What kind of Christian are you? Are you a Christian that seeks to deny yourself and your needs and desires in order to walk in the will of God? Or are you a Christian that acknowledges Jesus as your Lord and Savior yet He is not The Lord of your life? I gave my life to Christ when I was 6 years old but I did not surrender my life to Christ until I was 30 years old. There is a difference my friends. There is a difference between approaching Christianity as a religion instead of a relationship. I grew up in church and there was a reverence for God but I can't say there was a love for Him. How do I know there was little love for Him? How do you treat someone you are in love with? You seek them out everyday. You love to be with them. You stay on the phone all day or chat all day sometimes you even forget to eat or drink because you miss this person so much. You tell them everything even mundane things that happened during your day. You want their opinion on everything even if it's to pick out your nail color or perfume or outfit or hairstyle after all you are dressing for them right? Ladies c'mon, you know what I mean when you are madly in love!
Many Christians may have given their lives to Christ but they have not surrendered their lives to Him. I know this because I was like this until God opened my eyes to my spiritual state. He instilled a deep hunger and thirst for Him that had never been there before. I would wake up barely acknowledging Him, go about my day and even be too lazy to pray to Him and read His Word. Don't get me wrong, I went to a Christian school joined every choir I could possibly join singing praises to God and serving Him but not for the right reason. I loved the gift more than the giver of the gift. I'm trying to paint a picture for you so you can understand what I mean. You can be going to church and working in church but still not living a life surrendered to God. When God becomes your priority. When you want so much to please Him, you ask Him to take away attributes in you that do not bring glory to His name. When you are so hungry for Him, you feel you can't breathe in this superficial world you want to run away and isolate yourself so you can bask in His presence without any distractions. You want more and more and more of Him and can't get enough of Him! You do not see obeying His Word and His commandments as a tedious chore but a pleasure because you love Him and you want to please Him. When you feel so strange in this world like you don't belong in it and you can't wait to go home to Him where you truly belong. When you are ready to go where He tells you to go and do what He tells you to do no matter the personal cost to you. When you are ready to live and die for Him.
Search your hearts, do you love yourself and your things more than you love God? Quick exercise: Think of something you love very much, if you are asked to spend time with God and do God-driven things instead of self-driven things like what you love so much, are you ready to give this thing you love up? When God woke me up by a series of traumatic events in my life. There was nowhere else to run to but Him. So I lay on the floor and surrendered my life. First of all, I repented of putting myself and my possessions before God then I told Him I was ready to be used by Him and for Him alone. I asked Him to use me for His glory, as His vessel. I learned to pray asking that His will be done instead of making demands like a rebellious teenager and expecting Him to answer my prayers because I knew what was the best for me. I learned to commit my fears, desires and joys into His hands and ask that His will be done for He has the best for me.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please check yourselves today. Are you living for God or are you living for yourself? Are you looking forward to spending eternity with Him or death terrifies you and you want to live forever because life is so good? True Christianity is an intimate relationship with God and it's also a lifestyle. Jesus Christ is coming back for those who are surrendered to Him and living for Him. Those who are worshipping Him in spirit and in truth not those who are mixing the ways of the world with their Christianity. How are you living? If Jesus were to spend a day with you in your home what will He see? Will He be allowed to enter all the rooms in your home or just the living room? Will He see someone who is living for Him daily or just someone who "lives" for Him on Sundays? If you have been guilty of compartmentalizing God and living more for yourself than the One who made you, ask for His help today. Tell Him you desire to hunger and thirst for Him so He can fill you with His precious Holy Spirit. He will hear and change you from within.
© 2016 Bella Alex-Nosagie
To surrender your life fully please read the Blog post: Invite Jesus into your Heart. Start a new chapter in your Christian walk today and forever. God loves you and so do I!
No comments:
Post a Comment