Pray for The Hearts of The Lost. The Prayer that Breaks Padlocks!

“Praying in faith is the pouring of the gun powder in to padlocked hearts of mankind and watching the mighty blast blow off the fetters that bind their hearts closed to the gospel.”

Preach the word and gospel, for that is good, but pray the gospel and goodness of the savior since that is unstoppable power to set free those held captive to sin and fear of death. We should pray even more then we preach since prayer plows the fields of the hearts so the Seed of the Gospel can get in. God drank judgement and wrath and swallowed death once and for all to grant life to all, “For all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved” as scripture says, and “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ” Romans 10:9

“death where is your sting” for as it is written, in Christ, “death is swallowed up in victory”

1 Corinthians 15:54-58 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory?Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Hebrews 2:15-18 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

The Power Of Christlike Love.

How Much Abuse Shall I Suffer In The Hands of Those Christ Bled for? Endure whatever it takes!

“Christ you invite us also to bleed at the hands of sinners and invite us in the blessed abuse, of thine enemies you want to receive your salvation. Jesus beckons us to bleed for his cause, he calls us to love the drowning souls of this world desperately trying to save themselves! What a privilege to be bitten and abused with the glorious hope they too will see the abuse the cross brought Him who hung in agony for the treasured souls he longs to redeem and redeem.

Luke 9:23-27 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.” 

“Go the way of the cross, endure the cup of suffering the savior invites you to partake in. He was murdered so mankind could have life! A sacrifice of suffering poured out, his blood and tears and wails of suffering offered up as incense to God on high for the sins of mankind. We too must do it joyfully knowing that it will be the blessed hope and salvation that he uses to turn the enemies of God to faithful lovers of the Son of God.

“We ought to follow the ways of the Savior so them that do us wrong or abuse us see who actually lives inside of us. For Saul hunted down Christians till the day,
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me”
Saul says, “Who are you my Lord?”
The blessed voice calls from heaven, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.”
Dear Christians let us bear the sorrow and cup of human ridicule so they too may find the unfailing love, the hanging Christ bloodied and nailed to the cross. The nails of his love held him there!”

The Power of Praising in Your Pain.

The Power of Praising in Your Pain.

One of the believer’s greatest weapons is joy and peace and great faith in the trying times. What better kind of message does it send a world that does not know such joy and stability then when we who have in Christ defy the natural response to pain and difficulty?

Acts 16:25-34 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

The culminating events led this jailor who had seen them in the dungeon be saved and receive Christ as His personal Lord and Savior.

He must have been baffled and thought, “They are praising a God who allowed this to happen to them? And they are not depressed and discouraged?”

He most likely mulled over the thought for a while till the earth quake became the straw that broke his hardened heart. He saw his need for a savior through these men’s bold endurance in the face of suffering.

None of us enjoy hurting, I do not enjoy where I am at since I feel like I have lost friends and made many enemies, I am also facing a few other things I cannot mention and I am going through an ordeal of “fire” but I have faith in a God who is bigger then my pain or problems. I miss my friend who died last year of cancer, I do not have a huge list of people like Brian was. I feel under attack from a lot of people I love, yet I am as David says, “Confident I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”
Why am I sharing these things? I do not want to be the central focus but I am being held together by God’s presence and goodness. If these things had happened to me in years prior I would be another statistic of suicide. However, praise God I am not. He is the only person I have been able to not feel attacked by lately.

God can help us through our struggles and use it for good.

Death In The Heart.

2 Kings 4:38-41 Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these prophets.” One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine and picked as many of its gourds as his garment could hold. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it. Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He put it into the pot and said, “Serve it to the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

Is this not how it is with sin? Sin poisons everything good and God given inside of us, and even our most selfless motives have a hint of selfishness. See the poison that permeates the pot? Is it not the bitterness of all human hearts! Yet when God pours His grace into us through Christ it neutralizes the bitter poison within our hearts.

True faith in The Son of God purifies the man from within. Clean the outside of the pot but it will not change the inside. Works says clean up your act and stop sinning but faith is much deeper. Faith goes in to the innermost parts of the person.

