March 28, 2026

🌿 Living Water Vineyard Devotion

Saturday — 8 Days Until Resurrection Sunday

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Looking Back — A Counterculture Week

Over the last few days, we’ve been talking about what it looks like to live counterculture.

Two days ago, we talked about the sacredness of life—from adoption versus abortion, to rescuing children from trafficking, to valuing life all the way to the very end.

Yesterday, we talked about hell—a reality that Jesus Himself spoke about, not to scare us, but to wake us up.

And today… I just want to talk with you—pastor to friends.

Because this is probably one of the most personal and hardest areas for all of us.

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The Tension — Self-Fulfillment vs. The Cross

Jesus says in Luke 9:23,

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

That is completely opposite of the world we live in.

The world says, “Fulfill yourself.”

Jesus says, “Deny yourself.”

The world says, “Follow your desires.”

Jesus says, “Follow Me.”

And I want to say this right up front—this is not about shame.

This is about freedom.

Because if we’re honest… this touches all of us.

Every single one of us has areas where we’ve believed culture more than Christ.

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What Jesus Meant — Pick Up Your Cross

When Jesus said “pick up your cross,” the people listening didn’t think of jewelry or a symbol. They thought of death.

They had seen people carry crosses.

It meant surrender.

It meant dying to your old life.

It meant there’s no turning back.

Jesus wasn’t inviting them to improve their lives—He was inviting them to lay them down.

Paul says in Galatians 5:24,

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

That word “flesh” is not just your body—it’s that part of us that wants to run life our own way.

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Where It Gets Real — Sexuality and the Soul

Because one of the biggest areas where culture and the Kingdom collide… is sexuality.

We live in a world that has completely redefined it.

Casual.

Normal.

Expected.

There’s even language now like “body count”—as if something sacred has been reduced to a statistic.

But Scripture says something very different.

In 1 Corinthians 6:18, Paul says,

“Flee from sexual immorality… all other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.”

Why would he say that?

Because sex was never meant to be casual.

It was designed by God to be sacred.

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What Sacred Means — Set Apart, Not Common

“Sacred” means set apart… holy… not common.

God created it with purpose, with weight, with meaning.

From the very beginning in Genesis 2:24, it says,

“A man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

That’s not just physical.

That’s spiritual.

That’s covenant.

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Marriage — Covenant, Not Contract

And I think this is where we’ve lost something in our culture.

Marriage has been reduced, in many ways, to a contract—a legal agreement between two people.

And even in our nation, I believe the Supreme Court has helped frame marriage primarily in terms of a legal relationship between consenting adults—something closer to a contractual or civil arrangement.

But biblically, it is so much more than that.

It is a covenant.

A covenant is a sacred, binding promise before God.

It’s not based on feelings—it’s based on faithfulness.

It says, “I am giving myself fully to you, before God, for life.”

And I’ll just say this personally—I am much more comfortable calling marriage a covenant than anything else.

Because Scripture shows us that marriage is a holy union between a man, a woman, and God Himself.

And within that covenant… God placed sexuality as something beautiful, powerful, and holy.

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The Reality — When Sacred Becomes Common

But when something sacred gets treated as common… it always leads to brokenness.

And as a pastor, over the past 20 years I’ve seen the destruction that sexual sin brings into people’s lives—both men and women—and what it does to them.

I’ve seen how it distorts identity.

I’ve seen how it creates shame and secrecy.

I’ve seen how it damages relationships and breaks trust.

And I’ve also seen something else…

I’ve seen Jesus set people free.

I’ve seen restoration in marriages that looked impossible.

I’ve seen people walk out of addiction into freedom.

I’ve seen God take what was broken and begin to make it whole again.

And I’ve seen that “photograph” we talked about a couple days ago—the one we wish we could edit.

And maybe that’s where this hits for you.

Not as a concept… but as a memory.

A relationship.

A habit.

A season of life.

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The Question — What Do We Do With Our Past?

So the question becomes… what do we do with that?

Because when Jesus says “pick up your cross,” it’s not just about saying no to sin.

It’s about saying yes to a completely new identity.

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The Gospel Moment — No Condemnation, New Life

And this is where the story in John 8 becomes so powerful.

The woman caught in adultery—caught in the act.

Exposed.

Guilty.

Ashamed.

The religious leaders drag her in front of Jesus, ready to stone her.

And Jesus does something unexpected.

He doesn’t deny her sin… but He also doesn’t condemn her.

He says,

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.”

One by one, they walk away.

And then He looks at her and says,

“Neither do I condemn you… go and sin no more.”

Don’t miss this.

He gives her forgiveness…

and then He calls her to transformation.

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What Jesus Actually Does — Washed, Made New

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:11,

“Such were some of you. But you were washed… sanctified… justified…”

Washed means cleansed.

Sanctified means set apart.

Justified means made right with God.

This is what Jesus does.

He doesn’t just forgive your past—He redefines your identity.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says,

“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

That means your story is no longer defined by what you’ve done.

It’s defined by what Jesus did on the cross.

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The Invitation — Live Counterculture

And this is why the cross is so central to everything we’re talking about this week.

Because when Jesus went to the cross, He didn’t just carry sin in general.

He carried your sin.

Your shame.

Your regret.

Your past.

So that you could walk in freedom.

And this is why we hear testimonies almost every Sunday that sound so similar:

“I once was this…”

“I encountered Jesus…”

“And now I am this…”

That’s transformation.

But we still have to choose daily to live counterculture.

To not assimilate.

To not just go with what everyone else says is normal.

Because the world says, “This is no big deal.”

Jesus says, “This is sacred.”

The world says, “Do what feels right.”

Jesus says, “Follow Me.”

And following Him… leads to life.

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Closing — Who Defines You?

So wherever you’re at today, I want you to hear this clearly:

You are not too far gone.

You are not too broken.

You are not defined by your past.

The cross settled that.

The resurrection proves it.

And Jesus is still saying today:

“Follow Me.”

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Reflection Questions

1. Where have I been agreeing with culture instead of God’s truth in my life?

2. Do I truly believe that Jesus has made me clean… or am I still living like my past defines me?

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Prayer

Jesus,

Thank You that You don’t leave us in our sin, and You don’t leave us in our shame.

Thank You that You went to the cross for us—that You carried everything we’ve done, everything we regret, everything we wish we could change.

And in exchange, You offer us forgiveness… cleansing… and a brand new identity.

Lord, today we surrender.

We lay down the areas where we’ve followed our desires instead of You.

We lay down the lies we’ve believed.

Would You wash us clean again?

Would You renew our minds?

Would You teach us what it means to live set apart… not in shame, but in freedom?

We receive Your grace.

We receive Your righteousness.

And we choose to follow You.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen