For the last few weeks or so, I have been feeling really, really happy, for the first time in my life. Because I finally saw how much God has transformed me from my old sinful nature and into the new creation, and I am so grateful and also amazed that I just continously rejoice. I have gone through so much to come to this place, and I deserve none of what I have today. But it is God's will and pleasure, and I have been set free!
God gave me a verse this year, at New Years. Last year, it was Romans 12:2, and that is what God did, He opened my eyes and made me separate from the world, conformed me to Christ and renewed my mind. Then this year I got:
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17
He told me to focus on being the new creation, and walking in the Spirit, and keep being transformed.
And I'm looking back on what I used to be and who I am today in Christ. The transformation that God has done in me is amazing, and I am 100% sure that He is going to continue His work in me, if I keep walking with Him, which I will, because He will keep leading me. And I'm reminded of why God could get me to where I am today: He is hard on me! He is as hard on me as He has to be to get me to stop sinning, to stay focused on Him and to stay in constant prayer. The Holy Spirit always shows me how much God loves me, His voice is soft, and He gives me wisdom and revelation about Himself to help me overcome my struggles, but His chastisement isn't pleasant, and the conviction I feel is at times very painful. I have been harshly rebuked, at times I have been shown visions of Hell, or me being separated to His left, and I have felt this intense feeling of sadness and then Him telling me that if I continue the way I'm going, He will have no other choice. And then He faithfully leads me back to the narrow path.
Why is God so hard on me? He loves me, and He does not want me to perish, or go back into darkness. I have also been given the promise, from Scripture and from His voice personally, that I will be going to Heaven, because He has chosen me, and because He will keep cleansing me and working in me to make me holy. It has kept me going, and it has kept my eyes set on Christ and the high calling that He has given us.
So I have surrendered to His will, and He has changed me. Some changes were easy, some changes gave me nothing but joy, but some happened through fiery trials and suffering, through obedience even when I had absolutely no will to obey. Through all of it, I was conformed to the image of Christ, and I have grown and matured, and learned to walk like Him, and with Him. And I have grown very close to Him, knowing Him and hearing His voice as He keeps leading me, as should all of us. It is His work in me, to His Glory, so no, I am not boasting.
But I choose to talk about it, because this transformation that He has done in me, is what is lacking in the Church today. A lot of people I talk to are amazed at how far I have come, and I make sure that God gets all the Glory for that. But it warms my heart, knowing that they see Christ in me. That is a lot to take in for someone who has been as sinful as I used to be, but it's there, and it is a beautiful thing. It's not that I need the validation, but I know that it inspires others to focus a lot more on God.
And others try to pull me down, calling me self-righteous, judgmental or proud for preaching holiness and living according to God's will (just like Christ and the Apostles). And I see so many claiming to live for God, yet walking in hatred and rebellion, showing no fruit of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because they haven't surrendered to the Lordship of Christ. Humility means to obey God and confess our sinfulness, and it does not mean to pretend that we cannot know His will and should therefore tolerate sin. It also does not mean that we should not judge each other, but that we should judge righteously and love each other enough to lead one another towards Christ.
If anyone is in Christ, they cannot sin, because there is no sin in Christ. We have been cleansed and purged from our sins and redeemed from our old nature. We cannot walk in the flesh and in the Spirit, and we cannot serve two masters.
I am equally hard on others as God is on me, for a reason, because I want to see His transformation in them. I want to see them also be set free from sin. Of course by telling them about God's mercy and grace, and patience, knowing that God is always ready to forgive them as He has forgiven me. But also knowing that the end goal is freedom in Christ and not bondage to sin.
Lately, I have seen God's endless patience working in both my life and in the lives of others. Repentance and sanctification takes time, especially today, when we are flooded with falsehood and deception. Because it is Truth that sets us free, as we obey Jesus' commandments. And for that to happen, God has to weed out the falsehood from our lives. It can take time.
But God once spoke to me something like: "Grace only covers those with a truly repentant heart". It cut so sharply, as does everything that God speaks. Because there is no forgiveness if we do not repent, and repentance means to turn from our sins, not just confess them and then keep on sinning. Jesus didn't die to become an excuse for sin, but to save us from sin. The sprinkling of His Blood cleanses us, and so does His Word, when we learn how to walk in His ways.
Revelation 21:8, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and Galatians 5:19-21.
