Christ-Help, Not Self-Help

 Self-help is saturated into the Body of Christ right now.

That is wrong.

The Message Translation puts to death that lie:

"Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self." (Luke 9:24)

For years, I grew up with "You need to keep your eyes on the LORD," and "You need to do your part so that God can do His part."

Yet now I am learning so much more about the grace of God! It is the Gospel of Grace, after all (Galatians 1:6).

He is our life, too (Colossians 3:4).

It has taken me a long time to understand that You are active, real, taking care of everything.

This was not something that I was going to understand in my head.

This was something, You are someone who had to be revealed to me MORE:

"The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints" (Ephesians 1:18)

We need to ask the LORD to open our eyes!

That is not something I can do with my own will-power. I need His power.

This life is not about me doing something in order for God to work in my life.

LORD JESUS, You are already working in my life. Thank you, Jesus!

He transforms us by His Spirit! It's not about us transforming ourselves:

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18).

It's our job to see Him. He does the transforming.

And there is another verse which confirms this:

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;" (Titus 3:5)

This renewal, this transformation is all about the Word working in our minds, changing our thinking, causing true repentance (metanoia, changing of one's mind):

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:2)

Be transformed. YES! Renewing of our minds. YES!

Christ is our help, not ourselves. He is on the job, not we ourselves.

It's our job to see that He has us completely taken care of, not we ourselves.

AMEN!