What Did You Really Expect?
Many people go through life wondering why, “nothing ever seems to go, their way.” Even people who have accepted Jesus as their Savior sometimes express the same frustration, wondering why nothing in their lives seems to have changed since accepting Jesus! If you are not yet a Christian, (or Christ Follower,) take a moment and ask yourself, “haven’t things really been, going your way?” If you are going through life guided simply by your own wants or desires and consider yourself the supreme authority regarding your actions, the fact is, everything in your life is indeed “going Your Way!” Perhaps the problem is that “Your Way” may not be the best way, or more often than not, it may not necessarily be the “Right Way!” What do you think… could this be the case, when your personal beliefs and / or desires determine your actions? Now, as for those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior, why do some of those people feel as though nothing has changed in their lives for the better? The simple answer is that they are, in some cases, still the ones, “calling the shots” regarding their life decisions! The majority of people that come to Jesus do so for the sole sake of obtaining salvation, which no doubt, is the main reason Jesus suffered and died on the cross. He died in our place, taking upon himself the punishment, not for His sin, but for our sin! Whenever someone acknowledges this, God no longer sees their sin when He looks at them, as the penalty for all sin has already been satisfied, even future sin. Unfortunately, for most who accept Jesus as their Savior, that is where it ends.
Where most people who call they Christian go wrong is that whilst they have no problem accepting Jesus’ sacrifice for them, they forget that this does not mean there are no consequences for future disobedience. They forget the words of Jesus… Matthew 5:17 (NKJV) 17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. Accepting Jesus as Savior does not nullify God’s laws and directives, it simply deals with the “eternal” consequences of accepting, or not accepting the Atoning Sacrifice that Jesus fulfilled when He died on the Cross! The death penelty is the “Fulfillment” part referred to here. Romans 6:23 (NKJV) 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The God of the Bible is Righteous; He cannot, and does not, allow sin to go unpunished! Jesus took the death penalty that we earned upon him thereby fulfilling the law in that regard. However, if we continue in sin, whether “saved or unsaved,” there are still consequences! Look at it this way; if you are arrested for robbing a bank, does your acceptance or rejection of Jesus affect whether or not you go to jail? No, it does not! You not only broke man’s law, but you also broke God’s law… Exodus 20:15 (NKJV) 15 "You shall not steal. Isn’t it interesting that man’s law mirrors God’s law in this particular case! With little effort, you will find that the “Founding Fathers” of the United States quoted the Bible more than any other source, and that all of the basic rights in the constitution are right out of the Bible! This contradicts the “Naysayers and Deniers,” of the Judeo-Christian roots of our nation!
The bottom line is this… If you are doing your own will in all your decision making and things aren’t going well, perhaps you should do a little more research before committing to something. You are merely reaping what you have sown. You might want to find a new mentor also. If you are a Christian yet you find your life unchanged, perhaps it is because while you have accepted Jesus as Savior, you haven’t yet made Him your Lord! What have you done in an effort to please God since you accepted the sacrifice of His Son for your sin? 1 Peter 3:10-11 (NKJV) 10 For "He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. 11 Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. Change does not come without some effort on your part. In order to know Gods will for you, and to know His truth, it is up to you to seek it! The only way to do this is to commit to reading God’s Word on a regular basis. The more you do it, the more you will experience change, both in your attitude, and in your desire to move even closer to your Savior. His Way is the Right Way and He wants nothing but the best for you! Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.