Christ Alone

Good Morning, have you ever tried to change people?  How about yourself?  The other day I resisted eating a second brownie only to have my body revolt on me for saying no to myself.  My vision blurred and I became dizzy at the thought of giving away that second brownie.  In that moment I rebuked the gluttony in me and realized that this thing had sitting down in me for a while.  I am prone  to overindulgence in several areas of my life. I realize that now, and unfortunately so is one of my children.  This is not something that can remain unchecked. Some people are naturally self disciplined and so they seem to not need God for this, but I do.  I have to make an intentional decision to exert my energy to discipline myself, and the only way this works for me is Jesus.  I have to take up my cross and follow Jesus(see Mathew 10:38, Mathew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, and Luke 14:27). 

The mention of carrying our cross has a prerequisite, and this is that we deny ourselves.  Lets use my petty brownie example.  The minute I denied myself, my body revolted.  Denying oneself is a struggle!  The cross is the consequence of choosing the truth of God over our own desires and that of society's.  So what is the truth of God concerning eating too much indulgent food?  According to scripture my body is the temple of the living God (1 Corinthians 3:16)and I am supposed to present my body a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God which is my reasonable service(Romans 12:1).  I am suppose to make my moderation known unto all men(Philippians 4:5).  I can't sit there at work stuffing my face like food is the best thing that ever happened to me.  Jesus is the best thing that ever happened to me, and if I am going to live and follow him, I have to take care of  the body God gave me.  Following Jesus is going to kill everything in me that is not good for me, and this is the death that leads to abundant life.  Because of Christ I have a fighting chance against my proclivities.

I said all of this to say that fancy arguments, threats, or goals can change behavior for a while but not forever. We need a change of heart. It is the everlasting love of God through Jesus that does this.  I can argue with myself all day long, but I find that logic doesn't stop me from going after things that I shouldn't.  It is not the threat of consequence that stops me from doing wrong. It is not my desire for a particular achievement that keeps me carrying this cross. It is the fact that Jesus came that I might have life and that more abundantly (John 10:10).  It is that "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" 2 Corinthians 5:21.  God already calls me righteous.  I know that God loves me.  I don't have time to waste my life on indulgences that only leave me tired, fat, sick, and/or broke.  If I am going to go with God, I have to leave the substitutes behind.  The only thing that truly changes people is the heart, and I have dedicated my life into staring directly into the heart of God and letting that change my heart.  I can harp on behaviors all that I want to, but if my heart is wrong my behavior will end up wrong.  If anyone is to have truly changed behavior, they must have a change of heart.  If someone around you is a distress to you, point them to Jesus.  If you can't seem to act right no matter how hard you try, look to Jesus for yourself.  As long as we are dependent on substitutes to satisfy us, we will continue to be hungry.  Only God can satisfy for a lifetime.

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