Now that we have accepted Christ as our Lord and Personal Savior, what next?

            Now that we have accepted Christ, and let go of our old ways, what next?

                        How different is this Christ in our lives, from the others who don’t have Christ in them?

Our previous blog post, flesh in the tomb taught us how Jesus sacrificed the flesh on the cross, and rose with glory in resurrection to sit at the right hand side of God in victory. It also taught us how the flesh is a defeated self, and that like Christ, we need to embrace the resurrected self. The self which is all about victory, the self which is guided by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God.

Now that you go to church, read your Bible, and worship the Lord, what next?

The Bible says that not all who call God Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of God, but they that do the will of the Father. Also, it adds that if we say we love the Lord, we should obey His commandments. Furthermore it adds that as beloveds, we need to love one another, for love is of God and anyone that loves is a son of God, and knows God.

An unbeliever may ask, “What changed in your life after you accepted Christ?” Should you be asked this question, what would be your honest response? Would you tell him what Christ has done for you, or would you tell him what Christ in you has done for them, and your environment? Jesus told his disciples that the only way people will know that they are His disciples is if they love one another. The Bible admonishes us that we should owe nobody anything but Love. Some have accepted Christ, and the only sign we see is that they now go to church every Sunday. That is good. Others have accepted Christ, and the changes we see is that they don’t cuss anymore. That is also good. But the ultimate goal is this; “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This stems from the root of “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your strength, and all your soul.”

If you have accepted Christ, and now Christ lives in you, then He needs to shine through you. You can’t say you are part God, and part human (yourself). No! You sacrificed yourself on the cross too when you accepted Christ as your Lord (master), and got baptized. Now, you have embraced the newness of God, you are in Christ, and Christ is in you. You can’t put the new wine (Christ) in an old wineskin (your flesh). No! New Wine (Christ) has to be in New Wineskins (your spirit), otherwise the wineskin will break, and the wine will spill away. It is not you who live now, but Christ lives in you. If your actions don’t depict God, then you are living short of the glory of God. Every time an unbeliever sees you, he has to see Christ in you, because Christ (the Holy Spirit) lives in you. The unbeliever needn’t see your flesh (your desires, and wishes), else you are in enmity with God.

You are the pipe, and God is the water. Be a neat pipe so that God (water) will flow through you to bless others, and fulfill you. As a pipe, don’t gush out fresh water (God), and muddy water (worldliness). You ought to conform to the principles of God. You have to renew your mind [Romans 12:2]. It is your job. If you love God, then become like Him. If you love Him, become like Him in Spirit, for they that worship Him (God) must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.

If God says, “Pay evil with good”, you should be able to do it, no matter how hard it may seem. Because guess what, it is Christ who lives in you to will and to do unto the greater good. With God, things/instructions will seem hard to the mind and emotions (flesh), but if you should look pass your emotions and OBEY GOD ANYWAY, you will be a success: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shall meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to ALL that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” [Joshua 1:8KJV]

I am not saying you won’t fall from time to time, but hold on to God, and confess your sins and weakness to the Holy Spirit asking that he helps you (helper), gives you counsel (counsellor), comforts you (comforter), and keep you company when obeying God seems to push people away from you (friend).

Confess your weakness to him. Don’t act as if you are required to do everything yourself. If that was the way, then the Holy Spirit wouldn’t have come. The Old Testament people had to do everything on their own, but now we have a better promise, where we have the Holy Spirit to help us in our infirmities and weaknesses. We are in a better promise. We have Christ. If you are horny, and you are feeling tempted, talk to the Holy Spirit like you would talk to a friend, and tell him, “God, I am feeling horny now. I wished I could be fucked. Please help me.” This doesn’t make you filthy. Rather, it makes you human. As a matter of fact, it makes you a wise human who notices his weakness and seeks help: [“In your weaknesses, my strength is made perfect”, says God] (I used this example because it is something we would rarely do because we think the Holy Spirit is too holy to listen to our weak human thoughts and feelings. If that was so, God through Christ wouldn’t have sent him to us, men. So unclothe your shame, and embrace God’s special Love for you.)

You have decided as a single person to remain chaste until marriage. This is an honourable thing. But this decision doesn’t eliminate you from the biological cycle of being horny or tempted from time to time. So in your weakness as a human, you need to seek the strength of God through the Holy Spirit. What is the error in this, and other human examples? The Holy Spirit is your friend, comforter, advocate, standby, helper, and counsellor. God has given him to you to help you become like him. So you have no excuse if you should ignore the help or relevance of the Holy Spirit in you, and use your strength to become righteous, and yet you fall. You will go to hell straight, or you wouldn’t enjoy the abundance of glory God has reserved for you in HEAVEN.

The Holy Spirit is here. He is in you (human). Ask him for his help (helper), ask him for his counsel (counsellor), when you are feeling sad, pray and cry on his shoulders (talking to him: comforter), for he is always there for you (friend).

Now that you have Christ in you, let Christ shine through you.

By your deeds, we shall know whom you belong.

            By your deeds, we shall know whom you serve.

                        By your deeds, we shall know whom your master is.

BY THEIR FRUITS, YE SHALL KNOW THEM.

AMEN.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV _ “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. LOVE NEVER FAILS.”

Galatians 5: 19-21 NIV _ “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD.”

Galatians 5:22-26 NIV _ “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus HAVE CRUCIFIED THE FLESH WITH ITS PASSIONS AND DESIRES. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

Galatians 5:16-18 NIV _ “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

AMEN.

Emotions is NOT Love

Love is from the Spirit

Love is 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. No questions about that.