All About That Christian Life

The Christian life is about far more than a label, a trip to the altar, or one prayer. It’s a lifestyle of surrender and radical change that produces fruit that can change a heart, household, and nation.

Can you believe that we’re already at the end of week 1 in our unstuck journey? Much has been covered this week, but it’s only one drip of the waterfall that the Lord is about to unleash. Let’s look at all we’ve discussed, thus far.

We started our time together dissecting true salvation. We talked about the confession of one’s mouth found in Romans 10:9-10 as a key component of accepting Christ. We must say that we believe in Him and the resurrection story! But it doesn’t stop there. We talked about how the belief in our hearts of all Christ suffered and sacrificed should also compel us to live differently. After all, Satan believes Jesus is the Son of God! Recognizing Christ’s position is the first step but honoring Him in word and deed is the next. We cannot identify as Christians and then yield no fruit of a life committed to His authority. This is what I’ve often referred to as “placebo Christianity”, whereby we have a trip to the altar for prayer, we may even attend a church regularly, but our lives Monday through Saturday do not look any different. This is a mere counterfeit to a real encounter with our King.

We also looked at the key questions we should be asking, including whether or not our lives are in alignment with God’s Word? Do we value His commandments, serve others, and yield good fruit from the Holy Spirit? We discussed a healthy fear of the Lord and its role in helping us to pursue a life of holiness.

We then looked at key areas of bondage many Believers experience, including unforgiveness that we carry for sometimes years and years, unhealthy and ungodly thinking patterns that create poor decision-making, a busy mouth that often does not speak God’s Word but rather our own, and a failure to obey Christ’s teachings. These areas should have resulted in some serious prayer time with the Lord this week! Do not speed hurriedly by them! These are the foundations that are being laid for freedom. Your mouth, mind, heart, and obedience are the keys to the unstuck life!

And finally, this week, we also discussed religion and the vast difference between religious rules and an intimate relationship with Jesus. Rules will feel impossible and often unattainable, but relationship will compel us to want to obey God’s rules. This makes the burden light and easy, not weighted and impossible.

Points to Ponder:

• Of all the areas discussed this week, which area stands out as one that the Lord is wanting to address in your life? Are you willing to allow Him?
• Have you felt the weight of religious pressure has kept you from knowing the real Jesus? If so, how?