Watching most religious television would cause people to believe that if they were a Christian they could expect nothing but health and wealth because God was on their side. Yet the Founder of Christianity, God in Jesus the Christ, said those whom He loves He reproves and disciplines requiring a zeal for God from His constituents.
The mindset for becoming a Christian should be similar to that of a person committing to the military. The military requires absolute surrender of self in order to build a team singular in purpose which makes it strongest in effect.
The Lord Jesus requires those who come to Him to be His people, to deny themselves, and to take up their cross daily and obey His commands.
To be a Christian is to be born again of the Spirit thus no longer living a selfish or self-centered or even self-directed life but rather a sacrificial, Spirit led and empowered life.
Jesus brings His people into a relationship with God where He begins His work of restoring them to the image of God He created them for since the beginning of human history.This restoration requires the removal and death of the old nature so that the new nature may shine forth like stars in the universe.
To engage this work the Christian must be zealous for God; reading, studying and applying His Word by the power of God in him.
To be effective for God, which is the expectation of God, the Christian must be disciplined like the soldier in saying no to evil and yes to godliness and holy living.
Christianity is not living on easy street but working on the broken streets of humanity restoring God’s glory to themselves and the rest of the world by the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.
