(II Corinthians 5: 1 – 21)
We have the free will to choose between good
and bad and between right and wrong. Our life’s experiences have shown
that outside of God, we don’t have what it takes to make good decisions.
Our first parents Adam and Eve tried to make their own decision outside
of God but they failed. Abraham and Sarah tried once to live out
of God’s will but they failed because they did not wait for God’s timing
concerning the child of promise. Jacob for so long tried to make his
own decisions but he failed. Samson tried, Solomon tried, Saul
tried but they all failed. Since the Bible days and until now, men and
women are still trying to live their lives outside of God’s and the
results have remained the same – failure, frustration and fatigue. How then can we live our lives for God? The following steps can help us to accomplish this.
STEPS TO LIVING FOR GOD
1. We need to know who we are: Man is a sprit, he lives
in a body and has a soul. Until we understand this truth we will never
be able to surrender our lives fully to God. Many of us focus our
attention on the physical body and pay little or no attention to our
spirit, assuming that that is who we are. We are spirit beings and it is
our spirit that connects us with God.
2. Activate the spirit of God: When man sinned against
God in the Garden of Eden, there was separation between us and Him and
the spirit of God departed from Man. In order for us to live for God we
must open our hearts to God and invite Him, allowing His spirit to come
in and take control of our heart and life. We must be ready to surrender
our will to His will.
3. Depend on His grace: The grace of God is the power
or the ability that God gives to us in order to do more than our human
capacity can carry us. God’s grace is made available to us in times of
need (Hebrew.4:12-16). By grace we are saved and by grace we live every
day. The grace of God is all sufficient and it helps us to overcome all
of life’s challenges (II Cor. 12: 7-10).
4. Walk by faith and not by sight: In II Cor. 5: 7, The
Bible says we walk by faith and not by sight. Living by faith means we
have to believe God and His word concerning every situation. Living by
faith means we are under the control of the spirit of God not under the
influence of our flesh. The flesh and the spirit are contrary to each
other. The Bible says to be carnally minded is death but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace (Rom. 8:6).
5. Be heaven minded: I Pet. 2: 11 says we are strangers
and pilgrims on the earth and heaven is our home. We must set our
affections on things above. There are many distractions all around us
and we must guard our hearts with all diligence to make sure that we do
not succumb to the works of the flesh.