(By Dr. Bill Bright)
Perhaps you are saying, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died for my sins. Am I not a Christian?" Not if you have refused to yield your will to Him. Or you may say, "I heard a wonderful sermon, my emotions were stirred and I had a great emotional experience. I even responded to the invitation to go forward for counsel. Am I not a Christian?" Not if you have never relinquished the throne of your life, your will, to Christ. The surrender of the will is the key to becoming a Christian and the secret of living a victorious Christian life.
If you have not already received Christ as your Savior and Lord, will you, in the quiet of this moment, surrender you will to Him - invite Him to come into your life to live His life in you? Your life upon this earth and for all eternity is affected by your decision. Be assured that if you do receive Christ as your Savior and Lord, He will pardon your sin, give purpose to your life, and give you His peace and power. Your life will be forever changed. If you desire to receive Christ, bow your head and pray this prayer:
Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God and that You died on the cross for my sin. I surrender my will, the throne of my life, to You. Show me Your purpose for my life, and I will follow You. Give me Your peace and power that I may please and honor You, Lord Jesus. Amen!
If you have received Christ into your life, you have begun the great adventure for which He created you. We are told in the Bible, "What is it that God has said? That he has given us eternal life, and that this life is in his Son. So whoever has God's Son has life; whoever does not have his Son, does not have life. I have written this to you who believe in the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life" (1 John 5:11-13, TLB). When you receive Christ, you have eternal life here and now. You need not invite Him in again. He promises His followers, "I am with you always, even to the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20, TBL). His Holy Spirit will dwell within us for the remainder of our lives.
Simply begin every day on your knees, acknowledging that He is Lord of your life. Invite Him to walk around in your body, think with your mind, love with your heart, speak with your lips, and continue seeking and saving the lost as He came to this world to do two thousand years ago.
As you continue in obedience to Jesus' commands, you will experience the fulfillment of His promise of an abundant life.
May God bless and keep you in this great adventure with Christ our Savior.
(E-Sword - Rylisms)
"Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more." (Genesis 37:5).
Some people get really upset when someone else tells them about a dream they have had. Not normal people, mind you - only religious people. And the reason they get upset is that they already hold something against the dreamer. Joseph's brothers illustrate this.
They were jealous of Joseph, because he was so favored by their father; and their jealousy moved them to do shameful things against him. Nevertheless, Joseph held true to what he believed. And why? Because he "had a dream."
Actually, when we consider the true meaning of those words, we discover that it was really the other way around. The word had means "to bind firmly." In other words, Joseph became firmly bound up in the dream that God had given him. Dreams that are from God are spiritual experiences that root deep in your heart; never to be forgotten.
Joseph had a dream. Perhaps we could more accurately say that the dream had Joseph!
And it was that dream which carried him through all that happened to him over the years. For, like Moses before him, he "endured as seeing Him who is invisible."
What dream from God HAS you?
Experience the Power of the Resurrection Every Day
The resurrection is more than just an event that happened once in history. It's the source of the power you can experience in your own life, every d
ay. The same power that resurrected Jesus from death to life is available to you, and if you tap into it, you'll see amazing transformation in your own life, too.
Here's how you can experience resurrection power every day:
Use the power now, not just in heaven. Your hope of the resurrection isn't just for the future when you physically die and go to heaven; it's also for now, while you're living on earth and struggling with sin. Make use of that God-given power to help you overcome sin right now, and every day you're alive. Regularly confess your sins, repent of them, and embrace the forgiveness and grace God offers you to keep growing.
Trade religion for relationship. Instead of pursuing hope through performing religious rituals, believing right doctrines, or doing good deeds, realize that those things are valuable yet can't produce hope. Place your hope in a dynamic relationship with Jesus. As you live for Him, relying on His resurrection power at work in your life, you'll experience the fulfillment of all God's good purposes for you. Instead of focusing on what you can do for God, focus on what God can do through you.
Set eternal priorities. Ask God to help you see your life from His perspective. Look beyond the world's values (which are only temporary) to what has eternal value. Base your decisions - for all aspects of your life - on what matters most in eternity. Make the most of your time here on earth, keeping in mind that it will soon be over and you'll be accountable to God for how you used your time here.
Die to self. Remember that death must always precede resurrection. Be willing to sacrifice whatever selfish desires and agendas you have that conflict with God's purposes for your life. Decide to crucify your selfish attitudes and behaviors, so God will raise you to new life by transforming your attitudes and behaviors into healthy ones that will help you grow to be more like Jesus. Understand that, physically, you're born and live until you die, progressing toward physical death. But spiritually, you're dead until you're made alive through a relationship with Jesus, progressing toward eternal life.
Expect the impossible. Just as the resurrection itself was impossible for anyone but God, the power behind the resurrection will take you into situations that are impossible for you to deal successfully with on your own. Expect God to challenge your faith when you ask for His resurrection power in your life, but know that if you trust Him, you'll experience greater adventures than you can imagine.
Experience resurrection peace. You don't have to live with guilt and shame because of the resurrection's power to forgive your sins. Ask God to flood your soul with the peace of knowing that you're in a right relationship with Him. Recognize that if you're deliberately sinning against God, you can't be in a right relationship with Him, so deal with your sin so it doesn't block the peace God wants you to experience. If you want to experience the peace Jesus offers, you must come to Him on His terms, being willing to live the way He leads you to live - the way that's best for you. Every day, repent of your sins, so you can enjoy true peace.
Editor's Note: The above is a report on the practical applications of Henry & Melvin Blackaby's new book, Experiencing the Resurrection: The Everyday Encounter that Changes Your Life,