Christians get a bad wrap. Why? Because most of the time, we preach a message that comes off “holier than thou” to a world that is comfortable in their sin. I can’t count how many times unsaved people have said something along the lines of, “It’s okay, I’m gonna live it up with my friends at the big party going on in hell when I get there.” And I know it’s meant to be a joke, albeit not a very funny one, but it just goes to show how tightly people will cling to their sin and their comfortable pleasures, despite the fact that those things will never add up to eternal salvation.

If you follow Jesus, you’ve been there. There comes a moment in time where every believer gives their life to Christ. Not only asking for Him to forgive their sins, but also to be Lord over them. To some, those two things may seem interconnected, but sometimes they’re not. Some people casually approach Christ, asking to be found without sin and wanting to be saved, but that doesn’t mean they submit their lives and become meek before Him.

I think my favorite part about Jesus is that He does very intentional things in a roundabout way. The course of action He takes is almost never the one we would, but it always seems to work out better than what we could have ever forced together in our own strength. It’s because He sees the whole picture. We see dust, He sees an opportunity for life. We see a storm, He sees an opportunity to teach. We see a cross and a tomb, He sees grace and eternal life. So when the paralytic man in Mark 2 is lowered through the roof to sit right in front of Jesus, everyone expects Jesus to heal this man’s broken body. Instead, Jesus throws us a curveball.

No matter how long you’ve been a Christian– whether you’re on day one or decades from the starting line– everyone that has ever followed Jesus is unified by at least this fact: none of us have ever graduated from the point of salvation. Because no matter how long your spiritual resume is, it is unavoidable that you will struggle with your own tendency towards sin until the day you die. Maybe that’s blunt or depressing, but it’s true. There will never be a point in this life where you will be able to think, “Well, that’s it. I’ve done it. I’ve obtained a wholly righteous and upright lifestyle. I will no longer struggle with sin.”

Just think of all the names that Jesus has. They’re sprinkled all over the Bible: Emmanuel, Light of the World, Messiah, Lamb of God, Bread of Life– Jesus’ names and titles can go on and on. Now just think: He is completely worthy of every single name.

Have you ever come in contact with another Christian and thought: Wow, that person spends a LOT of time with Jesus? You know them, people that are practically dripping with the peace and the assuredness that comes with spending a lot of time in His presence. They give awesome advice, because their minds are so deeply rooted in scripture and their very thought process has transformed to be more like Jesus.

How awesome is it that the Lord sends us into spiritual battles with exactly the equipment we need to kick demon butts and take devil names? Let’s face it, guys: There is no possible way to live in this universe and be exempt from spiritual warfare happening all around us. Whether or not you are aware of it, whether or not you accept it, and whether or not you buy into the Christian faith at all, you are locked in the middle of a battle between Heaven and Hell. The war for the souls of this world is constantly raging and there is only going to be one winner. Every day, you head out to the battlefield where you have to decide which side you’re fighting for, and not choosing puts you on the wrong side. Here is the good news and the bad news.