As a former lost person, that is….before I had a relationship with Jesus Christ, I lived for myself, I did what I wanted to do, what I thought would make me happy. We believe the things of this world will bring us happiness, joy, peace, purpose…our selfish desires never fulfill us or bring us contentment. We will always be searching for the next thing to make us feel better and those that quit searching turn to things that will dull or block the hurt or pain that we need taken away. The remedy for our illness, our discontentment, our searching….is Jesus. He is all that we need and when we give up and relinquish our lives to Him then we will stop trying to find something here in this world to bring us peace. When we live eternal minded, when we live for Jesus, we realize that nothing this world has to offer is worth giving up eternity for, our relationship with Christ, our souls for…when we surrender our lives to Jesus and give Him full control over our lives, He will change our desires to be like His, He will mold us and grow us to be more like Him, more full of love, joy, peace, hope, the list goes on and on. The change He makes in our heart overrules those previous selfish and sinful ways we used to live and want to live. This is one of the most amazing things about the Gospel, that through the power of the resurrected King, He changes us in such mighty ways that we are sometimes unrecognizable. People that really know us and the way we “used to live” are awestruck by the change in us, a change only made possible by laying down our lives at the feet of Jesus, surrendering to Him.
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." Galatians 2:20
When Jesus died for me, for you, for the world...His sacrifice was payment for our sin. When we acknowledge that payment and accept this free gift, He sends His Holy Spirit to live inside us. The Spirit needs fed, its nourishment comes from staying in a close relationship with God, by reading His Word and communicating with Him in prayer. It's His Spirit living in us that convicts us, that reminds us that He needs time with us, that keeps us on the path He has planned for us.
I say this all the time...if we only knew the amazing plans He has for us, if we could look into the future....we would be on our faces in awe and wonder of Him, of His goodness, His grace...and we would give up everything this world has to offer to live for Him. He won't make us robots, He wants us to want a relationship with Him, He wants us to love Him...seek Him out, trust Him...He is worth it and so much more.
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