Christian Living

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You believe in God, accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, got baptized and now what? Many of us take this important step and stop right there, not realizing that there are other steps to take in this process. Yes, I said process because one thing I learned in my Christian walk is that Christianity is a process that culminates in heaven. When you take this first step, it doesn’t mean that you and your life change instantly or that you are free of trouble.

After I took the most important step (early ‘80s) in my life, nothing really changed except that I was saved. I continued doing the things I was doing. I still depended on my own strength and understanding to make things happen. When I made choices, I didn’t consider whether it pleased God or not, rather it was whether it pleased me or accomplished my goals. So needless to say, although I did the right thing most of the times due to my upbringing (not because of God), I made some bad choices and suffered the consequences. Now that I understand and look back, I will say that during this time, I knew of God but didn’t know Him. I didn’t have a personal relationship with Him because if I had, He would have been forefront in my actions, reactions, choices and decisions.

Now let’s fast forward. In 1999 my family and I relocated to the U.S. and this is the year God revealed to me that I needed to take the next step so that I could receive the fullness of His blessing. This meant that I had to surrender my will to Him. God’s will had to reign in my life, not my will. Unfortunately, this is the step many of us miss and it affects the quality of our life (love, joy, peace, fulfillment, purpose) and how we handle trouble. Taking this step led to developing a personal relationship with God and my life changing journey began. I never looked back!

Today I can boldly declare that I’m a devout Christian and I live to please God and do His will. “May He equip you with all you need for doing His will. May He produce in you through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to Him.” (Hebrews 13:21) However, this doesn’t mean that I’m free of trouble, what it means is that when trouble comes my way, I turn it over to God and He handles it. “When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.” (Psalm 91:15). Neither does it mean that I’m perfect “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. (Romans 3:23)

If you want to experience the fullness of God’s love and blessing in your life, I encourage you to take the next step. All you have to say is “Lord, I surrender all to you!” and your life will never be the same. You will change without realizing it. And you will strive to live a life that is pleasing to God and God will honor you.

For more on Christian Living, read my book A Time To Reflect. If you’d like to know more about the steps to living your best life here and now, send your e-mail to [email protected]

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