"He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed."
I look at this and I see His power in us, moving us from where we were to where He is. I love the fact that it says, "so that we can be dead to sin..." So many try to hang on to the crud that brought them down and He has killed it. We need to believe it and be strong, learning and using the tools He has given us. God won't move us without us joining in, but He does give us all the tool to be able to move. When we open His word for transformation, God transforms us. When we pray and ask for guidance, the Holy Spirit guides us. Relationship means working together to become closer, and that is what God wants from us.
In 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 16 it says, "For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil." We are called to learn and live as Christ would live. So I say lets do it with His power in us and surrender our thoughts so we are victorious over this world. Our mind will race and make us feel things that are temporal and worldly, that's why it is so important to renew our minds daily with what God has given us. Peter says it perfectly in 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 2-3 "Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness."
He says to "crave" it so we can grow, and "cry out for this nourishment" because you have tasted it. Think of something you tasted and then couldn't get enough of, that is how it should be with Jesus. There is no better nourishment than doing God's will, so let's eat it every day. Amen