“The mind
governed by the
flesh is death,
but the mind
governed by the
Spirit is life
and peace”
(Romans 8:6,
NIV).
I don’t know
about you, but I
want my mind
ruled by the
Holy Spirit. I
want life and
peace, not
death. I don’t
want my fleshly
body to rule my
mind or heart. I
want Christ, all
of Him. I know I
am selfish for
saying, “I want
all of Christ?”
Yes, and I’m
proud of it. I
want the most of
Christ I can get
my hands and
heart around.
Why do I say
this? Because I
know what life
without Christ
is like: It is
horrible.
Before I knew
Christ, all I
knew was flesh
and the world.
The world is not
with Christ and
by default hates
Him. The world
is basically
evil and
dominated by
Satan whose main
job is to kill,
steal, and
destroy. Satan
is a lost cause
and he wants to
take as many
down with him to
hell as he can.
It’s scary to
think that I was
on that side of
the fence just a
few years ago.
I’m on the
winning team
now. I'm on
Christ’s team!
If you are not
on Christ’s
team, you won’t
understand.
You’ll read this
article and
others like it,
and tell
yourself we are
all zealots for
Jesus Christ our
Lord and Savior.
Believe me, He’s
real. He’s
alive, and right
now there is a
battle for your
soul between
Jesus and Satan.
But who wins is
not their
decision. It’s
yours. You get
to choose your
own destiny.
Sounds like a
game show,
right? It isn’t
though, this is
real and you’re
playing for your
eternal
destination.
You say, “I have
my own concept
of what God is
and we have a
special
relationship
already and I’ll
go to heaven
because I’m not
a bad person.” I
hear this all
the time; people
playing Russian
roulette with
their eternity
based on false
assumptions
about how they
feel about God.
Let me tell you,
God is the same
today as He was
yesterday and
will be the same
for all
eternity:
Perfect and of
full of love.
God made
a way to heaven
for all mankind.
That plan is
through Jesus
Christ. God
doesn’t have a
separate
contract for
every person as
to what makes
them heaven
bound or hell
bound. The Word
of God is clear:
Only through
accepting and
believing the
sacrificial
blood of Jesus
Christ will we
be heaven bound.
Regardless of
what you say
about your
“special”
relationship
with your god,
God’s plan is
what it is and
it involves you
accepting or
denying Jesus.
“Oh, that Jesus
name again,” and
you say, “He is
just a figure in
history and He
isn’t even
real.” If you
don’t know Him,
then yes, you
are right. He
isn’t real for
you. The world
wants you to
believe this.
Satan (remember
he wants to
kill, steal, and
destroy) wants
to keep you as
far away from
Jesus as
possible. He
doesn’t want you
to even believe
that Jesus was a
real Person. I
was that way. I
used to think He
was just a
figurative
person, like a
Santa Claus or
something, that
didn’t really
exist, but was
made up to keep
me in line like
Santa did to
make us good
little children
for Christmas
presents.
The way the
world tries and
successfully
blinds people to
knowing Christ
is subtle. It’s
not in your face
anti-Jesus talk
(though that
does happen).
It’s little
nickel and dime
ideas,
statements,
beliefs
introduced into
society by
television,
educators, etc.
that eventually
add up to a
dollar and BAM,
you are in the
boat that
believes Jesus
isn’t real and
you don’t need
Him to get to
heaven. I was in
that boat for
nearly thirty
years before I
saw the
proverbial light
and jumped from
the sinking
ship.
If you don’t
believe in
Jesus, or are
not ready to
investigate
Jesus, then
you’ve wasted
your time
reading this
article. If you
made it this
far, you are
either waiting
for a punch line
or you are a
little curious
about this whole
Jesus “saves”
thing. Hold on
to Jesus saves
because this is
the point when
the world and
Satan will do
their best to
keep you in
their boat with
a one-way
destination to
hell.
It’s important
that you feed
this curiosity
about God,
Jesus, and the
whole Holy
Spirit thing.
