Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Today's scriptures are about once being separated from God, and then being reconciled through Christ. When I hear testimonies from different Christians they range from light to extreme. Some people lived a good life, never had many problems or challenges. They heard the call of God, answered it, and then live happily ever after. There are also people who had it rough for as long as they could remember. They abused drugs and alcohol, prostituted at a young age, or had near death experiences, and they answered the call on their life, and climb the steep hill back to rebuilding through Christ, and live happily ever after. Then there are the average people who fall somewhere in between, like you and I. The good news is, it doesn't matter the size or severity of our testimony, the only thing that matters is that we have one.
The bottom line is without Christ we are nothing, and are alone in a world full of evil, trying to figure things out on our own. I can testify that life without Christ was hell on earth. Not so much because of the bad things that happened to me, but because I had no peace within. I ran around trying to find material things, or other people to fulfill me, but no matter how much I had, or how much people gave me, it was never enough. I was saved as a very young girl, but I never truly surrendered to Christ until about 7 years ago, so I was saved, but I didn't know what that meant. It wasn't until I truly died to self, and surrendered, that I started to receive the love, joy, and peace, that Jesus came to give. There's a big difference in the before and after, and if you haven't noticed it already, in your own life, He is sure to reveal it to you.
My biggest down fall was ceasing to communicate with Him, and learn His ways. Yes, Christ has lived in my heart since the day I asked Him to, and I received the Holy Spirit, but it was up to me to exercise that gift and feed my growing Spirit. I stopped praying, going to church, and reading the bible altogether, and the world became more and more appealing to me. The enemy is cunning that way; he'll make the worlds ways enticing, fun, and temporarily satisfying, but all of his “gifts” lead to sin, and sin leads to death. Because of free will, God will not make you choose Him, but He'll always be waiting for you to come back to Him if backslide. I can personally promise you that, because He did the same for me.
Once you get tired of living on your own, or running from God's calling on your life, you will first need to pray and ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. After you take that wonderful step, you become bound to God, by the blood of Christ! You are no longer of the world, but you're of the Spirit. You can pray to God whenever, and about whatever you'd like. You can be forgiven of your sins, by simply asking and repenting. You will never have to walk alone for the remainder of your life. The struggles that pertain to the world, and the people in it, don't pertain to you. You can live above anything that's going on in your life with peace in knowing that God is working it out for your good. You can have peace in knowing that because of your obedience, of loving God with all of your heart, He will supply your every need. The enemy no longer has a hold on you, because God is greater than anything Satan can throw at you. All you need is faith the size of a mustard seed.
Service also comes after salvation and surrender, and Paul being a great servant of God, gives us some great examples and advice on the subject. He starts all of his epistles with "Paul, servant of God through Christ", which is the mindset we all should take, as children of God. Paul Wrote: Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Cor. 4:1-6 NIV)
The bible refers to people, who aren't saved as being "lost", and I don't know about you but I hate being lost. It's a terrible feeling when you're searching and searching, trying to reach a destination, but you can't seem to find your way. You feel confused, uneasy, nervous, and afraid, and you'll do just about anything to find a way out. Jesus is the only way out, and life without Him isn't really life at all, it's almost like you just exist. If you're an unbeliever, and consider your life to be great, then just imagine how awesome it could be with Christ! He's a simple prayer away, please go to God right now, and ask Him to allow Jesus to be Lord of your life today. My favorite verse today is: At that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise. But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometime were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:12-13)

ENJOY! http://www.bible.com/scripture-detail.php?juli=2455380&dtype=Scripture
http://www.intouch.org/broadcast/today-on-radio
http://www.intouch.org/magazine/daily-devotional

I love you!