BIBLE PASSAGE:
As you come to Him, the living Stone, rejected by men but chosen
by God and precious to Him, you also, like living stones, are being
built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
(1 Peter 2:4-5)
MEDITATION:
Have you ever thought about what “coming to Christ” encompasses?
There HAS to be positive changes in our lives, or there would be no
point in ‘coming to Him’, right? It’s been said that repentance means
we stop going one way and start going in the polar opposite direction.
In other words, everything about us makes a 180 degree turn.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that we retrace our steps and travel in
the opposite direction on the ‘same road’ we have been traveling. It
means we symbolically leave the road we’ve been on, and travel a
‘new road’. Our thoughts, goals, attitudes, lifestyles, focus, words,
habits, actions, priorities, etc. all change.
We can think of it this way:
We are going down a road that is lined with barren trees,
no grass, a gloomy sky, and dead animals along the way.
Then, we change to a new road where birds are singing,
greenery is everywhere, and the sky is bright and sunny.
Can you visualize the contrast in those two ‘word pictures’?
When God saves us, the impact on our lives will be that
dramatic! But there’s even more! As we travel on a ‘new road’,
God starts rebuilding us into a new ‘spiritual house’ that is
fresh and has new challenges, blessings, and excitement. He
cleans out all the filth and repairs the damage sin has caused.
No longer will we continue trudging along in a gloomy, unfulfilled
rut, but we will enjoy thriving as a new person, with an excitement
and enthusiasm we have never felt before. How does that sound?
Doesn’t that kind of change give us reason enough to ‘come to Him’?
How amazing is that? God rebuilds us into a person who can ‘house’
the Holy Spirit. Instead of being a ‘house’ that is dark, damp, dusty,
deteriorating, and full of cobwebs, God performs a renovation that
will transform us into a bright, optimistic, strong, pure and clean ‘house’.
We are rebuilt into a house that welcomes the Holy Spirit to live
within us. We need the Holy Spirit to help us leave our past sins
behind and start developing a new life that adores the Lord, and
has a desire to please Him. With the Holy Spirit living within us,
we learn how to replace our natural sinful desires with a focus
on the things that are pleasing to the Lord.
ACTION:
Some questions to ask ourselves:
– Have I ‘come to the Lord’? If so, how has my life been changed?
– Am I enjoying the new ‘spiritual house’ God has made of me,
or am I still trying to ‘dress up’ the old house by hiding my
sins to make it look and feel like a new house?
Rather than trying to retrace our steps in an effort to get back
to where we were before sin started controlling us, we need to
choose instead to begin taking steps in a new and righteous
direction.
If we retrace our steps in the direction we came, we will
be exposed to the sins we have previously committed, and
this exposure can arouse our desires to yield to them again.
As we are traveling the ‘new road’ God has given us, temptations
will still find us and try to influence our lives. That’s why we need
God to recreate us so we will be the kind of place the Holy Spirit
would be glad to call His home too.
Our ‘new road’ is a blessing from God, but it will have many new
challenges which the Holy Spirit can help us overcome, whenever
we invite Him to live within us. Some well-meaning pastors forget
to tell us about the importance of having the Holy Spirit active in
our lives. We need to remember that when God saves us, He gives
us the Holy Spirit to help us navigate a sinful world as a follower
of Jesus Christ.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your desire to rebuild me
when I received Your salvation. Teach me the importance of
becoming a ‘spiritual house’ that welcomes the Holy Spirit.
Show me the things I need to change as You begin a complete
renovation of my ‘spiritual house’. Only You, Lord Jesus, meet
all the needs in the hearts of men. You have met me in all the
loneliest, and all the happiest moments of my life. I want to
give up more of me, so that I can have more of You.”
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