Stuck in the Mud

Remember the old hymn “Power in the Blood”? In that hymn we are asked a series of questions:

Would you be free from the burden of sin?
Would you o’er evil a victory win?
Would you be free from your passion and pride?
Would you be whiter, much whiter than snow?
Would you do service for Jesus your King?
Would you live daily His praises to sing?

The lyrical answer to these questions is

Come for a cleansing to Calvary’s tide;
There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood.

Good Christian behavior is not a mystery. It is pretty straight forward. 

Be like Jesus. 
If Jesus wouldn’t, I shouldn’t. 
If he would, I should. 

The Bible serves as our road map, the Holy Spirit serves as our guide.

And yet, Christians struggle with sin.

The problem, you see, isn’t with our “knower” it is with our “doer”.  The Bible verifies that the struggle exists:

"… For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing." - Romans 7:18-19 ESV

This struggle is not fun, but it is very real. Unfortunately, it seems, many Christians get stuck in the mud and never make it out of this struggle.
Wheels spinning. Mud flying. And no movement.

Sometimes the metaphorical mud comes in the form of chemical addictions, emotional baggage, or bad habits.  Sure, carnal Christians know better, but they are stuck.

Sometimes they give up altogether. Sometimes they live in guilt and disappointment.

Either way, it’s a shame. It is a heart rending thing to watch sincere believers spend years wallowing in crippling carnality, powerless to extract themselves.

And that brings us full circle back to the old hymn “Power in the Blood”. 

 Here's the thing. Salvation isn’t just pie-in-the-sky for the sweet-by-and-by. Salvation is also about victory over sin in the not-so-sweet here and now.

Notice the cry of desperation in verse twenty-four:

"Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" - Romans 7:24 ESV

There it is, a cry for deliverance. 

You see, as long as we struggle and fight and wiggle in the mud there is no deliverance. We simply cannot power our way out. But…

“There is power in the blood…”

If we can’t power our way out, how do we get unstuck?

Well, to continue the metaphor, put it in neutral, and hook up the towline. Jesus still delivers. He is on the high ground, and he has plenty of power.

That's the good news. 

Contrary to what you may have heard (even from some preachers) you don't "have to sin a little every day." Frankly, that's a cop out. Let Jesus lead. Learn to follow. You will fall now and then. Get up. You won't be graceful. Keep going. Every marathon racer was once a crawler.

Hunger for God's Word. Spend time in prayer and worship. Listen to the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit in you life.

Jesus purchased you peace on the cross. He wants to pull you out of the mud and clean you up. Can I explain the mechanics of how Jesus can pull you out on top? No, not really. It is ultimately a matter of faith, and it occurs deep in you spirit. Just know this, Jesus wants for you to be free. Give it to him, and he will figure out the details.

My prayer is that each of you will enjoy a victorious, productive Christian life as you follow the one and only Prince of Peace.

God Bless.

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." - Romans 8:1-6 ESV

"For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith." - 1 John 5:4 ESV

Things that wiggle

"Snake, big snake!" yelled my oldest son one day last fall as he came bounding though the front door of our house.

Soon thereafter the serpent lay in edge of the yard with his rather juicy head buried in the dirt just a few feet beyond. Now, a headless snake is a dead snake (obviously) but a headless snake still wiggles. This started me to thinking...

Way back in the book of Genesis, right after Adam and Eve pulled that fiasco with the forbidden fruit, God showed up. In response to God's inquest, Adam blamed Eve for his sin, Eve blamed the serpent and the serpent didn't have a leg to stand on.

Then, as God delivered his judgments on all of the participants in mankind's original sin, a curious thing happened. In one sentence the serpent  (Satan)  realized the finality of his defeat and humanity realized their hope of a Deliverer. To the serpent God said,

"And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." (Genesis 3:15 NKJV).

Now back to my snake, where this train of thought started.  My dead rattler was still wiggling at least four hours after I shot him. More than once Satan is referred to in the Bible as the "serpent", and the quote from Genesis is prophetically referring to Jesus Christ's defeat of Satan at the cross. Satan is defeated, but he does still wiggle. If you step on his tail you might get slapped around a little, but that doesn't mean you're whipped!

If you are a Christian, you have overcome Satan through the blood of Jesus Christ. Don't forget this!  Ultimately the Christian's victory is assured! As horrible and horrific as the cross was for Jesus, it was far worse for Satan! Jesus suffering is equated to a bruised heel as compared to the skull crush delivered to Satan.

Take heart friend, the snake may wiggle still, but he is very much defeated!

"...so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation." Hebrews 9:28 NKJV