Day 127 "Change May Not Be Easy But It Is Worth It!"

Hard to believe that these two people are the same person. I recently came across this article showing the transformation of a woman who decided to change her life and lose weight, more than 300 lbs! You can follow up this story on Icepop, which is an online news magazine founded in 2014 that is on a mission to infuse people’s lives with fun! What an amazing transformation-and in only 18 months!

What is even more amazing is that our spiritual conditions, which are dead before Christ, is instantaneously made alive and new when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the one who died for our sins and made us holy.

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins," Ephesians 2:1

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved."

Ephesians 2:4-5

"He set aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Hebrews 10:9-10

No sweat or labor did we expend. We did nothing to put this redemption into place. God did it all through his love, mercy, forgiveness and grace.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

Look at everything around you. It is all temporary. But what happened to you through Christ changes everything in an instant. Your spiritual nature has become alive, you are reconciled back into a relationship with God, and a new life awaits ahead for you in God's kingdom that will last for eternity. God's grace stripped away any need for our effort to please God and win his approval and our acceptance. "It is finished," Jesus said and then surrrendered his spirit and died. Grace is not cheap. It cost Jesus everything.

Now, the battle begins. This is a battle between your own fleshly self-centered nature, wanting to do things your old way, struggling with your new godly spiritual nature which is moving you towards living your life in love and grace and putting the interest of others before your own life. Some days, the struggle will be really hard and some days you will fail and go back to your own ways. But here's the thing, one by one, as your trust grows in the understanding of God's love for you, you will be able to lay down areas of your old life to pick up pieces of your new life. And I believe that one day, you will realize how this new spiritual life has changed you and how it has helped to change the people around you and you will ask youself the question, "Why did it take me so long to let go?"

"What benefit did you reap at the time from the things you are now ashamed of?" Romans 6:21

If you are ready for a change in your life, then come follow Jesus. Let him reveal to you the condition of your own heart and do a heart replacement in your life. I am reminded of the apostle Paul's statement before going on to describing what real love is all about in 1 Corinthians chapter 13: "And now I will show you the most excellent way." (1 Corinthians 12:31)

"In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."

1 Peter 1:3-4

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Want to change your life? Change your spiritual nature through Christ.

Christ plus nothing equals everything!

May you see the hope that awaits you in Christ. In his love, see you tomorrow....

"Carpe Momentum in Love" (Seize the moment in love)