Are you ready?

Received the following during a six-week-long Bible study, When Godly People Do Ungodly Things, completed last night. Since I sincerely believe this applies to all of us, thought I would share the wisdom with all of you today.

Yes, I am a Christian.

Yes, I can be the biggest hypocrite ever.

I backslide.

I stumble.

I fall.

I stray onto the wrong path.

But God is working in me.

I may be a mess, but I'm His mess.

And He is slowly straightening me out.

And the day will come when I will be by His side,

His work in me completed.

And until that day I will take His hand,

And let Him do in me whatever needs to be done,

No matter how painful it will be for me.

When He is finished, [I am confident] it will all be worth it.

 

When I considered this message, I praised God that we are blessed to be a part of His overall plan.

 

As the apostle Paul penned, we, as true followers of Jesus, are called, justified and glorified. Paul's message appears in Romans 8:29-30 (NIV) ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

 

Paul also explained how this can happen in Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) where he wrote, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

 

Bottom line, it's all about God's grace, grace that ensures us an eternal resting place in Heaven. Grace that allows to us live a full life in Him here on earth.

 

Grace (and mercy) that allows us to accept the direction found in Luke 9:23 (NIV) Then [Jesus] said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."

 

Have you taken up your cross today? Are you ready to commit 100 percent to His way? Are you ready to follow Him?

 

My prayer for you today is that you are ready, that you will take up your cross, that you will commit your life to Him, that you will follow Him, no matter where He leads you. Amen.