“18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.”
Romans 7:18
I remember as a child, around age 7, receiving Jesus Christ into my heart. Then at age 8, I raised my hand again to receive Jesus at a church meeting. Later, at age 14, I saw a picture of Jesus, started crying and said to our Lord,” please come into my heart.”
Which one took? J
Those are 3 times I specifically remember asking Jesus to come into my heart. Then there were times I walked the isle to rededicate my life to the Lord, or surrender to full time Christian service. I guess you can tell by these statements there was something not settled in my heart.
What made it worse is that even after being a child of God, I tried to live the Christian life. I was really trying. At age 21, I sold my cherished yellow Volkswagen, packed up my things, and went all the way to Chicago to a Bible School. I didn’t last, because I had the pressures of no money, the pressures of something inside of me that knew intuitively, I could not be some great missionary for God, with little old me trying “to pull it off.”
All the while though, I was seeking…seeking for the true Lord Jesus Christ and what Christianity was all about. For a long time though, I served the Lord in various venues through singing, prison ministry, etc. I knew inside I was after something where my heart could know what God Himself was after in me.
I’ve had, like many, countless “screw ups,” in my life. Yet whether someone doctors up their phobias, fears, hidden sins and bondages, nervous twitches, etc. and then compares them to the one where people actually see their outward struggles of alcoholism, depression, obvious sins and bondages, etc., doesn’t mean either one are walking free or living the life of the Son of God within them.
I know, with all my heart, God is not interested in our faking outward holiness or righteousness. He came to dwell inside of us that we might know the TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
So, how did He do it? And how does He do it?
First, there is another thing I am very sure of – God wants to use all these struggles to cause us to seek the living Christ and the power of His resurrection. What a thrill, to be able to say with Paul the Apostle, “O wretched man that I am! WHO shall deliver me from this body of death? I thank my God, THROUGH Jesus Christ, my Lord!” Romans 7:18
Ya’ll, I constantly, daily need to be reminded of this! The world does not know God’s TRUTH of Jesus CHRIST. Everything in this world is going against FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS, the LIVING SAVIOR!
Yes, yes, God wants us all to know the Lord Jesus Christ this powerfully and intimately – that He is the ONE who truly is the Life of every child of God, living wholly through us so that we live holy.
And lastly, there’s another thing I’ve discovered (and still need to be reminded of) as I walk out this road in Christ Jesus: Satan’s howling voice still exists as “the accuser of the brethren.”
Therefore, what is the genuine secret to stopping his nagging, accusing voice when you know you’ve missed it – or how about this one: He accuses a person falsely (even through others), but it FEELS terribly true!
Hmm…Here’s my true statement to this atrocity of evil: “Devil, there’s only ONE Righteousness in this Universe, and I present HIM to you. Not yet I, BUT CHRIST, who is MY LIFE NOW, MY RIGHTEOUSNESS, MY HOPE, MY GLORY, and God’s FREE GIFT TO ME, because I put my trust in HIM. So go away!”
What a freedom, what a joy! Why? Because we NEVER have to look at ourselves again to try to find something good in our flesh, to exonerate ourselves – ONLY JESUS. This living Savior, Christ Jesus is in us, constantly working within us to bring forth all His life, fruit and glory. Through living faith in Jesus, He’s our CONSTANT DELIVERER in this present world! (The just shall LIVE by his faith!)
“For it is God who works in us both to will and to do of HIS GOOD PLEASURE!”
Amen,
Sue Gaither
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