Have you ever noticed some people get really uncomfortable when you bring up the name Jesus? They have no issue with the word God, but the minute you speak the name of Jesus, the conversation starts to get quiet. Jesus changes things.
When you accept Jesus into your life as your Savior there should be some evidence. If He is given full reign, He messes with you. He loves when His children come to Him and ask Him to be Lord but He takes the request seriously. With Jesus, it’s an all or nothing deal. He leaves no rock unturned. He will “clean house” and put your life in order. He will change the way you speak. He will change the way you treat others. He will change the things you watch on television and the things you read.
I have served on three short term mission teams in Ghana, West Africa. While there, I’ve had the privilege of leading several people to the Lord. When leading someone to the Lord in Ghana, you must add a sentence to the familiar salvation prayer. You must say, “Jesus, by accepting you as my Lord and Savior, I am saying ‘No!’ to all other gods.” Ghanaians are very willing to throw Jesus in their backpack of other gods and add Him to the family. Our God is a jealous God and He tells us in Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.” He is to be our one and only.
In our country, we don’t see the need to add that sentence to our salvation prayer, yet we DO need to recognize the “other gods” we tend to unknowingly serve and surrender them to the authority of Jesus. Many people in our culture will go through the salvation prayer and keep going on with life just as before. You can’t have Jesus come into your life and have it remain status quo. He changes things. If He hasn’t changed you in some way, then you haven’t surrendered everything to Him because He loves you too much to leave you the way you were. No one is perfect without Jesus. It is impossible. Romans 3:23 tells us “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Is there an area of your life Jesus needs to mess with? Have you given Him FULL reign in your life to do as He sees fit? Don’t miss out on all of the wonderful blessings the Lord has for you by holding back on an area of life you don’t want to surrender. Lay it all down for Him and trust He loves you enough to give you more than you could have ever hope for or imagine.