Galatians 2:20 is a verse I often quote, because it’s the cornerstone of our success in Jesus Christ: “I have been crucified with Christ,” Paul writes, “and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

So let me ask you a question: Do you really believe that? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is alive inside of you, right now, wherever you are, and whatever you’re doing?

If you have trouble grasping the reality of that truth, let me remind you again today: the living Christ lives in you! The Holy Spirit has made you His temple! You are filled with His power! You are cleansed by Christ’s blood!

With all these wonderful promises, there is no reason why you and I can’t walk in the joy and power of the Holy Spirit. We can pray, and believe with confidence that the Lord will speak through us, and use us to reach people in our world with His Good News.

If you really believe that Jesus is alive in you today, there’s no telling what the Lord can do through you. So ask God to give you the gift of faith to believe His promises. Christ will enable you to live the kind of victorious life you dream about!

The apostle Paul worked tirelessly for the sake of the Good News Gospel. He endured hardship that most of us will never comprehend – all because of His love for Jesus Christ. But Paul was still human, and even someone of his caliber makes mistakes.

Paul reveals one of his mistakes in Chapter 2 of Second Corinthians. He says, “Now when I went to Troas to preach the Gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind…so I said good-bye to them and went on to Macedonia.”

Paul admits that the Lord opened a door for Him to share the Good News in Troas, but he didn’t do it. Instead, he left. Paul disobeyed the Holy Spirit’s leading.

And yet, the great thing about this passage is what Paul writes next. “But thanks be to God,” he says, “who always leads us in triumphal procession and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.”

God is so much bigger than the mistakes we make! Paul realized that, and it’s an important reminder for you and me as well. If you have disobeyed the Holy Spirit, simply confess it to the Lord. Ask for another opportunity, and for the boldness to do what He’s called you to do. God will use you again, in tremendous ways!

Sandy was a young woman whom my wife and I met a few years ago. At 36 years old, Sandy had been married three times, and had six children. She had recently ended a relationship, she said, because her boyfriend would choke her and beat up on her.

Sandy said she loved her kids, but they didn’t want anything to do with her. “I need help,” Sandy told me. “I’m so confused, and I just want peace.”

Wow, talk about a woman in need of the Lord’s direction and wisdom! I had a long conversation with Sandy, and eventually ended up leading her to the Lord, which was the best decision she could make!

Many people, like Sandy, are searching for peace of mind and heart. But the only way to have true peace is to have the mind of Jesus Christ, which happens the moment you receive Him into your life.

Romans 8:6 tells us that “the mind controlled by the Spirit [of God] is life and peace.”

Receiving thoughts and direction from God, through the Holy Spirit, is the only way to live! Is there someone in your life looking for this kind of peace? Take a risk! Tell them that the only way to experience true peace is through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

I remember when I met Susan. She called in to our live television show a few years ago. Her voice was shaking, and she was very nervous. Susan said that she felt like God had thrown her out of His life.

When I asked why she felt that way, Susan told me, “In every church I have attended, people judge me when they find out about my past.” Apparently, she had been married multiple times, and had some past sins that she was ashamed about. Susan felt that she didn’t fit in at any church.

Isn’t that sad? What Susan needed was Christians to really show her Christ-like love. To accept her for where she was, not judge her past, and encourage her to grow in the Lord. Jesus Himself commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

So why is it so difficult to love others sincerely? Because loving as Jesus loves is impossible to do on our own. We need God’s love in us, to show that love to our world.

First John 4:19 says, “We love because He first loved us.”

Loving well takes practice, and resting in the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. But it’s absolutely essential if you want to see people changed. Love, my friend, is the essence of reaching your world for Jesus Christ.