Transformed

Following Jesus is transformational. 

While choosing to follow Jesus is a simple as a choice, there is a cost associated with following Him.  A cost, if you hold dear the things of this earth.  But TRULY, despite the costs, we gain FAR more than we ever could lose.  What profit do we have if we gain the whole world, but lose our very souls? 

What I love about following Jesus is the way he transforms me.  I love seeing how he takes the rubbish of my life and turns it into something for His glory!! As I draw closer to Him, I become more and more aware of his great love and compassion.  While Hell's eternal flames and torment seem like enough for some to choose to follow Jesus, for me, the thought of an eternity without God sounds like hell in itself!  With that perspective, there are many people already experiencing a taste of hell.  Without God, where is hope? Where is joy? Where is unconditional love?

I'm not the quickest person to share my faith. I'm not the type to jump to the chase of where you are at with God... But lately, I have felt God transforming me.  As He draws me, changes me, and renews me, I find myself filled with a deeper understanding and passion for this treasure that I hold within me.  You see, it's not about religion. My question is, who WOULDN'T want to have unconditional love, forgiveness, a faithful companion, a counselor...and everything that the Lord is?  God is the ONLY one who will NEVER fail you.

I had a dream last night that I began to share the Lord with some guys on the street.  One of the guys started to tell me of his mistakes and how he'd wandered, and I responded to him that God doesn't hold those things against him!  GOD doesn't hold prison records against you. He doesn't hold your crimes against you. He doesn't keep you at a distance.  When you believe in him, and submit your life to him, He gives you the same rights as any of His children have!  He accepts you unconditionally! And better yet!! Not only does he take all your past and forget your sins and make you like new, but he uses all that history of yours to glorify His name!  He takes it and turns it from brokenness into beauty! There is NO greater love, than the Love that God desires to lavish onto you! He demonstrated his GREAT love for us in this, that while we were STILL sinners, Jesus Christ died for us!!!  No guarantee that we would turn from our sin, but still, he loved us enough to lay down his life and be hated for us! For YOU!

The cost to us is laying down ourselves in order to allow Him to do his transformational work.  The cost is letting go of everything else but HIM.  Just as Christ died so that we might have life, we also must die, in a sense, to our old way of thinking and be transformed by the renewing of our minds. 

If you were standing in front of me, I'd tell you with complete confidence that God loves you, and He wants you to be a part of his family! He wants to transform you, and to show you the true meaning of what an abundant life is.  Perhaps noone will ever read this, but if you do, don't wait another day.  Choosing God is the best choice I have ever made in my life!  Don't wait to choose Him for your life too!