Everything

By Justin Edwards

Jesus wants the best for us, and it's why He gave us the blueprint of His Word. But destruction comes when we let the things of the world enter our lives. In fact, we were destined for destruction straight out of the womb. We were condemned already because of our sin nature. As life goes on, pride can eat us alive and can lead to things like greed, the love of money, materialism, lust and sexual impurity, selfishness, self-obsession, idol worship, partying, and addictions. These non-fulfilling "things" can then lead to depression, lack of satisfaction, anger, unhappiness, emptiness, and dare I say, thoughts of suicide in extreme cases. Simply put, these sins keep us from joy as God intended. But...

...God rewards those who seek after Him . The consequences of a sinful lifestyle overtake us, but Christ has a better plan. We fight and fight trying to break our own chains but we fail every time. We get sucked back in often times in worse shape than before. The Holy Spirit continues to pluck our hearts, prodding us to come, drawing us closer and closer, until we realize we are lost and cannot fix ourselves. We cry out in surrender at the foot of the cross, and it is at that moment the chains are broken! Christ took the burden of our sins and nailed it to the cross. He bore the weight of sin for the entire world so that those who trust in Him will receive eternal life. By His grace, our faith in Christ brings us into Holy Communion with Him, and He imputes His righteousness to us.

With the chains broken, we overcome because He overcame the world already. We become more than conquerors through Him!  We then begin walking according to the Spirit, and no longer to the flesh or worldly desires. Christ becomes our refuge, our peace, our hope, our salvation - and through Him we can do the things He has planned for us before the foundations of the earth. The fruit begins to grow in our lives, fruit that will last, as we put off the things of this world, renewing our minds, and becoming conformed to His likeness.

So what burdens are you bearing? Are you tired of the weight of this world? Are you tired of caring what it thinks? What your friends think? Don't let them keep you down, thus preventing you from receiving the Greatest Gift of all. Call on Jesus to break your chains of bondage and come to rest in Him today!