Usually the biggest hurdle standing between us and freedom from sin is…ourselves. We have the ability to learn from the consequences we’ve experienced in the past and recognize the path down which our current struggles are leading us. We can choose to be deceived, or we can choose the path that leads to life in Christ.

Jesus was the fulfillment of the sacrifice needed to satisfy the punishment for all of our sin; it’s His blood that washes us clean. He paid the price for our salvation not so that we could continue to be weighted down by the past, but so that we’d be free to run the race before us with our eyes fixed on the eternal prize that awaits us.

Jesus didn’t die for our sins so we could continue to live captive to them — He died to set us free, once and for all. We have the opportunity to walk out of the prison of sin and live in the liberty that He’s given us. And when we’re truly experiencing the freedom that He offers us, we’re able to help other people experience that freedom, too.

Scripture is clear: God’s love for us in absolute, unwavering, and eternal. So why are we not easily convinced? When we start believing what the Bible tells us about His love, and stop second-guessing the gift that He’s given us in His Son, our whole lives change and we experience the joy that comes from living free from sin and condemnation.

The devil likes to remind us of our past — but God wants to remind us of our future. We all have a background of sin, but when we accept Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, we’re pronounced “not guilty”. The blood of the Lamb has washed us clean in God’s eyes. Let’s live like we’ve been set free — because we have!

You may have endured unspeakable hardships, or done unspeakable things, that make you believe you can’t experience joy in this life. But no matter your past, God offers unspeakable joy, blessing, and promise, in this life and for eternity. Through Jesus, we’re offered abundant hope that lasts not for a moment or a lifetime, but for all time; the only thing standing in our way is our unwillingness to surrender to Him.

We each have a conscience built within us that creates boundaries in our lives — and we can tell when we’ve crossed those boundaries. Only through Jesus Christ is it possible to receive forgiveness for our transgressions and live in freedom. We get to choose whether we’re going to carry the guilt of our sin with us everywhere we go, or whether we’re going to find forgiveness and freedom in Christ.

When the devil continues to remind you of your sin, allow God to remind you of your redemption through His Son’s sacrifice on the cross. We have a hard time letting go of our past mistakes, but God already forgot them when we were washed clean in the blood of Christ.

We get so easily ensnared in the sins of our past that they bar us from making the most of our present and looking hopefully ahead to our future. No matter what lies behind us — whether it was done to us or done by us — God can cleanse us and move us forward in incredible ways. His Word assures us that He removes sin from us as far as the east is from the west; let’s live in the promise of that truth!

We live in a world that claims all truth is relative. But there’s only one Truth, and His name is Jesus Christ. His Gospel is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, and it’s our job to be bold and speak it lovingly to those around us.

Every single one of us is born “sentenced to death”, and is automatically on “spiritual death row”. That’s why God sent His precious Son – to offer us a “stay of execution”. Today is the day to receive His forgiveness through the cleansing, “staying power” of Jesus’ Blood!

It’s easy to fall into the trap of a lie that tells us God can’t use our future because of our past. Yet time after time, God demonstrates through Scripture that He chooses to use people regardless of their mistakes. His grace, given to us by the power of the cross, is what equips us and enables us to accomplish His work no matter what we’ve done before.