By Hannah. October 17, 2012.
There is a big difference between living like Jesus, and letting Jesus live through you. A lot of Christians try to live like Jesus, without Jesus. Do we really have that much confidence in our own ability that we tell God we don't need him? It's impossible to live a godly, Christian life without Jesus. But if we remain in Jesus, he can do everything. Apart from him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). 1 Corinthians 2:5 tells us that our faith should rest on God's power, not our wisdom. It's the power of God that saves and transforms people. But God will not force us to give up everything. He wants us to want him. He wants to do life for us because he loves us so much. It's like when you offer to help an older lady with her groceries and she says she doesn't need any help. You know that she does need help, but you won't force anything. You really want to help her, but she just won't let you. Sometimes we can be that stubborn, older lady when God wants to help us. The God of the universe wants to do life for us, and we're too prideful to admit we need help. Galatians 2:20 says that when we accept Christ as our Savior, we are no longer living but Christ is now living in us. Our worldly passions and desires are crucified, and now we live by faith in the Son of God.
If we haven't truly died to self, (1 Corinthians 15:31), then Jesus really isn't living in us. We are still making our own decisions and we haven't allowed Jesus to take the wheel. A lot of people are comfortable talking about Jesus' love and his grace. But when Jesus asks us to give up everything, a lot of people cringe and can't believe that he would dare ask us that. Some people view the Christian life as a chore. Christians walk around miserable because they're trying to live up to this perfect standard that is Christ Jesus, on their own. God tells us that his grace is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9). His power is made perfect in our weakness. Just trust in God's grace and let him live through you! Give up! It's impossible to live the pure life that God has asked us to live, without him. When we just give up and admit we need help, God will rescue us and will give us his power and strength.
Just let God help you! God wants everyone to experience the joy that he gives. When we quit chasing after the meaningless things of the world, and we turn our eyes to God, we can experience that deep joy of the Holy Spirit. God's weakness is stronger than our strength (1 Corinthians 1:25). Trust him who can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). Once we finally give up and let Jesus take the reigns in our life, we can experience the abundant life that he has promised us (John 10:10).
Philippians 1:21 says that to a believer, to live is Christ and to die is gain. To live is Christ! We are dead to sin but alive in Christ (Romans 6:11). The Christian life should be a joyful celebration of what Jesus did! Lets humble ourselves and ask God to help us. Everyone needs a Savior, but Christians are the people who admit it. Don't act like the Pharisees who were so confident in their own ability to earn salvation that they rejected the Son of God. The only thing we have to do to qualify for God's grace is admit we don't qualify. Once we admit that we need a Savior, we receive God's abundant provision of grace and his gift of righteousness (Romans 5:17). Praise the Lord for his willingness to do life for us! Amen!
"It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God's mercy." -Romans 9:16
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Finding Your Way In Christ
Non-FictionThis is a collection of posts from me and my friend's blog, "Finding Your Way In Christ." These aren't all the posts we've written, [by far] but these my favorites so far. Most of them are by me, but it's a collection of different posts by different...
