I was interviewed recently and as happens frequently, I was asked about how long I’ve been sober. I have a patented response for that question and with little or no thought those dates rolled off my lips. That date is equally impressive and unimpressive at the same time. Impressive in that it is quite an achievement to refrain from the use of any substance or behavior that is destructive to ones life for any period, but stopping a behavior doesn’t really signify a change. I’ve thought a lot about the timeframe of my sobriety and while I’m proud of the accomplishment and the date associated with it, it really only tells part of the story.
I believe that growth as a Christian and the accompanying walk with Christ is progressive. I also believe that we individually are the only roadblock to living a life that God wants for us. The full life in Christ we have available to us won’t happen overnight and like anything else in life of value, we must work for it.
PHASE 1
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9 NLT
I believe the Bible is the inerrant and perfect Word of God. As I make that claim I can say that I completed Phase 1 of Christian living a long time ago. Heaven I believe will be filled with a lot of people that stopped right there. So many reach the point in life that they accept Christ and believe in their hearts that he was raised from the dead but never bother to take the steps that follow. The Bible says this is all that’s required for salvation and I believe the vast majority of our neighbors in heaven will have stopped at phase 1 never fully realizing the joy of the life God wanted for them in this world. This a lot like waiting in line to buy tickets to a movie then getting drinks, popcorn and candy and the going back to your car and driving home.
PHASE 2
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
Upon accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is that little voice in the back of our head that tells us when things are right and good but more importantly convicts us of our sin, encouraging us to live a life pleasing to God. The King James Version uses the phase “old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”. Old things are “passed” and new things “become” give indication that this is a process, not an instant transformation. Christian life is not a destination, it’s a journey and how we fare on the trip is a choice for us to make. As we acknowledge the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and allow the changes He will make to happen, a small glimpse of the life God wants for us start to come into focus.
Phase 2 is a great place to be. A life lived after giving Christ an invitation into it can be fulfilling and have much joy.
But there is more…
So much more…
“Life’s best is stored behind a door, it’s threshold crossed only by faith”.
Chris Coppernoll
PHASE 3
Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That's the most sensible way to serve God. Don't be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.
Romans 12:1-2 CEV
Christ wants to be invited into your life but that’s just a starting point. God doesn’t just want to be invited to the party; He wants to be the host! Faith in God is not a sometimes thing, its an all the time thing. We are to become a living sacrifice to God’s will and to live for His pleasure, not our own. The step across the threshold to life’s best isn’t a difficult one to make but it is impossible to make on your own.
Phase 3 can only be achieved when the Holy Spirit goes beyond concept and idea and become reality, the living 3rd person of the Trinity.
The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
John 14:17 NKJV
To fully engaged The Holy Spirit, to fully know Christ and to ultimately please God you must look beyond the borders of this world and enter the spiritual one. Too often people think that the idea of entering the spiritual realm is something only “those weirdo’s do” when the truth is that those who truly engage the Spirit are some of the most practical folks I’ve ever met. Paul expands on this thought in his letter to Timothy when discussing the gift of the Holy Spirit
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7 KJV
Let God orchestrate your life by allowing the Holy Spirit the freedom to show you God’s power and love.
Grace and peace,
Grace and peace,
Jeff
