Changed

If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, old things pass away and all things become new.  – 2 Corinthians 5:17

I remember hearing a preacher say, “If there has been no change, there has been no salvation.”  This statement would not leave me alone.  It seemed that no matter how hard I tried, change avoided me.  I wasted so much time telling God how much better I was going to be and do.  My efforts never lasted more than 72 hours.  

It was during a revival service that I was introduced to being filled with the Holy Spirit.  Somehow, I knew that was exactly what I needed.  I expected to speak in tongues, but all I left with was a hunger to read God’s Word and get to know Him for the first time in my life.   As I read the Bible over the next 15 months, I found that I had avoided a lot of my favorite sins for weeks.  Somehow, I had changed and didn’t even ask for it.  There was no man, preacher, or even myself that could take credit for the changes that had been made in my heart, mind, and life.  God had done the greatest miracle He still does today . . . take a sin loving, world following, God hating heart and transform it.  To this day, I look back in absolute awe and amazement.

Today, it is rarely preached that change is inevitable for a believer in Christ.  Most Americans believe that if any decent thought about God has ever occurred over the course of a person’s life, then they are bound for heaven.  I cannot even begin to describe the fear for a person that I have when they describe their own goodness as the reason they will enter into God’s glory.  I tell them that it is better to simply get to know God through reading His Word than it is to try to be good.  I say this because becoming Christlike is a byproduct of getting to know Him.  

Do you know Him?

Lord, I’m so thankful that You didn’t let me fix myself.  The only effort You allowed me to make was picking up my Bible and reading it diligently.  As I read, You were truly the vine and I was simply a branch.  You began to produce love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness in me.  It is so strange now to think that I can produce any of those on my own.  Bless me and keep me connected to You, Lord.  I could disconnect from the vine and wither so fast.  Please help those who truly think about You to not rely on their own works.  Help them to get plugged into Your word and grow in their relationship with You.  I pray for many that I’m counseling right now . . . help them leave the wide path that leads to destruction, and step on the narrow path that leads to life.  Amen