Do you understand that Christ gave himself entirely for you? Do you understand that He didn’t think twice to obey God?
Right. But if we understand all these things, why are we so reluctant to give up our carnal desires and live completely for Him? Why, even though we know Jesus’ sacrifice for us, do we sometimes continue to live a shallow gospel?
This was a question that my leader asked me. This led me to think a lot about my devotion and obedience to God. I would like to talk to you about it.
Selfishness
After hearing this question, I started to think and realized how selfish I have been! I have done God’s will and kept His commandments when it suits me. When I realize that in order to do God’s will, I will have to give up my carnal desires, I ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit and listen to my flesh.
This is absolutely unfair and selfish! I want Christ’s sacrifice to be saved. But I am not willing to give up my life as a sinner, to be grateful and to glorify Him who saved me. For myself and with my own strength, I will never have the will to live and fulfill the will of God, because I am a failure and a sinner.
“or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:23
But still, when we are flawed, sinners and transgressors of the Law of God, the Lord shows His love and mercy for us!
There is still hope
For ourselves, we can never really achieve salvation and be delivered from the bondage of sin. But through Jesus’ love and sacrifice, we have another chance!
“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”
Romans 7: 24-25
It is clear that salvation comes purely and simply through Jesus Christ! He is the only one who has the power to save us, through his sacrifice.
However, after we understand and receive Christ’s salvation, radical changes must occur in our lives. We must be 100% transformed by the action of the Spirit of God in our lives!
Metanoia
The word “metanoia” means a change in mentality. For the Greeks, it meant a fundamental change or alteration or, more literally, transcendence (“goal” – above or beyond, as in “metaphysics”) of the mind (“noia” – of the “nous” root of the mind).
For Christians, “metanoia” is the complete change of direction, where we repent of our sins, turn around and change the course of our lives, now centered on Christ.
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,”
Acts 3:19
Conversion should bring us confrontation! From the moment that Christ enters our hearts, the comfort we have in our sins must be destroyed! There is no room for Christ and sin in our hearts.
This is by no means easy! It is something extremely difficult and I confess that it has been like this for me: a daily and incessant struggle against myself. I have fallen several times, but I have learned to truly repent and ask God for strength and boldness to face my sins.
Boys need to become men of Christ and stop doing boyish things. Girls need to become women of Christ and stop doing girls’ things. Don’t let your desires take over you, but let go of your sins and live to honor and glorify the name of Christ.
Grace and Peace.
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Amen! Only through humbleness in repentance that we can attain defeating our flesh. Let us pray without ceasing. He is faithful and truth. Amen!
Do you know Celeste and Magellan? Please inform me who they are?
I feel confronted by my struggles against flesh, i havn’t given up praying to be made perfect by the Spirit of God, each moment i look at the Author and Perfecter of my faith, i see gross inadequacies limiting my completeness in Christ Jesus. My cry everyday, Lord plaese make me perfect as you are. Thank you sir.
Thank you. This is a confirmation of what God said to me.
Thank you Lord. I prayed what I want. Sometimes I didn’t notice the existing blessings what God giving to me. God’s plan and daily blessings are enough for me. Only things I need to try to see deeply more what God is really arranged for me and how much his plan is great.
Thank you for your insight. It is a very hard, daily struggle. We need to repent, ask for God’s foregiveness, and then ask for His help for us to move on and learn from our mistakes.
Oh gosh!
For me, the most difficult part is to be confronted between my sin and follow Jesus. I know that Christ path is better, is incomparable, but I confess that I’m lost in this way. No goal, no happiness, no ideas, everything has became difficult and I don’t know how to overcome. I just ask to be helped.
Hello Davi, I used to ask for help during prayer until I realized my relationship with God was more of a child-father kind of relationship. I started reminding God of His promises to His children and just asking Him to take care of the situation. Oh my the burdens that was lifted was amazing. The peace of trusting and knowing He is able and will keep all His promises to His children has been so reassuring. Like you I still have a ways to go but my hardest fight had been within myself because I’m a controlling person. I had to understand that about myself too because I had to let go of the idea I had to know everything. He knows everything and has already planned it out. That should be enough and His grace is sufficient. I pray peace and understanding in your life and please pray for me. God Bless💞
James 5:13
Not one of us has perfected character we do have existing in us for we are human, but Christ’s teaching is a DAILY🕆 walk closer with him in this, He promises we can do all things& even greater than these…hand it all over get self off throne,humbe u to Him in ALL, quit limiting God & receive the word that u r created in His image & loved just as u r! Study pure heartedly💓ALL His promises & learn nothing & no1 can take u from✡Him🕆 or these promises from u🤗
Thank you for encouragement
Do you think God wants us to stop enjoying our lives? I’m asking this not to be sarcastic but truly want a mature, calm discussion. He put us here, on this beautiful Earth, amongst His amazing creation, to not enjoy it because we are selfish if we do??!! Or what if we love the taste of food or a glass of wine here or there? As long as these things are not idols, are they sin or wrong in Gods eyes??
“All things are lawful for me; but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful for me; but I will not be brought under the power of any.”
