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Secret to Success

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Henrietta Mears was one of the most influential Christian educators of the 20th century. She believed that anything was possible with Gods supernatural power at work within her. Henrietta influenced thousands of high school and college students to become passionate for God and His Word. Hundreds of those young people went into full time Christian ministry – including Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ.

Mears knew that the secret to spiritual success was to live a holy life. Thats why she had a passion for her students to know the Word of God intimately. “If you want to be pure,” she advised others, “saturate yourself with the Word of God.” Mears herself spent many hours each day studying, and memorizing Scripture. God used Henrietta to personally touch thousands of lives, all over the world. And her success was a result of her deep commitment to holiness and the Word of God.

God wants to do powerful, exciting things through your life, too! But first and foremost he says, “Be holy, as I am holy.” As you spend time in the Bible, His words will purify your heart and mind. Then, in His timing, He will launch you out in powerful ways to reach your world for Jesus Christ!

Christ In Us

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Galatians 2:20 is a verse I often quote, because its 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 youre 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 Christs blood!

With all these wonderful promises, there is no reason why you and I cant 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, theres 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!

Be Holy

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We can learn a lot from the servant of God, Joshua. Remember the story of Joshua and the Israelites conquering Jericho. That victory came after Joshua sought Gods face, and humbled Himself before the Almighty God. Joshua was contrite. He was meek – humble. He realized his success was because of God.

But, after Jericho, Joshua and his troops set out to take over another town – Ai. And they suddenly seemed to forget that they are Gods servants. They forgot that their success in Jericho was only by the Lords hand. So they failed to ask God for direction in Ai.

Ultimately, Joshua and the Israelites forgot to aim for holiness, first. There was sin in Joshuas camp that had to be dealt with before the Lord could help them. So when the army tried to take Ai by themselves, they did not have victory. God had to remind them again that He wants purity. He wants holiness. Theres nothing more important.

My friend, God has great evangelistic victory for us. But first, He wants our hearts, our souls, our minds. He wants all of us. Why not surrender yourself again – today – to become holy for the Lord? Make a fresh start! He will use you in unimaginable ways to reach your world for Jesus Christ!

Loving Others

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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 didnt fit in at any church.

Isnt 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 Gods 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 its absolutely essential if you want to see people changed. Love, my friend, is the essence of reaching your world for Jesus Christ.

The Masks We Wear

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In our neighborhood, and I suspect in yours, in October the kids put on costumes and go trick-or-treating. Most kids wear the mask of their favorite comic book hero to hide their identity and hopefully get a treat.

The sad thing is that many of us adults do the same type of thing. We put on the mask of a pious Christian. We go to church on Sunday. We say all the right things. We pretend to be faithful. We pretend to be a “good Christian.”

The apostle Paul attacked this imitation of Christian living. In 2 Corinthians, he says that “unlike so many, we do not peddle the Word of God. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity like men (and women) sent from God.” Paul is telling us to take off our masks. To stop trying to deceive others. To stop trying to cover up our sins.

God can see through the masquerade that keeps us from walking openly with Him. Its only when we open our hearts and allow Christ to make us the kind of people He wants us to be that we can stop pretending to be someone were not and truly let the world see Christ through us.