We know that if someone continues to live in sin, according to the flesh, they will not see God's Kingdom. They will be called goats and will be separated to His left, because they never knew Him. Meaning that they were never conformed to Christ, because they never started living by His commandments. So we have to keep not only encouraging each other, but rebuke and teach each other as well. So when God points out sin, or deception, in someone's life, I speak up. Speaking truth in love. And hopefully saving their life by doing so. And there has been times where I have tried for weeks, but someone does not want to listen, and I have been told by the Lord to wipe the dust off my feet and move on. Because they do not want to listen to His words. They did not want to change.
There is a lot of sin still in my own life, and I try not to let it get me down emotionally, because I am still only three years in Christ and I know that God loves me and is patient with me, and it takes time for the Lord to pull out the roots of some of our sins, or heal us from our past, but at the same time, when people say "don't be so hard on yourself!" I say to God "Lord, please be harder on me!". Because what matters in this life? Holding on to worldly pleasures, or crucifying the flesh and living for God?
It is the fear of the LORD that enables me to keep going, and the Holy Spirit that encourages me and the knowledge of what Christ did for me. And it is the way that God loves me that makes His correction impossible for me to resist. I have fallen very far at times, but He always pulls me back up. Because of His faithfulness.
He will continue to work in me, and He will finish the work He started. And nothing will snatch me out of His hands, if I continue to obey Him until the end, and keep working out my salvation with fear and trembling. And I will keep being transformed, and IT IS WORTH IT! It gives me freedom and an abundant life, the ability to love and freely give, steadfastness in faith through trials, and the joy of walking through this life with our Creator, instead of fighting against Him and His will. It means that one day I get to hear the words "Well done, faithful servant!". Not everyone who claims to know Jesus will hear those words, but only those who walk according to His will. But I am His sheep, and I have set my eyes on Christ, and He has full ownership of me and my life. The way He has transformed me proves that I belong to Him, and nothing could make me happier. Praise God!
Father, please continue to teach me, transform me, sanctify me with Your truth, chastise me when I need it, make me obedient, and strengthen me to resist every temptation that comes to lead me astray from Your perfect ways! Your will be done, in Jesus' name! Amen!
Some food:
Romans 6
John 17:17
John 14:21
2 Corinthians 3:18
Galatians 2:20
Colossians 3:10
Ephesians 5:8
1 John 2:6
Galatians 5:16-17
Galatians 5:22-25
Matthew 5:19
Just... read the whole Bible!
God bless!
God gave me a verse this year, at New Years. Last year, it was Romans 12:2, and that is what God did, He opened my eyes and made me separate from the world, conformed me to Christ and renewed my mind. Then this year I got:
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17
He told me to focus on being the new creation, and walking in the Spirit, and keep being transformed.
And I'm looking back on what I used to be and who I am today in Christ. The transformation that God has done in me is amazing, and I am 100% sure that He is going to continue His work in me, if I keep walking with Him, which I will, because He will keep leading me. And I'm reminded of why God could get me to where I am today: He is hard on me! He is as hard on me as He has to be to get me to stop sinning, to stay focused on Him and to stay in constant prayer. The Holy Spirit always shows me how much God loves me, His voice is soft, and He gives me wisdom and revelation about Himself to help me overcome my struggles, but His chastisement isn't pleasant, and the conviction I feel is at times very painful. I have been harshly rebuked, at times I have been shown visions of Hell, or me being separated to His left, and I have felt this intense feeling of sadness and then Him telling me that if I continue the way I'm going, He will have no other choice. And then He faithfully leads me back to the narrow path.
Why is God so hard on me? He loves me, and He does not want me to perish, or go back into darkness. I have also been given the promise, from Scripture and from His voice personally, that I will be going to Heaven, because He has chosen me, and because He will keep cleansing me and working in me to make me holy. It has kept me going, and it has kept my eyes set on Christ and the high calling that He has given us.
So I have surrendered to His will, and He has changed me. Some changes were easy, some changes gave me nothing but joy, but some happened through fiery trials and suffering, through obedience even when I had absolutely no will to obey. Through all of it, I was conformed to the image of Christ, and I have grown and matured, and learned to walk like Him, and with Him. And I have grown very close to Him, knowing Him and hearing His voice as He keeps leading me, as should all of us. It is His work in me, to His Glory, so no, I am not boasting.
