In the same way that you accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, keep living your life in Him. Let your roots grow deep into JESUS and build your life on JESUS. Stay strong in the faith you were taught and be filled with gratitude. Colossians 2:6-7.
If there was ever a time to truly live up to the name of Christian, it is right now. Are we actually following Christ in our daily lives? This is a personal journey. We must look closely at our own spiritual health and our own responsibilities.
Do those who understand the truth for our time stay anchored to what the Bible teaches? Are our only defenses the words of God and the things written in scripture? Is our hope securely fastened in the presence of God? We must be personally grounded in the gospel so we can be steady, strong, and settled. As people who understand God’s mysteries and have been given his living messages, are we being faithful to that trust? People who have truly changed will show others, like a true witness, how the truth has transformed their character and purified their lives.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-3, NIV)
If we carry the weight of eternal truth, we will tell a world lost in sin what it means personally to us, to have the redeeming love of Christ in our souls. If we are genuinely united with Christ, it has to be because his truth has taken over the temple of our souls.
A heart that welcomes Jesus will love the truth that cleanses and changes us, and it will work hard to protect and share the faith passed down to us. No one should stop until they have completely surrendered themselves to God. Start this work in your own heart. Stop worrying about what everyone else is doing and focus on Christ. You have a soul to save or a soul to lose, and this is far too important to be indifferent about.
One of the most sincere prayers in the Bible is the request for God to create a clean heart in us, as found in Psalm 51:10. And from the one who loved us enough to give his life, we have a great promise in Ezekiel 36:26: he will give us a new heart.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalms 51:10, NIV)
God Himself promises to answer this prayer:
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26, NIV)
(adapted from That I May Know Him, by EGW, May 3rd)