I've been wrestling with something God put on my hear a couple of years ago. I felt God prompt me to post what I learning through my discipleship class as well as in my own personal time with him. I've been fighting the insecurities of opening my heart and putting words down on paper. But Sunday, my pastor was preaching on obedience. He said a lot of things I have been thinking and praying on, but two things really stood out. The first was "Delayed obedience is still disobedience." It's not the first time he has said that, but this time it hit different. It was like God was saying "I have told you to do this, and you still are not doing it. You are being disobedient." Ouch! I have had several topics that come across my heart that I feel He is saying, "you need to write about this". I just keep putting it off until I felt more qualified to write/talk about it. But I'm learning I really am never qualified because I don't know it all and never will, but also I am very qualified because I can speak of what He has done in my life. So bear with me, as my mentor often says, "I may not always get it right, but my heart is to get it right." As I start this journey, I may not always say things right, but I feel as long as I am allowing God to give me the words, it will speak to those who need to hear it.
The second thing that my pastor said was, "If there is no change, there is no Jesus." He was speaking to how when one becomes a believer, there should be evidence in their life that there is change. That doesn't mean we won't sin, because we are human and humans are flawed creatures, but that does mean that we should be striving to be more like Jesus everyday. I do think that means that we should overcome habitual sins. The Bible addresses this in several versus, but two of the are:
Romans 6:1-2, "Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who have died to sin still live in it?"
and Galatians 2:21, stating, "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain".
One of the main writers of the new testament was Paul. In short, Paul was born with the name Saul. He was a religious leader in the Jewish faith. He hated Christians and was instrumental in killing many in the early days after Christs death, burial and resurrection. To make a long story short, God got a hold of Saul's heart and he made a radical change and began being a missionary of the gospel of Christ. So radical, in fact, that he even changed his name to Paul. Many Christians were scared of him because of his past. They had a hard time accepting the life change that happened to him. So my reluctance has been that many people knew me before I accepted Christ (my Saul era) and honestly , I was afraid of what some of them might think. You see, I have not always been a believer of Christ. In my high school days, I knew I was searching for something. I just didn't know what it was. I turned to alcohol and relationships, but nothing ever filled the void. In fact, looking back on it now, it left me in a deeper pit of despair. Oh yes, I covered it up. Acted like I was having fun, but in reality, I was miserable and didn't know why. I had always gone to church, but never had a personal relationship with Jesus. It was more about history and do's and don'ts. I continued to search for what was missing when I went to college. A lot of the same, the first semester. But then towards the end of my freshman year, I was introduced to Jesus the Savior. I do not ever remember hearing a sermon on salvation before that and what it meant to not only believe there was a God, but to actually believe in Him. I accepted Christ when I was 19. This was my Paul moment. I am not saying that I have it all together the way Paul did, but I am saying that God changed me. I will never write half the new testament or go down in history like Paul has, but maybe something I write can help someone come to know or at least seek out this thing called Salvation. Salvation is simple. Believe in God the Father, that he sent his son to die for us on the cross, and accept that gift of salvation by acknowledging that you are a sinner (we all are!), repent of that sin by asking for forgiveness and turning from it, and accepting Jesus as your savior.
John 3:16 (NIV):
- "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life".
- "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved".
Romans 10:9-10:
- "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast".
Ephesians 2:8-9:
- "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved".
Acts 4:12:
- John 3:36:"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him
See, simple! You notice I didn't say easy. There is nothing easy about accepting Christ as your Savior. It takes a lot guts to acknowledge you have blown it. It takes a lot of discipline to not go back to what is comfortable and usual for your life, to live how you have always lived (habits). But it is a blessing that until you experience it, you will never understand. I hope if you have not ever taken this step that you will let God speak to your heart. He's calling you unto himself. He wants everyone to come to know Him and have a relationship with him. It's not about religion, it's about a relationship. It's not about going to church (though finding a good church will help you on your journey), it's about going to Him. Humans are flawed (yes even Christians), He is not. He is loving.
