June
22, 2003
HOW
GOD CHANGES LIVES
"Look
to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God,
and there is no other... Surely in the Lord I have righteousness
and strength" (Isaiah 45:22, 24, NKJV).
By beholding,
we are changed. It is a law of the mind that it gradually
adapts to the subjects on which it dwells. It assimilates
that which it focuses on.
Jesus
is the One who saves us. Our salvation depends on our relationship
with Him. Time and again throughout the Bible, it reinforces
the theme that whoever puts their faith and trust in Jesus
will have "eternal Life." "Whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
"Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul
shall live." "I am the way,
the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through Me." "Then they said to Him, 'What
shall we do, that we may work the works of God?' Jesus answered
and said to them, 'This is the work
of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.' "
"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world!" "The just shall live by faith; But if anyone
draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him." "Who
is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus
is the Son of God?" "(John 3:15 & 16; Isaiah
55:3: John 14:6; John 6:28, 29; John 1:29; Hebrews 10:38;
1 John 5:5).
How does
this faith and trust in Jesus affect our behavior? Jesus said,
"If you love Me, keep My commandments...
If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will
love him and We will come to him and make our home with him.
He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word
which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me"
(John 14:15, 23, 24).
Jesus
also spoke of a class of people who profess to know Him, but
who do not. "Not everyone who says
to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but
he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say
to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in
Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders
in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew
you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"
(Matthew 7:21-23).
By beholding,
we become changed! Jesus said, "But
seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).
Jesus is saying here that our first priority should be to
"seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness",
and all His promises will follow.
How can
we know Him if we don't spend time with Him? How do we spend
our time? How we spend our time tells us where our priorities
lie. A dramatic testimony on how the
Bible changed a society.
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