All of these phrases refer to the spiritual concept of being totally committed to Jesus. It is a desire many of us have had but not all of us have done. Maybe you are one of those. You find yourself hanging around the fringes of Christianity – knowing there is more to it. You go to church on Easter, Christmas, and Mother’s Day. You pray when in crisis. You try not to do anything very bad, and you try to be a pretty good person. But all the time you know there is more to it. What is holding you back?
It may be the fear that you will not be able to live up to that kind of commitment. What if you don’t get all the sin out of your life? What if you lose your spiritual focus sometimes?
Let me share some good news. God does not expect you to do it all on your own. When you make that decision to fully commit to Jesus, he provides valuable resources to help you be His person in this world.
God gives you His Holy Spirit to live in you. You get that gift when you are baptized. The Holy Spirit gives you power to put to death the sin in your life. The Holy Spirit will help you become the person God sees in you. It serves as a guarantee of salvation until Jesus comes back.
God puts you in community. You are not on this journey alone. We are family. We are one body. We share in the same baptism, we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus together, and we share the same Holy Spirit. We pray together, worship together, and serve together. We provide for our needs together. We encourage each other, hold each other accountable, and forgive each other. We laugh together and we cry together.
God will provide the help you need. It is up to you to make the commitment. If you would like to visit more about this, write me at steve@hopeforlife.org. Or join our blog discussion at www.hopeforlife.org.
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