I’ll be honest with you, I am tired. This morning, I realized that the excitement of posting every day has worn off. The ease of trying something new had faded, and I the excuses for why I could stop felt really loud and distracting.

“Nobody is going to read it anyway, why continue?”

“You’re tired, nobody is going to care if you are inconsistent.”

“Is it really worth it?”

Reading the verse above gave me the only encouragement I needed. Even if nobody reads this or just a few do, Jesus sees my efforts for His name – and that’s more than enough reason to continue.

Look at this verse, the first thing that I want you to notice is that there is no subcategory in this verse, Paul doesn’t add any caveats.

“…those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.”

Everyone who is a Christian is called to die to themselves. Every Christian is a disciple. Every Christian is called to sacrifice their desires to seek after God’s desires.

This is not something you have to do. Instead I would ask, why wouldn’t you?

I’ll begin the second point with a conversation I had years ago,

I once went to a gym where I knew one of the employees pretty well.

He knew I was a youth pastor at the time and he was talking to me about his 21st birthday coming up.

He said to me, “I am going to Vegas for my 21st birthday! I am so excited! I plan to party hard and get so drunk,” then he paused, “but don’t worry I am going to pray really hard each night for God to forgive me.”

I simply asked him, “what do you think repentance is?”

He changed the conversation quickly.

There is a mindset that I hear and observe taking ahold of many younger believers, “I need to live it up with the time that I have now, so that I do not miss out… then I will get serious and clean up my life later.”

I can understand buying into this. Though I never said it out loud, this was my mindset in college.

But we have to remember, Jesus (who is God) lived a life fully committed to The Father (God), He sacrificed His own home, the affection of His family and friends, His comfort, His time, His potential career, His dignity, His glory for a time, and then after giving Himself to HIs people through teaching and healing and helping… they killed Him.

God came down to His chosen people, the ones who should have loved Him the most! And they rejected Him. They accused Him of evil. They tried to throw Him off a cliff! They hurled insults His way. Then they mocked Him, had Him beaten, disrobed, thrashed, and then hung up on a cross where they continued to mock Him as if the torture He had submitted to was not enough punishment.

Why did Jesus do all of this?

For the glory of God AND so that we would be saved from the wrath of God by taking on the penalty of our sins. 

God hates sin. Jesus hates sin. Scripture says that when we sin, we grieve this spirit. Sin in the believers life causes a deep sorrow.

If you believe the gospel, even in a strictly logical sense, continuing joyfully in sinful living makes no sense.

David Nasser says, “His grace is, indeed, free to us, but it cost Him His life.”

When we choose to sin we are cheapening His grace to us.

It’s staring up at Jesus on the cross and saying to His face, “I know the activity I am going to partake in put You up there, but I am going to do it anyway.”

Examine your life. 

Is there anything you have compromised on while proclaiming you believe Christ died for you?

As you reflect, do not despair, there is truly grace upon grace for you in Christ.

I want to always balance out any hard teaching with that truth. God’s affections for you cannot fade over time if you are in Christ, no matter what you do.

But I hope that spurs you forward into a greater love for Him and does not encourage complacency.

I encourage you to listen to this song today – Jesus Paid It All. Perhaps reflect and worship through it. Think about every word.

“I hear the Savior say Thy strength indeed is small Child of weakness watch and pray

Find in me thine all in all

Jesus paid it all

All to him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain He washed it white as snow

Lord now indeed I find Thy power and thine alone

Can change the lepers spots And melt the heart of stone

Jesus paid it all

All to him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow

And when before the throne I stand in him complete

Jesus died my soul to save

My lips shall still repeat

Jesus paid it all

All to him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow

Oh praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead

Jesus paid it all

All to him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow.”