There’s an old saying, “If nothing changes, nothing changes.” As believers in Christ Jesus, we are called to change. Join me this week and consider some aspects of change in our lives as we walk with the Lord. Is there anything that you need changed?
“The Works!” It’s a Process!
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone, a new life has begun!
2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT
Years ago, I was in a single young adult Bible study group when the chaplain leading it asked the half dozen or so of us sitting in the circle if anyone would like to pray to receive salvation in Christ. When he got to a fairly new guy in our group, the guy opted to pray his own prayer of salvation. The chaplain obliged and we all bowed our heads and waited for the guy to speak. He said, “Jesus, I know you’re up there and you can make me new. I wanna be new, so … gimme the works. Amen!”
If only my eyes weren’t closed while he was praying because I’d have loved to see the looks on all our faces when he prayed that prayer! I only appeared to handle the situation maturely because I couldn’t find a giggle-buddy in the room! The chaplain knew the guy wanted salvation, and he knew exactly what he was talking about. Read today’s Dose verse. We’d been studying it in the King James Version, which reads, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” That young man received “the works” that night when he became a believer. He wanted to be completely changed from what he was to someone new.
We become brand new people through Jesus Christ once we accept Him as our Savior and Lord. We are instantly forgiven by God and pure in His sight. We are given “the works”! However, our old ungodly habits and thoughts we had prior to salvation are still with us because we come to Christ just as we are, broken, filthy, lost, and in need of much help. Faith, repentance, and willingness to surrender were all we brought to the table. So how do we change?
God gives us His Holy Spirit to help teach, guide, convict, and comfort us as we submit to His Lordship in our lives. In this way, we grow and change. Be encouraged to know that you don’t have to change everything at once (you couldn’t if you tried) but that through the power of the Holy Spirit, we have all the power we need to be completely changed in each area of our lives.
Sweet lady, are you a new creation in Christ Jesus? Why not request “the works” and get started on your lifelong process today?
By grace through faith,
Rita