Imagine Your New Life

In our church, often, songs with the themes of heaven and grace are sung. As we all join together heralding this good news, the idea of this blessed condition makes me weep at times. While singing, my mind ponders how freeing it is to live a life indelibly marked by the grace of Jesus. None of us deserve this grace. Gratitude often springs from my heart because I know without the Lord, my life would be as dark as the night sky with no hope of a new day. Quite the opposite is true, and I know it is because of the grace of Jesus.

If you are a follower of Jesus, surely you know and experience the grace of God daily!

He cares so deeply for His children, and His love is boundless and inexhaustible, and unfathomable.
If you aren’t a follower of Jesus, you may wonder how to make sense of it all. Surely, observing the events of our day would rattle the most stable person and cause questions to swirl. I’m wondering if you are in that state now; would you be looking for lasting peace?

The One who lives inside me is the only One who’s been able to give my life peace, purpose, and a plan. He is my stability and my joy.

This all-encompassing God also has a place reserved for me in Heaven. I know this for sure, and it’s not because of anything I’ve done. It’s actually because of everything He did for me when He died on the cross. Then, when I chose to receive His gift of salvation, certainty and assurance became my eternal hope.

I don’t deserve this one bit.

This gift came at the most supreme of sacrifices. God sent His One and Only Son to this earth with a mission to die for my sin and your sin. Receiving this gift has nothing to do with anything I’ve done. I am not a good person, nor do I have to do good works to earn this salvation. Any good coming from me is only because of Jesus and His righteousness. Any good works I do spring from my love for Him.

My faith is in the person of Jesus, not a religion. Because of Jesus, my heart is more tender to this world, and prayer is my response. I don’t lose hope. I know there are spiritual forces at work in this world.

Certainly, I’ve decided to follow Jesus, which means my life focuses on being part of the solution to the world’s ills. But my hope and peace are not found in this world. This world as we know it will not last. So how does one find this peace? How can one have peace with God in a world shattered in pieces?

Consider these verses:

John 3:16 & 17 – “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”
John 14:6 – “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'”
Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God . . .”
Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 – “I mean that you have been saved by grace through believing. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. It was not the result of your own efforts, so you cannot brag about it.”
Acts 2:21 – “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

If you believe what you’ve just read, then you can ask Jesus to come live in your heart and He will. By recognizing your need for Him, you can begin a relationship with the eternal and loving God. It is the best decision you will ever make. Once you do this, you will want to find a Bible-teaching church to attend. You can find several resources on this blog about reading the Bible and learning to walk in His ways.

Dear Jesus, if I don’t know you, I pray now and ask you to come live in my heart. I believe you died on the cross for my sin and rose again. Please take my sin away and come live inside of me. I want my life to count for you. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

• Valerie Rumfelt is an on-mission writer, sharing winning ways to follow Jesus
• She and her husband, Clark, formerly served with the NAMB and have been church planters in Canada and Rhode Island and were the Executive Directors for Buried Treasures Home
• They will be serving with the IMB in Japan and working as a part of Southern Baptist efforts to be a light among the many people living in darkness.
• You can follow Valerie’s blogs on valerierumfelt.com