Stop right now
and ask God to
help you
understand and
to let you know
if Jesus is
real. Then
listen to your
heart. One of
two things will
happen when you
do this: You
will feel in
your heart
something that
you’ve never
felt before and
will want to
pursue more
investigation of
Jesus, or you
will ignore that
feeling in your
heart because
you are scared
that you just
discovered that
Jesus is real.
The world will
try to sway you
away from Jesus.
The world will
convince you
that Jesus isn’t
fun and you’ll
have to give up
all the “fun”
things in life.
That’s true.
Once you know
Jesus and grow
in your
relationship
with Him, those
“fun” things you
used to do won’t
be desired
anymore and you
won’t consider
them in the fun
category anymore
anyway. You’ll
be led to lead a
more wholesome
existence and
won’t miss the
old days of
“fun” you used
to have. You’ll
begin to live a
life and walk
with Jesus in
love and peace.
To be honest, my
unbelieving
friend, being a
follower of
Jesus is harder
than living in
the world. Let’s
face it --
sinning is easy.
You just do what
you want to do
and don’t worry
about the rest
of it. Drink and
drive, no
problem. Cheat
on and beat your
wife, easy. Be
dishonest, not
your problem
people are
suckers, etc.
Living for
Christ is hard.
Let me qualify
this by saying
it is hard at
first.
I remember when
I first came to
Jesus I noticed
things in my
heart changed
and I was
conflicted. With
that change came
changes in my
actions and
desires and I
was a little
confused at
first. More
conflicted I
guess than
anything. My
flesh wanted to
do one thing but
my heart was
telling me not
to do that which
I now believe to
be wrong but
used to do
regularly. What
you do in
response is
important.
Listen to your
heart. I failed
a lot, but as my
walk with Jesus
continues I fail
a lot less and
know that even
if I do fail and
give into my
flesh, I am
forgiven and can
renew my
relationship
with Christ
day-by-day.
“Therefore we do
not lose heart.
Though outwardly
we are wasting
away, yet
inwardly we are
being renewed
day by day. For
our light and
momentary
troubles are
achieving for us
an eternal glory
that far
outweighs them
all. So we fix
our eyes not on
what is seen,
but on what is
unseen, since
what is seen is
temporary, but
what is unseen
is eternal” (2
Corinthians
4:16-18, NIV).
If you are still
reading this,
now is the time
to jump ship and
swim over to
Jesus for
eternal life and
peace. Ask for
guidance and ask
for the light of
His love to
pierce your
heart to help
you realize the
truth of His
way. That way is
through Christ
alone. You want
a one-way ticket
to heaven? You
must go through
Jesus to get
that golden
ticket. Begin
your walk with
Christ today,
right now.
“And the peace
of God, which
transcends all
understanding,
will guard your
hearts and your
minds in Christ
Jesus”
(Philippians
4:7, NIV).
Don’t be
dominated by
your flesh or
the world, for
both are
temporary in the
grand scheme of
eternity.
Choose
life─eternal
life, with
Christ in heaven
and not hell.
Focus on
Christ and you
won’t be
disappointed
with your
decision. It’s a
very important
decision so
choose wisely.
Do you want to
enjoy the
temporary things
of the world or
do you want the
eternal joy of
heaven?
To me it’s an
easy choice, and
I hope it is for
you, too. Give
God a chance to
touch you and
change you.
Don’t be
embarrassed.
Give God a
chance in secret
if you must.
Find a Bible
teaching church
to go to and
surround your
self with
followers of
Christ. Get
involved with
church
activities like
Bible studies or
outreach program
and other works
that the Holy
Spirit inspires
you to do. When
you do and
accept Christ,
it will be hard
to keep your
change secret
because as you
grow with Christ
your attitude
and demeanor
will change for
the good, and
will be noticed
by those close
to you. You’ll
hear them say
things like,
“There is
something
different about
you. What is
it?”
You’ll
know it is
Christ in your
heart and
hopefully you
will be able to
introduce them
to Christ also.
God Bless
John Lysaught
john_lysaught@yahoo.com