What can we do in our energy? Do we ever need additional ability?

Who do we look to in our weakness? Do we look to Jesus?

We need more then energy. We need wisdom. We need direction.

We need freedom.

In our past we were under a dictator.

But now, If we’ve bowed to Jesus as our Lord and Savior,

we have a new Lord.

Now, we have a new direction to go. We can’t live any old way we want.

We need to live in our new freedom.

What we did in the past that we thought was freedom we now find

destroying our freedom.

If we choose to sin we decline off into bondage.

We need too, if we stumble back, yield back to our Lord for His freedom.

The way back is through admitting where we got off track.

We offer ourselves to the Lord and His freedom and His endless enabling.

In the past life we let sin tell us what to do.

But now we’re listening to a new master, one whose words set us free

to live openly in His freedom! …

If we continually surrender ourselves to someone else to do their will,

we become the slaves of those we follow and submit to.

That someone might be ourselves and our natural inclination.

That leads to death. Things inside us die and guilt and self defeating

thoughts start draining our spiritual interests making us frazzled.

But yielding to Jesus and what He’s done and is doing in us leads

to righteousness.

In Him we see our right standing.

We need to learn the deep lesson about who we yield ourselves too.

We have to learn the one we give in to is who we’re In bondage too.

Either we give in to our sin nature or we yield to our new life in Christ

Romans 6:12-16 and 1 John 1:9 paraphrased

In all our lives we come up against situations that we cannot overcome

in our own strength, or with our own wisdom.

We need a strength and a wisdom that comes from Above, that comes

from Beyond, that comes from Another outside of us and yet this

one rises up within us because He lives in us.

“Do you not know that to whom we present ourselves slaves to obey,

we are that one’s slaves whom we obey,

whether of sin leading to death,

or of obedience leading to righteousness?”

Rom. 6:16 (NKJV)

If we know Christ then we have experienced this over and over.

We know our inability to save ourselves, and so we surrendered to

Christ and trust Jesus to do in us and through us what we could not

do on our own.

That surrender is called various things, it is “taking up the Cross”.

We have to die to saving ourselves.

We can’t save ourself; and since we can’t it can be a harsh and

unfortunately a lengthy lesson.

It is only as we trust in the Life of our Lord Jesus to do what we can’t

achieve in our own strength.

This is what it means to “embrace Jesus” in our salvation.

And we see that when the death to Self is thorough and complete –

that is, when we stop trying to save ourselves and instead we cast

ourselves upon the grace of God,

Then God activates the reality that He’s already raised us from the dead.

That which was impossible before

We now see this is already accomplished by God.

We receive His grace in gratitude and praise.

We learn through the Cross Jesus has done everything.

What Christ accomplished on the Cross is sufficient no matter what our

situation or challenges with sin has been or is now.

The Cross is the power of God for salvation,

The Cross is also the power of God for our relationships,

The Cross is also the power of God for our spiritual growth and

development,

In Christ we find our life’s purpose, our encouragement and strength,

and our victory over everything which hinders and distracts and comes

against us.

We can’t save ourself. Jesus is our Savior.

Without Jesus we can’t do anything.

Through Christ we love God,

Through Christ we love others,

Through Christ we forgive those who wrong us,

Through Christ we cast out devils,

Through Christ we’re bold witnesses of Christ,

Through Christ we fulfill His design and destiny for us.

Just as we once relied upon Christ to save us from the penalty of sin,

Now we learn to daily rely on Christ to live through us to overcome sins

deception.

We rely on Christ for everything.

“As we have received Christ Jesus as our Lord…” He is our door.

So we walk in Him.” He is our Path.

We admit we can’t save ourselves.

We surrender ourself over to God in every area of our life.

We Walk in Him for His Purpose, His Power, His Lordship.

He’s Embraced us at the Cross!

It’s not religious cures of fasting, binding and loosing, exorcism,

and positive admissions.

It’s not psychological remedies: of visualization, counseling, psychotherapy,

self-help courses, motivational speakers, natural remedies, and

prescription drugs.

Its not wearing a rubber band around our wrist and snapping it whenever

our thoughts are ugly to interrupt bad thought patterns back into reality.

Multiple failures teach us one thing: we need Jesus.

We are powerless.

Come to Christ.

We Surrender it all to Him.

We Admit that apart from Him it can’t be done.

We’re dead. We can’t do it. Christ is our life.

“What is impossible with men is possible with God”

Lk. 18:27

Why do we have to spend so much time learning what is impossible

for us to do!

Why wander in the wilderness for 40 years.

Giving up is a mysterious process.

What is impossible with us, is possible in and through Jesus!

Since we’re in Christ old things are past and we’re a new creation in Jesus.

If we admit the fact that we have sinned

If we come clean confessing our sins, (which we have to do always)

Jesus is faithful and true to His own nature and promises and

He completely forgives our sins.

He dismisses where we’ve ignored His instructions in His Word.

Jesus continuously cleanses us from everything that’s out of conformity

to His will

He washes away everything that violated His design and purposes.

He corrects our thoughts, and our dumb actions.

1 Cor. 5:17 and 1 John 1:9 paraphrased

Embracing these truths.

We hold these facts deeply in our heart.

We do it through Meditation.

Like a dog adoring a bone and chewing it all day we have to combat the lies

of wrong thoughts and habits.

Even if we review these truths 100s of times a day.

We trust Christ by His Spirit to do what we cannot do.

In Christ:

we’re crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, ascended and seated with Him

In a place of abiding embrace.

We’re His Branches in the vine of Jesus abundant life.

It’s “Not us, but Christ”

Gal. 2:20