The Changed Life Nov 12, 2010

November 12th, 2010 by Dave Leave a reply »

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new —2 Corinthians 5:17

What understanding do you have of the salvation of your soul? The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of salvation in your life is genuine is— has God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born from above— you are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. And when a crisis comes, you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference there is in you. There is no possibility of imagining that you did it. It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved.

What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13 , or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness.

Journal 11 12 10 DJR

Often I dont feel I measure up to Oswald’s admonitions.   And then I’m so glad for the grace that He has for our imperfections and the fact that we are still works in progress.     But today I agreed with him that sometimes after a crisis, I look back and see the hand of God in it.   It seems that I see God in my life more in crisis than in the everyday and mundane.    Do I need crisis to show Jesus and to live Jesus?

The longer you live and the more of me that gets deposited in you … the more of me there will be to get squeezed out when you are squeezed by a crisis.   So no, you dont need crisis to show me to the world but it’s something to think about.    Why and Why Not?

I see that there are two ways that you get shown to the world thru my  life:    The Jesus I’ve packed in over the years comes out under pressure.   & the other way is as I live it “On Purpose”    This last way doesn’t work as well as I would like.   I determine to live Jesus and show Jesus to the world and then life happens and I’m back with Paul … doing what I dont want to do and not doing what I want to do.    I suppose my remedy is the same as his.   Thanks be to God thru Christ Jesus….

Yes.

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