Monday, February 8. 2010

Christ Changes You

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."

-- Psalm 43:19

Being saved changes people. It's that simple. By giving ourselves over to God, by accepting the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for us, we are becoming new again. The Holy Spirit lives within us and we feel His presence.

I've never understood how someone can be what I've always called a "Sunday morning christian." We've all known folks like that. Most of us probably still know a few of them. They show up at church on Sundays, full of righteousness and ready to condemn the sins of everyone around them. Then they go home, take off their finery, and proceed to spend the next six days doing just as they please. It really makes me wonder if they have a clue. How can anyone who has truly invited Jesus into his/her heart ignore that fact in their daily life?

I worry, too, about those who profess to know Jesus but don't understand what I'm talking about when I mention the Holy Spirit. They don't get that accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour is way more than something you do with your head. It's what you do with your heart. It's what happens when you hit your knees, in good times and bad.

Of course, I don't know that I help matters because the presence of the Holy Spirit isn't something I can explain. I can tell you the exact moment He entered me, the exact moment I went from knowing about Jesus to knowing Jesus personally. I can describe His comforting presence when I am troubled and alone. I can share the joy I feel when He blesses me with a new hope and His light shines down on my day.

I want that for everyone. I want all His children to feel His love, to know that His hands are reaching out to hold them and guide them and bless them. I want them to know that God isn't just about Sunday mornings. He's present every day of the week. He's present in the big deals of our lives. And He's present in the smallest details. He is with us always, if we'll only invite Him in.