crutch or something to fall back on when we decide to sin. I cannot tell you how many times I have used that as an excuse to do what I wanted. Countless times I have blamed my sin on my humanity as if I never knew right from wrong. Yes it is very true that we are human and we are going to make mistakes, but that does not mean that we plan those mistakes. It does not mean that we intentionally go against what we know is right just because “we’re human” and “things happen”. Things don’t just keep “happening” especially sin, when we know better we do better. At some point we have to give up the desires of the flesh if we want to live and please God. We cannot keep using the sames excuses to keep doing the same things. God gives us strength in those moments of weakness to escape, He always gives us a way out. There is always another choice, another door to go through, we do not have to fall every time. God is standing right there with us in those moments but He will not make the decision for us. Sometimes we have chosen to be weak because it is easier. We blame it on how weak our flesh is, when we’ve been in a relationship with Christ, at some point our desire to feed and please our flesh will be drowned out by our desire to please God and do His will. We may start off weak, but we most definitely do not stay that way.

All this to say, living a sinless life is possible, but here’s the catch, we cannot do it without Christ. We cannot stand against temptation on our own, every time we’ve tried we’ve failed.  We cannot live a life free of sin away from Christ, it will not work. That was the whole purpose of Him coming to save us in the first place. We obviously cannot live on our own, we need Him.

Reflection

1. Have you ever felt like being a Christian was too hard?
2. If so, what did you find hard about it?
3. Have you ever used, “I’m human” as an excuse to sin when you knew it was wrong?
4. Have you ever found yourself trying to beat temptation without Christ?

Prayer Time

Allow you answers to the above questions guide your prayer today. Whatever stood out to you today talk to God about it. Maybe He’s leading you to repent or even give you heart to Him if you haven’t.

If that’s you, if you’ve never given your life to Christ, now is the time to make that decision. If you want to walk with Christ and be set free from the bondage of sin and shame say this prayer with me.

“Jesus I declare that you are my Lord and Saviour who died for my sins and was raised three days later. I repent of my sins and I give my life to you. I believe in my heart that you are the true living God. I pray that you shine  light on me and bring me out of the darkness and into your light. I love you Lord. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name, Amen.”

If you made the choice to follow Christ, rededicate, or to submit your life to Him fully, Go to Romans 10:9-10

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

I love you so much and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! If you made the decision to follow Christ, congratulations! It’s the best decision you will ever make. Don’t be afraid to reach out and get plugged into a church! Make sure you share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 291!