“I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

If you are a Christian, don’t try to hinder God’s continuing work within you, for He is preparing you for an eternity with Him.

From the very moment we surrender our lives to the lordship of Christ, He sends the Holy Spirit to work in us, to begin to transform us into the likeness of Christ.  Our problem is that we tend to hinder the the Holy Spirit’s work because we don’t want to be transformed. We like to be who we’ve always been and continue living as as we’ve always lived.

Jesus said that we must die to our way of life and be reborn into a new life in Him:

Jesus replied, “I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” “But how can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked Him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?” Jesus answered, “I assure you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you that you^[c]must be born again.”

God, through the Apostle Paul, tells us that evidence of a person’s salvation is a change that happens in a person’s life after they surrender their lives to Christ:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things^[a] have come (2 Corinthians 5:17).”

This is a regeneration of a believer into a new creature, a new creation, a new person altogether:

“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people. For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:1-5).”

One cannot call himself a Christian and his heart be filled with hate towards anyone, for any reason.  Jesus commands all Christians to be different from everyone else and do the opposite of what everyone else might do.  He commands us to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us, do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who mistreat us (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27-28).

Just because a person calls himself a Christian does not mean that he or she is a Christian.  Jesus tells us that we can know the difference between a true Christian and a fake Christian by their fruit, by their conduct, their speech, and their way of life:

“Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So you’ll recognize them by their fruit (Matthew 7:15-20).”

So know this, those who call themselves Christians and demonstrate hatred towards anyone, for any reason, are not Christians.  They are imposters being used by Satan to discredit and destroy Jesus and those who belong to Him.  People are evil because they want to be, not because Jesus does not exist, or does not care.

Is God’s Holy Spirit working in you?  What does your life and speech say about you?  Wouldn’t you rather have love, peace and joy in your life?  If so, here’s how God says you can have it:

1. Recognize that you’re a sinner and thank Him for sending Jesus, His only Son, to die on the cross in order to pay the ultimate price for your sin (Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8) and raising Him from the dead in order to give you eternal life (John 3:16-18; Ephesians 1:13-14).
2. Tell Him that, at this moment, you willfully and intentionally choose to stop living your life in rebellion against Him and choose to start living your life as His disciple; that you commit to seeking Him, every day; following Him, every day; and that you will strive live in immediate, radical, costly obedience to Him and only Him, no matter the cost – even if it costs you your life (2 Corinthians 5:15; Romans 10:9-10). Then, do it.
   This is the only way you can become God’s child (John 1:12) and experience the fullness of His love, goodness, joy, peace and perfect care. Do this right now!

If you did this, God is so happy with you and wants to start working in your life and through your life. Please send me a message letting me know that you did it so that I can pray for you as you begin a new life in Christ.

Now, wouldn’t it be a great thing for your family, loved ones and friends to have the peace, joy, love and security you now have?! Go tell them, right now, why you chose to follow Jesus. Let me know how it goes. I look forward to hearing from you.

In Christ’s love,

Phil