I searched for Him in my mind,
But my senses had left me blind.
I searched for Him in my heart,
But my flesh kept us apart.
I had never seen Him,
I had never heard Him.
He patiently waited for my knock at His door.
I gave up hope and sought Him no more.
As a lost sheep in a lion’s den,
In an evil world led by blind men.
My flesh broke down as time passed by,
My life meant nothing, my heart did cry.
Then He sent an old friend from out of my past,
Who told me to hell for my sins I’d be cast.
His words did pierce me like a two edged sword,
‘Til I surrendered to Jesus as Saviour and Lord.
Now by His grace through faith I am able to see,
The price that He paid, for He first loved me.
Now born of His Spirit He shows me the way,
The truth, and the life as I battle each day.
–George Moir
Do you remember the day you realized that without Christ you were on your way to an eternity in hell? Do you remember falling on your knees and begging God to save you and give you forgiveness from sins and grant you eternal life? Wasn’t it a great day? Peace and joy became so real in your life. Life was amazing. Life was great.
Now, as a Christian and a person living in the world, we sometimes have the cares of this world pressing on us and we forget that first love, that first joy, that first tangible moment when we knew we were now sons and daughters of God and on our way to heaven. As part of the family of God, we knew back then we wanted to show and tell the world about Christ and how He changed our lives. But now as time has passed, our joy diminished and our cares increased in this world? What evidences do we show that Christ is real in our lives?
Fellowship
I John 1:3 says, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” So here we see three whom we can fellowship with. We can always have fellowship with other believers. Psalm 133:1, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
We can have blessed fellowship with the Father. II Corinthians 6:16 tells us, “… as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” And we can have fellowship with His Son. Matthew 18:20 is a beautiful promise. It says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Fellowship is a genuine and real event in our lives. It isn’t a feeling. Fellowship isn’t an emotion. It is a fact. We communicate back and forth with our Father and His Son. Did you know that emotions are based on circumstances but facts are based on truth?
Walking In The Light
“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
I John 1:5-7 is a great example of how we can walk in the light. When we are walking in the light then we show that we love God and Christ’s blood has cleansed us from all sin and therefore we have fellowship with one another.
Keep His Commandments
When we are saved, we have this desire to read His Word and to study it. God’s Word was written not only so we could learn about how our world was started and the history that came after that point but also to protect us from the devil’s influence and to keep us living for Him. Why do we want to live for Him? I would declare that living for Him shows the world we are His children. It is an evidence of our salvation.
I John 2:4 & 5 says, “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Keeping His commandments is a non-passive evidence of your salvation. We should be excited to share with others and to live in such a way that they can say we are different. I Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”
Love Of The Brethren
I John 2:9, 10 shows us another evidence of salvation. “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.” Love of the brethren. That’s our brothers and sisters in Christ. Unity and loyalty is such a big thing for me. We need each other and our local church family needs to know that we can be trusted to care for them and not spread things around. Love your brethren and help them grow. The Bible says in Proverbs (27:17), “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”
Not Loving The World
I John 2:15, 16 reminds us to, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” We are called to be in the world but not of the world.
If we walk, talk and look like the world then how will they want Jesus in their lives? How will they see the powerful change that Jesus has done for us? When we live in the world not of the world, then we have a peace that passes all understanding and life is full of such joy to us. A quick explanation of these verses shows us the “lust of the flesh” is desiring what you should not have. The “lust of the eyes” means the same thing as covetousness and the “pride of life” is about me and my accomplishments.
Doing The Will Of God
This is such an important indication of Christianity because to follow God’s will is to compare your life to His standard which is God’s Holy Word. He knows what we should be doing to truly show His love and forgiveness to others so why not trust Him and do His will according to His Word? I John 2:17 reminds us, “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
Desire And Resolve To Continue
One of the saddest things my husband and I see, are Christians who do not stay in the Word and work of God. Life is about finishing strong and keeping our testimony strong in the Lord. We have a peace that stays continually with us as we serve Him and we have joy that comes when we serve Him as a family.
I John 1:19 is a sad reminder of what happens when Christians do not continue in the faith. “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”
The Anointing Of The Holy One
A pen ca not write unless a person holds it. Who is influencing you? Who is guiding you on a daily basis in your Christian life? I John 1:20 says, “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.” The word, “unction” is defined as “anointing”. When we are saved, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us and guiding us. Who better to show us how to live the Christian life and to make sure we take the path of peace and joy and fulfillment?
Does Not Deny The Father And The Son
I John 1:22 is pretty strong and straight about this point. “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.” You cannot say you believe in Jesus and not believe in God. You can’t say you believe in God and not believe in Jesus. The two go hand in hand.
In vs. 23 we can see, “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” It is so easy for people to say nowadays that they love God but they haven’t a clue about Jesus. That being said, it is so prevalent today for Christians to talk about the “love of Jesus” and how much “Jesus is love” without acknowledging the “fear of God”. They all tie in together and we must know this.
Do we have evidence of our salvation in our lives? Do others see Jesus in us and desire to know Him better?