06/04/2026
No matter what season you are in, whether you are walking through a challenge or enjoying a time of peace, you need to be reminded of this wonderful truth: God is an ever-present help in time of need, and He is perfecting what concerns you.
His heart is not just to forgive you, but to transform you.
He wants the life, nature, and character of Jesus to be seen in your conduct, your attitudes, your motives, your words, and your actions. He wants the fruit of righteousness to be dripping from your branches so that people can see that you belong to Him.
But here is the beautiful part: this transformation is not based on your strength or willpower.
Your entire walk with God is a surrender and a rescue.
We surrender our will.
We surrender our way.
We surrender our self-effort.
We surrender every attempt to make ourselves right with God.
And as we surrender, we allow Him to rescue us.
The first great surrender is this: stop trying to save yourself.
Your denomination cannot make you right with God.
A church building cannot make you right with God.
Your giving cannot make you right with God.
Your good deeds cannot make you right with God.
There is only one way to be made right with God, and His name is Jesus.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
When you place your faith in Jesus, the Son of God, who died for your sins and was raised from the dead, you receive righteousness as a gift. You do not earn it. You do not deserve it. You receive it by faith.
You become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
That right standing with God is not a dimmer switch. You are either in Christ or you are not. You are either made new or you are not. And when you are in Christ, you are as you should be before God because of what Jesus has done.
This is the best news in the world.
But then, from that new identity, God begins to bring transformation into your life. He begins to bring the righteousness that is in your born-again spirit outward into your thoughts, desires, motives, actions, and behavior.
This is where freedom begins to happen.
Freedom from addiction.
Freedom from fear.
Freedom from anger.
Freedom from lust.
Freedom from shame.
Freedom from the old patterns that tried to define you.
You are no longer defined by failure.
You are rooted and grounded in the love of God.
You are in Christ, and Christ is in you.
Most of your growth as a believer is learning to embrace the identity Jesus has already given you.
You put off the old man, which grows corrupt through deceitful desires, and you put on the new man, created according to God in righteousness and true holiness.
That is discipleship.
That is mind renewal.
That is repentance.
Repentance is not merely emotion. It is changing the way you think. It is hearing the truth of God’s Word and saying, “I am not just gathering information. I am ready to live this.”
Jesus said the one who hears His words and does them is like a man who builds his house on the rock.
But remember this: your doing does not make you right with God.
Jesus makes you right with God.
Your obedience flows from your new identity. Your fruit flows from your root. The more you renew your mind to who you are in Christ, the more your life begins to line up with the truth of who God has made you to be.
When you fail, grace does not cast you away. Grace picks you up, dusts you off, reminds you who you are, and puts you back on the path of righteousness.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.
The more persuaded your heart becomes that you are a child of God, the more sin loses its grip on your life.
Sin shall not have dominion over you, because you are not under law, but under grace.
God is not merely trying to clean up the outside of your life. He is winning the war in your heart concerning what you believe about Him and what you believe about yourself.
So renew your mind.
Believe that God is good.
Believe that there is no darkness in Him.
Believe that Jesus is your righteousness.
Believe that you are a new creation.
Believe that you are loved, accepted, forgiven, and empowered by grace.
Everything comes back to Jesus.
Transformation begins when we stop trying to establish our own righteousness and surrender to the righteousness that comes through faith in Him.
The path of the righteous is like the shining light, growing brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.
God is bringing forth the life of Jesus in you.
Surrender to Him today.
Trust His grace.
Rest in what Jesus has done.
And let the fruit of righteousness shine through your life.
