Changed From the Inside Out
"At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions, and pleasures. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His great mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:3-8)."
Several things stand out to me as I was reading these verses. The first one is that at one time, every single one of us (who are now saved), lived a life of rebellion; rebellion towards God-a selfish, sinful, prideful life. We were all once enemies of the cross. We were blind and did not realize we were blind. It is not until God removes the veil over our eyes, that we can see. We were literally the walking dead. Our body was alive, however, spiritually speaking, we were dead. Dead in our sins. Dead in our transgressions. Heading straight for Hell.
But God. Out of His goodness and great love for each and every one of us, He saved us. And this was by no means because of anything we had done. It was all because of His great grace. The moment you and I believed in and put our trust in the Lord Jesus, God filled us with His Spirit. That veil that had been covering our eyes was lifted. "But whenever anyone turns to the Lord the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:16)."
Next, we have been justified or declared righteous in the sight of God through Jesus Christ. This means that because Jesus paid our debt in full by His blood, we have peace with the Father. He is no longer our enemy, but now calls us friends (John 15:15). I will never get over the day I was called from darkness into His light. There were no trumpets sounding, lights flashing or anything out of the ordinary. I, however, had become sick and tired of the person I was-all of the deception, lies, and fear. I had come to the end of myself and as I was face down on the floor, God reached down and grabbed hold of my heart. He overwhelmed my soul with His peace.
For once in my life, I was free! I felt a love like no other! I felt His acceptance and mercy. I will never get over that day because I know the person I used to be. There was not one thing I ever did to deserve God's grace. But isn't that the beauty and the mystery of grace? There is no one that is without sin, and yet, out of His great love, God chases after us, He pursues us and when we come to Him, we are never ever the same. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)."
I know I have not arrived yet, but I am not who I once was and that is all because of my Lord. He will continue to work in me and every one of His children, changing us to be more like Jesus, until the day of His return so that we can be "confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:3)." God is faithful and true to His word. If He said it, you can know with certainty, it will come to pass!
My prayer for each person reading this today is this: "May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23)."
Several things stand out to me as I was reading these verses. The first one is that at one time, every single one of us (who are now saved), lived a life of rebellion; rebellion towards God-a selfish, sinful, prideful life. We were all once enemies of the cross. We were blind and did not realize we were blind. It is not until God removes the veil over our eyes, that we can see. We were literally the walking dead. Our body was alive, however, spiritually speaking, we were dead. Dead in our sins. Dead in our transgressions. Heading straight for Hell.
But God. Out of His goodness and great love for each and every one of us, He saved us. And this was by no means because of anything we had done. It was all because of His great grace. The moment you and I believed in and put our trust in the Lord Jesus, God filled us with His Spirit. That veil that had been covering our eyes was lifted. "But whenever anyone turns to the Lord the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:16)."
Next, we have been justified or declared righteous in the sight of God through Jesus Christ. This means that because Jesus paid our debt in full by His blood, we have peace with the Father. He is no longer our enemy, but now calls us friends (John 15:15). I will never get over the day I was called from darkness into His light. There were no trumpets sounding, lights flashing or anything out of the ordinary. I, however, had become sick and tired of the person I was-all of the deception, lies, and fear. I had come to the end of myself and as I was face down on the floor, God reached down and grabbed hold of my heart. He overwhelmed my soul with His peace.
For once in my life, I was free! I felt a love like no other! I felt His acceptance and mercy. I will never get over that day because I know the person I used to be. There was not one thing I ever did to deserve God's grace. But isn't that the beauty and the mystery of grace? There is no one that is without sin, and yet, out of His great love, God chases after us, He pursues us and when we come to Him, we are never ever the same. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)."
I know I have not arrived yet, but I am not who I once was and that is all because of my Lord. He will continue to work in me and every one of His children, changing us to be more like Jesus, until the day of His return so that we can be "confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:3)." God is faithful and true to His word. If He said it, you can know with certainty, it will come to pass!
My prayer for each person reading this today is this: "May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23)."
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