But I choose to talk about it, because this transformation that He has done in me, is what is lacking in the Church today. A lot of people I talk to are amazed at how far I have come, and I make sure that God gets all the Glory for that. But it warms my heart, knowing that they see Christ in me. That is a lot to take in for someone who has been as sinful as I used to be, but it's there, and it is a beautiful thing. It's not that I need the validation, but I know that it inspires others to focus a lot more on God.
And others try to pull me down, calling me self-righteous, judgmental or proud for preaching holiness and living according to God's will (just like Christ and the Apostles). And I see so many claiming to live for God, yet walking in hatred and rebellion, showing no fruit of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because they haven't surrendered to the Lordship of Christ. Humility means to obey God and confess our sinfulness, and it does not mean to pretend that we cannot know His will and should therefore tolerate sin. It also does not mean that we should not judge each other, but that we should judge righteously and love each other enough to lead one another towards Christ.
If anyone is in Christ, they cannot sin, because there is no sin in Christ. We have been cleansed and purged from our sins and redeemed from our old nature. We cannot walk in the flesh and in the Spirit, and we cannot serve two masters.
I am equally hard on others as God is on me, for a reason, because I want to see His transformation in them. I want to see them also be set free from sin. Of course by telling them about God's mercy and grace, and patience, knowing that God is always ready to forgive them as He has forgiven me. But also knowing that the end goal is freedom in Christ and not bondage to sin.
Lately, I have seen God's endless patience working in both my life and in the lives of others. Repentance and sanctification takes time, especially today, when we are flooded with falsehood and deception. Because it is Truth that sets us free, as we obey Jesus' commandments. And for that to happen, God has to weed out the falsehood from our lives. It can take time.
But God once spoke to me something like: "Grace only covers those with a truly repentant heart". It cut so sharply, as does everything that God speaks. Because there is no forgiveness if we do not repent, and repentance means to turn from our sins, not just confess them and then keep on sinning. Jesus didn't die to become an excuse for sin, but to save us from sin. The sprinkling of His Blood cleanses us, and so does His Word, when we learn how to walk in His ways.
Revelation 21:8, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and Galatians 5:19-21.
We know that if someone continues to live in sin, according to the flesh, they will not see God's Kingdom. They will be called goats and will be separated to His left, because they never knew Him. Meaning that they were never conformed to Christ, because they never started living by His commandments. So we have to keep not only encouraging each other, but rebuke and teach each other as well. So when God points out sin, or deception, in someone's life, I speak up. Speaking truth in love. And hopefully saving their life by doing so. And there has been times where I have tried for weeks, but someone does not want to listen, and I have been told by the Lord to wipe the dust off my feet and move on. Because they do not want to listen to His words. They did not want to change.
There is a lot of sin still in my own life, and I try not to let it get me down emotionally, because I am still only three years in Christ and I know that God loves me and is patient with me, and it takes time for the Lord to pull out the roots of some of our sins, or heal us from our past, but at the same time, when people say "don't be so hard on yourself!" I say to God "Lord, please be harder on me!". Because what matters in this life? Holding on to worldly pleasures, or crucifying the flesh and living for God?
It is the fear of the LORD that enables me to keep going, and the Holy Spirit that encourages me and the knowledge of what Christ did for me. And it is the way that God loves me that makes His correction impossible for me to resist. I have fallen very far at times, but He always pulls me back up. Because of His faithfulness.
He will continue to work in me, and He will finish the work He started. And nothing will snatch me out of His hands, if I continue to obey Him until the end, and keep working out my salvation with fear and trembling. And I will keep being transformed, and IT IS WORTH IT! It gives me freedom and an abundant life, the ability to love and freely give, steadfastness in faith through trials, and the joy of walking through this life with our Creator, instead of fighting against Him and His will. It means that one day I get to hear the words "Well done, faithful servant!". Not everyone who claims to know Jesus will hear those words, but only those who walk according to His will. But I am His sheep, and I have set my eyes on Christ, and He has full ownership of me and my life. The way He has transformed me proves that I belong to Him, and nothing could make me happier. Praise God!
Father, please continue to teach me, transform me, sanctify me with Your truth, chastise me when I need it, make me obedient, and strengthen me to resist every temptation that comes to lead me astray from Your perfect ways! Your will be done, in Jesus' name! Amen!
Some food:
Romans 6
John 17:17
John 14:21
2 Corinthians 3:18
Galatians 2:20
Colossians 3:10
Ephesians 5:8
1 John 2:6
Galatians 5:16-17
Galatians 5:22-25
Matthew 5:19
Just... read the whole Bible!
God bless!
