ARE YOU MISSING OUT ON THE JOY OF YOUR SALVATION?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
And when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.
So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the
church and taught great numbers of people. The
disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
(Acts 11:26)

MEDITATION:
Remember when you were a kid how you wanted to imitate one
of your heroes? You may have used a towel as a cape in order
to pretend to be Superman. Or, maybe you had a set of toy pistols,
so you could be the cowboy hero who saved families from the bad guys.

Of course it was all pretend, but during the time you were imitating your
hero, it felt real in your fantasy world, and you felt good about doing good.
But, as you became older, your fantasy world was gradually replaced with
the realities of life. The influences of the world began to steer you away from
the joy of doing good, and toward thoughts of how to cope with the evilness
in the world.

Paul is a good example of someone who became more focused on doing
good than allowing the evilness to remold his thoughts and actions.
Even though Paul (formerly known as Saul) was an evil person who
persecuted Christians, he became one who not only supported believers,
but dedicated his life to pointing others toward the Christ who had
blessed him, and shown him what goodness was all about.

How could this happen to someone who was bent on persecuting believers?
Paul’s heart, mind, attitude and focus was fully changed by the Savior.
The realization of the magnitude of what the Lord had given him became
his motivation for serving the Lord in whatever capacity he could.

Paul was changed from a ‘zero of evil’ to a ‘hero of righteousness’
because he was eternally grateful for how the Lord had taken him
off of a path leading to eternal punishment, and placed him on a
path leading to eternal bliss. Paul had a great love for the Lord
and a desire to show his appreciation for all he had been given
(including a new hope for eternal bliss).

The Lord has offered the same opportunity for every individual
today. We can all become ‘heroes of faith’, when we receive His
salvation and surrender to His will for us. But it will not happen
without commitment and changes in our thinking.

In the third century Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage,
wrote to his friend Donatus,
    “It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have
      discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people, who have
      learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousand
      times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are
      despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of
      their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus,
      are Christians…and I am one of them.”

ACTION:
Wouldn’t you like to ‘roll back the clock’ to a time when goodness
was the desire of your heart and you welcomed the opportunity to
do good in the midst of evilness? When Satan infiltrates our minds,
he cleverly guides us into rationalizing and justifying our sins, instead
of admitting they are wrong and in opposition to God’s desire for us.

God wants us to focus on goodness and serving Him; Satan wants the
opposite. It is a constant war for control of our mind, attitude, focus
and actions. It is not a battle we can win in our own strength, but the
Lord has given us the Holy Spirit to equip us with what we need to be
victorious.

How have you changed since you have been blessed by your salvation
from the Lord? God doesn’t save us to sit, He saves us to serve. Where
has God called you to serve Him? Have you answered His call and
become a part of His earthly ministry? We are all His ambassadors
right where we are in our daily walk.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I am humbled when I read about the
commitment to service of those You saved. Forgive me
for the areas of my life that I have failed to surrender to
You. This day, I want to recommit my life to You and
become the member of Your family You have saved me
to be.”

BLOG: utvolwoody.wordpress.com