Being a child of God, I have to constantly be reminded of his sacrificial gift and the magnitude of what that means. Jesus agreed to come into this world as a child in order to die on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins. Not only was he the ultimate sacrifice, he overcame death so that we too can have everlasting life with God.
Romans 10: 9-10
"If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."
We are called to share the good news, that Christ lives! First we believe who God is, then we profess our faith. James 2:19,24,26 says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. "
I feel this is saying that we can believe there is one God, but if we truly know who he is, our life will glorify Him in all that we do. I find myself wanting nothing more than to talk about who Christ is and the freedom he has to offer! If we believe in God, I don’t know any other way to live than to get to know who he is! When thinking about the sacrifice he made for me, why do I find myself still struggling to make the right decision when it may not be easy? I’ve found the answer to be as simple as, I am a sinner. There is nothing I can do without Christ. I have to purposefully take all of my thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ.
Ephesians 4:22-24
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self,which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Being a christian and having a relationship with God requires us to turn from our sinful ways and put on our new self. I think it’s interested that we are called to be made new in the attitude of our MINDS. We may not have control of what the thoughts that come into our mind, but when they do, we absolutely have control of what we do with them. I’ve found that if I surround myself with truth, my thoughts lean more in this direction. When I begin to allow myself to hear lies and believe things that are not of God, I begin to get angry, irritated, self-centered, and feeling alone. When I focus on what Paul states in Philippians, I find myself feeling more peaceful, and in balance.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.” Phillipians 4:8
God wants us to desire a relationship with Him because he loves us more than we know. He wants us to call out his name in all that we do. Join me in this challenge this week:
Challenge
How do you need to change your thoughts so they are focused on what Paul tells us in Phillipians 4:8?
“Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
- 2 Corinthians 10:5
Share ways in which you’ve done this this week on our I Believe Page.