The awesome part of our new life in Christ is that our old sin nature is dead! Whoo-hoo! That doesn’t mean that we automatically stop sinning, because we are still human. We will still mess up. But it also means that we don’t have a sin nature anymore. We may have a sin habit and habits can be broken.

Paul said that we die daily. (1Cor 15:31) But that should not be our focus. Our focus should be to live for Christ. If we live for Him, we die to ourselves. The more we press in to allow the Holy Spirit to mold us and mature us, the more those old habits start to fall away. We replace them with the good aspects of God.

Life in the kingdom requires change. If we are not being changed, then our position in the kingdom is questionable. It means that we’re not listening to God and allowing Him to do what He needs to do in us. We need Him to do that. That’s how the bad habits get broken. If we continue to live as we used to, then His sacrifice for us meant nothing.

If you haven’t begun your transformation yet, then today is the day. Give yourself to Jesus and live.

We make too big a deal about ministry. “Ministers” preach from the pulpit while we sit and listen. Then we go home. That’s a scenario that Jesus never intended. And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15) He didn’t stop and clarify that He was talking only to clergy. It was a pretty open command.

Go into all the world.

There is no distinction between secular and non-secular. We are all called to be ministers of the gospel. Those who work in “ministry” can’t actually go into all the world, because their realm is typically in the church. It’s the rest of us with jobs and families that touch the rest of the world. It’s up to us to be “ministers” to them.

Everything you do is a testimony for Jesus. Will you act in generosity and kindness? Will you work in wisdom and revelation? Will you heal the sick and bless the brokenhearted? You have the capacity to be Jesus where the “church” cannot. It’s not just a good idea, it’s a command. God is relying on you to reach your community. That’s why He put you there.

You are a missionary whether you wanted to be one or not. Your life is to honor God, and when you do that, you touch all the world around you. Imagine if every believer took up that ministry! Be a blessing and release the kingdom.

Baptism is a happy funeral.

The Bible does not say that baptism is required for salvation, but it is important. When we receive salvation through the blood of Jesus, we are born again. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2Cor 5:17) We start a new life. Our old life is dead, and we begin a new life in a new kingdom.

Baptism is our acknowledgement of our death. It’s a funeral Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? (Rom 6:3) But it’s a happy funeral. All the old things that harassed us and hurt us in the past are put under the blood for Jesus to manage for us. He’s so much better at it than we are!

If you have not been baptized, it’s not too late. Make it your celebration of your life in Christ. It’s your acknowledgement that you belong to Jesus and are a proud card-carrying citizen of the kingdom of God. You’ll be amazed at the blessing that follows that act of love.

It’s time to let it go.

How do you forgive someone? Is it enough to mumble the words and avoid looking into their eyes? Is it really forgiveness if you are still angry in your heart? Is it really forgiveness if you say you forgive, but bring up the issue again in the future?

You see where I’m going here. If you can’t forgive and forget, then you haven’t really forgiven at all. Now, you won’t really forget, because something happened and it was upsetting, but when you truly forgive, you have to let go of the offense. You have to love back. Yep, we are people of love. Our response is to forgive and give the issue to God to work out.

When you hand over the situation to God, He will be on your side. If you’ve been robbed blind, you can’t hold onto ugly emotions. When you forgive, God will be your advocate, and you can’t get any better than that.

This is not an option. You don’t get to choose who you forgive and who you don’t. If you don’t forgive others, then God doesn’t have to forgive you! (Mark 11: 26) That’s serious stuff. Be real about it. It’s not always going to be easy, but that’s why you have the Spirit of God to help you. Give it over to Jesus and forgive every time. It’s the right thing to do.