… just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.       Colossians 2:6

In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. Ephesians 2:12.

Many years ago I had an encounter with Jesus and I invited Him to come into my life. I remember it clearly.

When I invited Jesus into my live, something in my life changed. I still brushed my hair the same way [yes I had hair then] and I still had the same color eyes. I wasn’t levitating off the floor or acting all spooky and religious, and I still had a number of things I had to work through. But one thing did change: my position and my relationship to God. My spirit was now alive to connect to His spirit and I could “worship Him in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).

It was like getting this amazing awareness of right & wrong restored to me as it was like I had become immune to the need to know the difference between right and wrong.

We are made spirit, soul, and body: I once heard someone say: Feelings are the voice of the body; reason is the voice of the soul; conscience is the voice of the spirit. God doesn’t want us to be ruled by our bodies or the lusts and pleasures of the world (Titus 3:3-7). He also doesn’t want us to be so cerebral and soulish that we are constantly leaning on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). God wants us to learn and grow in to a place were we worship Him full on, using everything He’s given us—with our whole being.

Think of it! We are now alive to God (Romans 6:11)!   We once were dead and perishing, lost, but Jesus has brought us into forgiveness and righteousness. It is vital for me to be around others who would help me draw close to Jesus. I didn’t just want a salvation response experience I needed Jesus to come and transform my life just like he said he would.

And I started to change as I learnt to put off the old and put on the new…

Over the years I have seen many invite Jesus into their lives but continue to live the same old way then wonder why they are struggling.

It’s not just about changed behaviour, it’s more about having our minds renewed….. We need to start thinking differently.

If you have just begun this wonderful journey of following Jesus and you feel lots of things in your life are being challenged its ok, if you feel like you can’t do it….. it’s ok.

None of us can do it on our own. God will strengthen us; the Holy Spirit will guide us and we can encourage each other as we do life together.

Let me close with this verse of encouragement 

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!    2 Cor 5:17