Daily Devotional

I don’t ever want to be crucified. I don’t want to die that way. I can’t think of a more exCRUCiating way to die than that.

I don’t want to be burned in a fire or drown in water, either. No thank you. I’ll take a pass.

I prefer to step into glory while sleeping. Yes, please. No pain. No suffering. No drama.

Just nice and easy.

Unfortunately, that’s not normal. Sadly, no.

Death usually hurts. It comes with pain, and often the pain last for years before the wages of sin comes to ultimate fulfillment.

And that’s what I was thinking about with regards to Galatians 5:24.

It almost sounds easy. If you belong to Jesus, your sinful passions and desires have passed away. They’re dead. That sounds good to me.

But please understand that it likely hurts a lot as well. Being crucified hurts.

Your passions and desires don’t want to die. They're there, nailed to a tree — bleeding and gasping for air and wailing and begging to come down from the cross!

Sin doesn’t want to be killed.

Stopping sin hurts. It’s not comfortable. It bleeds, spiritually. If you’re anything like me (and you are, admit it), there have been times in your life when temptation begs and pleads and it almost hurts to not give in. And when you do resist sin, it's like it is hanging there, begging for attention. Begging for mercy. Begging to be let down from the cross.

That’s what you deal with each and every day! Am I right? Yes, I know.

But praise be to God that the flesh has been crucified (once and for all) with its passions and desires by Jesus Christ on the cross…….for you!

Jesus didn’t give up. He didn’t come down from the cross. It hurt to be nailed. It was painful. Yet He did it willingly for you.

Your past sins? They were nailed to the tree.

Your failings at living the “Christian life?” They were nailed to the tree.

You are perfect in Christ Jesus. It’s not about you!

The verse says it is for those who "belong to Christ Jesus.”

Praise God that He did it all for us. Why? Because without Christ, not only would we probably suffer a painful death, but we’d suffer and wail and scream and beg and cry for ETERNITY in the very depths of Hell.

Jesus was crucified so that you may have life.

My friends, if you belong to Christ Jesus, you are highly blessed!

Don’t ever forget that!

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