HOW CLOSE IS MY RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from
acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
(Hebrews 9:14)

MEDITATION:
One question heard frequently from Christians is,
“How can I be sure of my salvation?”
It’s a question that can be difficult to answer,
especially when we are reminded of the sins in our lives.

We have to believe in the salvation that is described in the scriptures.
Do we believe that Jesus is the Son of God,
and that He gave His life so that we could be saved?
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:6)
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but to save the world through him.
(John 3:17)

The scriptures tell us that if we DO NOT believe in Jesus, we are ‘condemned’,
but if we DO believe in Him, we are ‘not condemned’.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe
stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name
of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:18)

Believing encompasses much more than just having an intellectual knowledge,
it includes having a heart knowledge (which means a relationship with Him).
How do we know if we have a heart knowledge?
Hebrew 9:14 talks about “serving the living God”.

We are told that when we ‘connect’ with the Lord, He “cleanses our consciences”
from being controlled by acts (sins) that lead to death, so that we can “serve God”.
If our sinful desires have been replaced with a desire to serve God,
then it is an indication we have experienced a change in our lives.

When we are changed, we will have a restlessness until we begin serving God.
It is not just a fleeting thought, but a hunger and thirst that needs to be satisfied.
We start looking at our lives, goals, and purposes differently.
Most of us are not called to be foreign missionaries or pastors, but we
will discover ways to incorporate ‘serving God’ as part of our daily lives.

In Mark, Jesus reminds us that His followers will have
a desire to do the things He did when He walked the earth in human form.
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take
up their cross and follow me”. (Mark 8:34)

In Matthew, Jesus tells us that those who lack a yearning to be more like Him
with a desire to see others come to Christ, are unworthy to be called a child of His.
Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
(Matthew 10:38)

When we have a desire to see others saved, it changes our lives and our attitudes.
Instead of being selfish and wanting everything to revolve around us,
we become concerned about the condemnation of the unbelievers.
We have an intense desire which causes us to feel like we should do something.

ACTION:
What a great revelation to know that God loves us so much that He equips us
with a concern for others, and special spiritual gifts which allow us to serve Him.
As our desire to serve Him increases, our sinful desires will decrease.
Our efforts to reach the lost and encourage the saved, benefits us too!

This desire to see others receive His life-giving gift makes sense, doesn’t it?
He gave us the greatest gift we could ever receive
and we want to see others receive His gift as well.
The result is, we replace ‘selfishness’ with ‘selflessness’.

If all we think about is how to avoid the sins that haunt us,
then our minds continue to be occupied with sin.
But when our thoughts are about serving the Lord, sin no longer dominates
our minds; it has been replaced with a desire for purity and righteousness.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of salvation You have
given me. Create in me a yearning to see others receive Your gift
as well. Forgive me for my selfishness and lack of concern for the
eternal destiny of others. Help me to always have my testimony
ready to share when I have an opportunity. Show me how I can
become a concerned encourager to others. Teach me how to
listen to those who are hurting, and to those who are lost.”

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