(1 Corinthians 6: 12 )
When the writer was talking about him being selfish, he was talking about him sinning instead of obeying God. His carnal desires he was trying to get across is his sinful nature he was talking about. God doesn’t mind us enjoying the things of the world as you said unless it becomes an idol or we begin to love the things of the world. In beginning, God wanted us to take dominion, it includes enjoying what we can get of this world, as long as it doesn’t lead us to sin, or it doesn’t take the top most priority in our hearts. I hope u get it?
Very good sir. Very good. I love your blog posts!
Christians receive the nature of God when they accept Jesus. They must reflect it.
I’d like to share an quote from Dr. John Macarthur:
“A pastor once told his congregation about a man who had a dog, and the man was trying to train his dog to be obedient. And what he would do was to take a large piece of meat – good, red, juicy meat that dogs would normally like to eat – and he would put it in the middle of the floor near the dog, and then he would say “no” to the dog. Well, the first few times the no was an irrelevant suggestion. The dog proceeded to grab the meat and got whaled on; and after a few such results, when he said “no,” the dog no longer attacked the meat. But what the man noticed was this: the dog never looked at the meat. When he put the meat on the floor the dog never for a moment took his eyes off his master, seemingly feeling that if he did so the temptation to disobey would be too great. So he just maintained a steadfast gaze into the face of his master.”
I Love God and i know he will always be there
* Amen*
Good morning,
I really enjoy these encouragement blogs! I understand the scripture you entered from Romans 3: 27. But, if we’re living a Christ centered life; Holy life, then we must do as you stated before and live completely for him. I am 27yrs old and have been livigg big saved, sanctified and Holy Ghost filled since I was about 12yrs old. Holiness is a learning life. But, as you learn to live Holy…. that doesn’t mean we keep sinning only to come back to God to ask forgiveness every time.
The word of God tells us that when we sin, we crucify Christ all over again. Imagine how much pain we constantly put him through because we chose sin thinking it’s ok! God gave us a way of escape through Christ dying on the cross. He told us in Jude 1:24-25 that he’s able to keep us from falling. If we’re gonna live for Jesus then we have to completely deny self, family, and the temptations of life. It is possible to live completely free from sin; God told us in Romans 6:22!
Yes, I understand that “we all have sinned, and fall short of the glory” once upon a time. But, Jesus justifies us when he died and gave us freedom through the blood. Just like it’s possible to stop smoking and be freed for years, it is definitely possible to live free from sin.
Again, I honestly love your blogs. They have helped me. But, I just don’t want people to think that this is how Holiness works. Jesus lived Holy everyday. He didn’t have to keep repenting to God for forgiveness because he sinned. “NO!” If Jesus did that, then we would be a mess. I wouldn’t want to follow someone who lived like that. He said in his word a double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Jesus is stable, therefore we can be to.
My dear Kim with love in my heart I would point you to 1John verses 8-10 am praying for you
If we have a relationship with our Creator & His BELOVED🕆Son we see purified unconditional LOVE! In this covenant we become more like His fulfilled purposes, will & heart knowing His sacrificial purified blood covers our imperfections! In this our choices
should fulfill his desired PURPOSE @ His death was an example! This love was His Father’s culmination to receive us without blemish through the conquering of this worlds thought patterns & renewing our own mind, freely of choice. With the perfected example of his Sons choices who conquered worlds temptations, without sin to show us,we ALL👀 have a way out, free of choice! Focusing on WHOSE WE R & desiring to plz our💓precious HEAVENLY ✡FATHER, not self👀. we choose to empty us of us to be guided of His loving will & glorification!!!our rewards are with Him & His word does not return void nor does His will fail. We all need to get self out of way & let God be who He is!!! He is in control, does make mistakes & wishes to not lose 1 of us, NOT 1💓🕊
Excuse the type error but God does NOT make mistakes & is in total control!!! To error is human isn’t it😂💓👀Thank God for His BELOVED SONs examples & blood, FORGIVEN🕆💓🕊 G0DS BELOVED PURPOSE & WILL NOT ours🤗🕊Let’s ALL let His Light shine & glorify Him, singing praises & giving THANKS in all things💓He will not leave nor forsake us👀
Amen
God is everything to me and in my life.
Thought provoking and very true! The essence of our very lives!
Father forgive my sins for I have sin and fall short of your glory
I believe in Lord almighty and his son but I am a mere Human being with very little to survive also but still do no harm to other innocent people or whatever people. Due to frustration and weakness do harm my life. Talk is cheap and I am no Jesus Christ who had the power to endure but still I will try to do my best and hopefully overcome this hardship and badlucks. In Lord’s name I ask for forgiveness and to overcome this period of my life. Amen
Fasting and praying and staying in the word of God (bible) will give you all the strength you need to make it through life! Everybody has a chance to make it to heaven. That’s why Jesus died on the cross. You are not alone, you can make it if you set your mind to do so.
Robin, u my dear are not alone in your walk of life. Its not luck but lies from pit of hell. You are more than a conquerer for Abba gave us VICTORY over the deceit in His BELOVED SONs BLOOD. Focus in Gods promises & who you genuinelt are A loving child of our Creator who loves us ALL be STILL & reachout heart to heart with HIM! Hes listening to your important words & values your pure heart. Ty for sharing this took courage & my prayers are over you in Jesus name💓🤗🕊
Amen
The just shall live by faith.
Only believe!!!!
But a faith without works is dead.🤷♂️
If one has true faith, the works come along.