Sarah:The Hopeless Laugh of An Aged Matriarch.

In the book of Genesis, Both Abraham and Sarah were both old and had reason to give up hope. Sarah was childless and was unable to conceive children but as we know from scripture God defies human limitations. When we think all hope is lost he can turn the tables and surprise us.

Genesis 18:10-15 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.” 

Sarah laughed like any of us would be tempted to, after pain and disappointment one after the other was stacked so high life a month of bills she basically laughed and said, “Sorry Mr Angel of the Lord I have lost too much hope so lol, it’s not happening.”

Yet for anyone in that spot we deeply want to be wrong. We may laugh when we hear about the goodness of God or the things he wants to do with our lives but our cynicism seems to creep up and say, “That can never happen.”

All she ever knew was to be barren, so the idea of laughing and cherishing children seemed like a mirage. However, God keeps His promises. And in Christ we have total forgiveness for our sins and the assurance he will “work all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Want to hear something mind blowing? He loves people who do not even love him yet or have yet to know him! That is why Christ came to die and pay for every wrong thing we did, thought, said or been entangled in so we could be adopted as God’s children.
“This is how God demonstrates his own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us”. Romans 5:8

We do not enter into that by works or good deeds but we must like Abraham and Sarah believe God.

Romans 4:18-21 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 

Romans 4:3-8 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are thosewhose transgressions are forgiven,whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.” 

Galatians 3:6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 

Do not give up on God or if you do not know him yet do not give up trying to find him. He rewards those who “diligently seek him” Hebrews 11:6
 

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. 

God eventually gave Sarah and Abraham what he promised and they waited long and got tempted to get discouraged because they were very old, old as in beyond the big 9 0 point. Do not limit God for he specializes in the impossibilities. The key question is: Will we trust him enough to follow?

A God with Tears.

Jeremiah 9:1 “Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.” 

A lot of people think God is indifferent to human pain, that he is just up there waiting for people to figure life out. Although a lot of our problems come about from our sin and self reliance he still is compassionate.

Isaiah 30:18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.For the Lord is a God of justice.Blessed are all who wait for him! 

Isaiah 30:15-20 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:“In repentance and rest is your salvation,in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’Therefore you will flee!You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’Therefore your pursuers will be swift! A thousand will flee at the threat of one;at the threat of fiveyou will all flee away,till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,like a banner on a hill.” Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.For the Lord is a God of justice.Blessed are all who wait for him! People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 

The Lord is a God who takes pity on those in pain, whether self imposed or the result of a number of other griefs life brings. 

Can you guess the shortest verse in the Bible? “Jesus wept,”- Do you know that Jesus longs to weep with you in your pain if you will let him. He does not always change the hard situations or bring immediate deliverance but he is quick to come near to those who come near to Him.

John 11:1-25 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.” After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Then Thomas also known as Didymus said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 

Hear the words of the troubled sisters, “Lord if you were only here my brother would have not died”

Key Truth) Do not mistake trials and hardships as a sign of God’s indifference, absence, or lack of concern.

People often utter these days, “Oh if God loved me this would not have happened!” Or “Maybe he is punishing me!” Or “Maybe this hardship shows he does not care or he is not real!”

God is love, but he will not shield us from all the life’s troubles. God wants to use everything to we go through, whether we allow him to use it or not is up to us. He will bless our cooperation and trust.

Trust Inwardly But March On Outwardly.

Trust God With The Out of Control/Obey Him with What You Know You Can Control. (April 25, 2016)

(Exodus 14:13-15) Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.

Somedays when we are in a crisis or a difficult situation our first reaction is to withdraw into ourselves or turn inward. Can you relate? Painful and challenging times are real! Somedays we might not even want to get out of bed or carry on with the work the Lord may have us to do. We must let God fight for us in the areas beyond our human control and put our worries in his hand, but we have a responsibility before God to march forward in the things He has called us to do!

A Different Spin on The Gay Marriage Debate.

