Being Saved cost you nothing...following Jesus cost you everything

We serve a God of perfect Love.   I've seen and tasted it these past few weeks and where I'm ,for the first time really, confronted with other religions and idols, my Lord not only seem more real to me now but my God makes so much more sense to me here...away from home.

What other God makes Himself known as a Provider and Healer? What other religion's foundation is build on Love?  What other God states that His Glory is His Goodness?  What an honor we have in having part in Him.  Where other faiths are preformance based, our God made a way for  Grace.   Our God is the author of the faith that cast out all fear, yes, He replaces fear with AWE...

 Then why does our lives speak of no victory over sin?  Why are so many peolple unsatisfied with this Christian life? Why are we so familiar with statements like: " I've tried trusting God,but He didn't come through".

I've been thinking this through and this is what I found...we have been preaching a cheap gospel.  We've condensed and changed the gospel into a product that would fit into our lives.  We edited out all the sacrifice and the 'denying of the flesh' and 'taking up your cross'.  Instead we have been going around telling peolpe God is the way out of your troubles and sorrows. There is nothing wrong with the statement, its just incomplete.  What you then get is a theology that is based on your state of happiness, which peolpe then use as a measure of how much God loves then.  The thing is God is not a way to improve and enhance your own personal happiness, no, He is sinners chance to recieve righteousness.  

We need to again submit to Jesus.  But this is where we struggle because how would we learn to submit to the authority of Christ if we bring nothing to sumbit.  Wouldn't it be easier to follow God if we just didn't have this lust for the wordly, but if this went away what would we have to offer to God.  Aren't your desires for this world given to us to sacrifice to God.   Then you deny yourself just as Jesus did on the cross.

And then God's promises gets set into place and we recieve what God is longing to be for us.  The provider and healer, protector and Beloved. Then only are we open to see the Perfect Love that drives out all fear...and leaves you in AWE...