James 4:7-8 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
God loves you. He loves you more than anyone on earth could ever love you. To know and experience His great Love, we must draw close to Him. Sin is the stumbling block that stands between us and God. Satan comes to kill, steal, and destroy all that God has for us. He plants thoughts in our minds and because of our sin nature, we sin.
God’s Plan for every born-again believer in Jesus Christ is to renew their mind. This is the Work of the Holy Spirit within each of us. The transformation Paul wrote about happens from the inside, out. Religion changes people on the outside but they are not really changed. They may dress differently part of the time and talk differently when they are at church, but inside they are the same sinful person.
Many people believe that Christianity is a set of rules they have to live by. Rules do not change people. God changes people when they submit their lives to Him. Jesus’ brother, James, wrote Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:7-8)
When we fully submit ourselves to God our mind will change. We will think differently. Our priorities will change. We will have new desires. When this happens, our words and actions change because we say and do what we think.
True salvation changes our minds. We don’t want to do those things anymore. I had a Pastor long time ago who said, “God will change your Want-to.” He was right. When we submit ourselves to Him and offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, God will accept our offering and change us on the inside. He changes our hearts and our minds which will change what we want to do.
This is the Work of the Holy Spirit but we have to willingly hand ourselves over to Him. We must come to the place where we know we are sinners and we can’t change it on our own. So, we surrender our lives to Him and allow Him to renew our minds. That’s when we begin to think differently and act differently.
Jesus paid the price for all this to happen. He paid that price on the Cross of Calvary. He went to the Cross so we can be Saved from the grip of Satan. Christianity is not keeping a set of rules and regulations. It’s submitting your life to Christ and placing your faith in His Finished Work on the Cross of Calvary. Hallelujah!
Submit yourself to God. He will…...….turn the tide……..in your life.
Submitted, Doreen
www.bettsministries.org