Hear me out, not here to attack or the make people feel bad about themselves, however, if I can paint a better illustration I will try.

Suppose you got a new car with a diesel engine. And suppose the owners manual said, “This car does not drive on regular ethanol gasoline.” Would you be angry at the dealership that sold you the car and say they were being hateful? Probably not.

Or suppose you got some electronic device and it said, “Do not leave out in extreme temperatures and do not expose to moisture.”

We see warning labels all the time such as, “Surgeon General Warning, This product can cause cancer”- Are you going to call up the Surgeon General and say he is a tobaccophobe? No.

The Bible is God’s guide to life and godliness so why do we get angry when God puts warnings in there? Is it not in our sin nature to try to challenge him? Yet all the instructions in that book are for our ultimate good and there is a way the world was programmed to work and when we go against the laws of nature and Scripture we will get hurt.

Just like driving the wrong direction on a highway will cause a catastrophic wreck. All sin is just that whether homosexuality or not. Lying, gluttony, uncontrolled anger, sexual sin, and whatever else would harm us.

I will be the first to say I am not sinless, when I got out of control with my spending and over drew my account a few years back I got myself into a huge mess and it was not fun. So I would like to just state this is no personal attack on any of my friends who struggle with temptation of homosexual or bisexual nature.
We are all born with a sin nature, a set of sinful tendencies and inclinations we may never have asked for but just were born with. I’m not saying that that makes them any less sin but I for one can understand the plight of fallen man since I too am one. If I may be real, even at the age of just three I struggled with many temptations that most three year olds never would even contemplate. I also was a short tempered kid so I would lose my temper a lot of the time. Part of that was aggravated by mild Autism but I was also born sinful.

Psalm 51:5-6 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

What does it mean to be born “sinful”- well we are all by nature bent on rebelling. We are stubborn and defiant. Try telling a toddler how to do this or that and he will give you a run for your money. Where on earth do children learn such things? Their inherited sin nature. Parents in the room, did you take your kids to pre k lessons to teach them how to lie or be selfish? Probably not, and if you did your a crappy parent! Ha!
The greatest news ever though is even though we are all born twisted and bent, God loves us and wants to save us from the penalty of sin and give us power to live in victory over it. He does not say, “Well, I hate you, you jacked up piece of…”

No, “For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son that whosoever shall believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

We are all born going down the wrong lane of the highway straight for destruction, everyone of us whether rich or poor, black or white or asian or hispanic, both male and female.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

(Romans 6:23) For the wages of sin is death,

Thats the bad news. It’s inescapable, but wait, don’t change that dial.

but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 Continued)
Wages we earn, yet a gift is ours free of charge and what we must do is receive it.

God is not unfair in the sense he would just say, “Em, your doomed and going to hell, feel sorry for you buddy”
No! He pays our debt and then gives us His righteousness as a GIFT. You cannot be good enough to receive God’s love but will you be wise enough to thankfully receive it and then let the Lord enable you to live differently?

Being tempted itself is not sin. But when you act on it or mull over it with delight in your mind then the temptation is not just an obnoxious sales man at the door but rather a guest you invited in for tea and crumpets- that is if he were an English sales man, Ha!

But but what if the temptations are still there? Fair question. When I became a born again Christian temptation did not just totally fly out the window. Yeah I still get tempted but the thing that has changed is I have a new power to resist temptation and I have the desire to please God. Remove those two things and I’d be stuck still trying to hook up with girls left and right and fooling around with all sorts of sins and foolishness. I would not want to live different, and even if I did I could not bring myself to resist the inward driving force that pushed me farther and farther into the mud.

The Bible “Anti Woman”? No way!!!

Matthew 27:55-56 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

These women followed Jesus to the cross and were weeping that their Lord and Savior had been condemned to die as a criminal, though he had done no wrong. He was sentenced to death despite his miracles and acts of kindness to many people in need!

This for one shows us the unpredictable nature of people who may love you one moment and throw you under the bus the next. These people did not just throw Christ under the bus but nailed him to a cross.

