The presence and absence of sin in one’s life makes all the difference in the world. When sin abounds within me, it’s like I’m casting a net around my own feet. Sooner or later I will stumble, fall, and get bound up in the entanglement it inevitably causes. When righteousness prevails within me, I stay on the high road, snare-free, causing me to smile and sing to my heart’s content. I’m lifted and there’s nothing really to hold me back. What a way to live!

Is sin a snare to you? Are you feeling its entanglements? Athlete, walk free. Head toward righteousness and the Righteous One. Like a bad game played in the past eventually leaves the heart of a true champion, let God’s righteousness help you put sin in the past. Then sing a song of freedom and victory. You can’t beat the feeling of being clean.

Prayer to consider today: LORD, help us see how critical it is to our future that we deal with sin now. Don’t let us wait and get stuck. May your Son and Spirit coach us out of captivity and into forgiveness and freedom. Keep us on the high ground and put a lifting song in our hearts.