The Life We Once Lived
By Paula Williamson, guest writer
We all follow someone, whether it is ourselves, a significant other, peers, or someone we admire, and whoever it is influences every decision we make. If we truly surrender our lives to Christ, we become His followers, and He influences every decision we make.
It Is Written
EPHESIANS 2:1 And you [He made alive when you] were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you once walked. You were following the ways of this world [influenced by this present age], in accordance with the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit who is now at work in the disobedient [the unbelieving, who fight against the purposes of God]. 3 Among these [unbelievers] we all once lived in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by the sinful self], indulging the desires of human nature [without the Holy Spirit] and [the impulses] of the [sinful] mind. We were, by nature, children [under the sentence] of [God’s] wrath, just like the rest [of mankind].
Constantly Changing
Following Him is a change of direction from following our own desires or others’. Full surrender means we won’t walk the way we did before, influenced by the world, ourselves, and Satan. We change because of who we hang out with. The more we follow Jesus, the more like Him we become. If we glance over our shoulder, examine our lives, and find we are still the same, we probably didn’t really surrender our lives to Him. Surrendering is more than fire insurance; it’s a change of heart and life.
Prayer
Lord, we do so many things motivated by things we do not even understand. Change our hearts and help us understand what surrendering our lives to You really means.
Takeaway
Surrender embraces change.
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