Yet, these women went out of their way to care for his needs and even risk their own lives out of loyalty to this man, the man Jesus Christ.

Far cry from the “Christianity is anti woman” hunk of nonsense. Jesus treated women with dignity and kindness. Earlier on In John 8 a woman had been caught committing adultery so the religious leaders brought her before Jesus and said, “and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” John 8:4-5

Jesus replied after writing something on the ground, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)

The story goes on like this:

“Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said.“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:8-11)

Jesus did not turn a blind eye to sin but Jesus also knew this woman’s story, and why she did the things she did. Jesus saw the hurt and brokenness and not just the violation of God’s law. He gave her a new lease on life.

Passover.

Praise God! We are covered by the blood of Jesus, sprinkled on the door posts on our heart so the judgement of God will not come upon us. 

Jesus paid it all and it was on Passover he was handed over to be crucified. This was the night the spotless lamb of God without blemish or defect offered himself up for us all. Old Testement law forbid a man to present an offering that had any defect. 

Exodus 12:5-7 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 

Does it seem strange that God would require what seemed so cruel to a innocent and undeserving animal? Well, if you consider the fact that that is exactly why he required an animal sacrifice. Animals are not sinful like we are nor do they rebel like us, an animal is completely innocent. And so it is that God requires the perfect sinless sacrifice. However, lamb sacrifices could not completely remove people’s guilt and evil tendencies. As Hebrews 10 in the NT tells us, 

Hebrews 10:1-4 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 

When Christ suffered he put an end to such a sacrificial system, he needed only to die once to pay for every sin of all who will receive his gracious work on their behalf and then follow him. 
On the night Jesus was betrayed and handed over to his death he enjoyed Passover one last time with his disciples in the upper room.

Luke 22:15-19 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 

For us who know God in Christ we see the lamb and the blood of the Old Testament writings as a forshadowing of the perfect sacrifice for all the sins of mankind.

We need not sacrifice burnt offerings or sacrifices for our sins.

To offer a sacrifice now after the cross would be to say His death was not sufficient. To offer him gifts or sacrifices to pay for our sins is insulting. We cannor make ourselves right in God’s sight by sacrificing animals or doing good works. We ought to love and do good out of response to His love, not to earn it or cover our sins with it. 

Isaiah 59:6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;they cannot cover themselves with what they make.Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands. 

The only thing that covers our sins, and washes them away is the unearned, undeserved, and free gift of Jesus Christ to all who will believe. 

So we cannot buy forgiveness.

Isaiah 66:1-3 This is what the Lord says:“Heaven is my throne,and the earth is my footstool.Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things,and so they came into being?” declares the Lord.“These are the ones I look on with favor:those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word. But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a person, and whoever offers a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pig’s blood, and whoever burns memorial incenseis like one who worships an idol.They have chosen their own ways, and they delight in their abominations; 

We would miss the point if we still sacrificed an animal on an altar for our sins today. It is no longer required, nor desired by God, nor necessary. Hebrews says also, “For without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to him must believe he exists and rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

1 Corinthians 5:7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 

When we know what great love God gave at the cross and respond in faith it ought to produce an inner change and an effort to live new. We ought to throw out the old and the useless and or sinful ways of living and thinking.

Hebrews 5:1-9 Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,“You are my Son;today I have become your Father.” And he says in another place,“You are a priest forever,in the order of Melchizedek.” During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 

1 Peter 1:2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. 

Hebrews 9:13-14 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! 

It is a privilege to serve God and many may say, “Well I cannot by any means just stop sinning or go a different direction, it is impossible to live the Christian life!”- That is true if you think it is ALL you. Here is where faith excludes itself from religion. You are not going to be the driving power behind your changed and obediently life but His power that will live within you. He changes our hearts to give us the desire to obey and love God, but also the power of His Spirit to strengthen us within to obey. If it is up to just you then good luck with that religion, but if it is God working in you empowering you to do His will then you have added ALL the power necessary to live as he requires.