God gives our Helper the Holy Spirit when we accept Jesus Christ and repent so that we can have faith, receive salvation and eternal life, and enter Heaven filled with happiness. When we receive the help of the Holy Spirit, it becomes easy to act upon the Word of God and lead a Christian life.
Anyone can recover the image of God that the first man Adam lost by sinning. Moreover we can achieve the heart of the Lord who is our Savior and attain a sincere heart in full assurance of faith (Hebrews 10:22). Of course, the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life (Matthew 7:14), but there are easy ways to pass through the gate.
Deuteronomy 30:11-14 also reads, "For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach…But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it." In this year of blessing, let's come closer to the most glorious heavenly dwelling place, New Jerusalem.
First, we must have a clear goal.
God is alive, and the kingdom of heaven certainly exists. God repays us according to what we have done on this earth. This goal is not something vague. If we just follow the way that God has taught us, we will certainly achieve this goal. For example, in case of salespeople, they work day and night to achieve their goal. Although they are rejected and often hear insulting words, they do their best. It is because they have a clear goal, and also because they have hope for what they will gain by achieving the goal.
Furthermore, our goal is New Jerusalem, the most glorious dwelling place in Heaven. If we have this clear goal, we won't find it hard to keep God's commandments. Here, one of the most important things is faith. When we go step by step with thanks for the love of the Lord who sacrificed even His life to lead us to Heaven, we will reach the goal. To reach New Jerusalem it is important to go forward without looking back.
Secondly, we must unchangingly go towards the goal.
The changing of the mind is such a great obstacle in a Christian life. If we set a goal, we must act upon it without the changing of mind. If we do not give up and have no changing of mind, we will never find it hard to lead a Christian life.
In case of a mountain-climber, if he thinks he wants to rest in the middle or he wants to go back down, then from that moment on he will feel it's difficult. On the contrary, those who keep going towards the goal do not think anything is difficult in any situation.
If you fix your hope in Heaven and make your goal entering New Jerusalem, you will naturally try to cast off untruthful things to achieve the heart of the Lord diligently. On contrary, if you are tempted by the worldly things and pursue them, you must feel it is hard to live in the truth. Or, if you want to give up in the middle or have changing of mind, you will find your Christian life hard. If you cast away this kind of heart and obey the Word, you will be able to manage a happy Christian life in God's comfort and joy.
In other words, once we cast off this changing of mind, it will become much easier for us to lead a believing life. Moreover, we can cast away other untruthful attributes more easily. As much as we try and act in the Word, we can quickly acquire the qualifications to enter New Jerusalem. If we cast away the changing of mind and desire to give up, we will receive power and strength from above. By doing so, we can be rapidly renewed and come out as the fruit.
Thirdly, we have to be joyful and happy going towards the goal.
The reason why people climb mountains, even though it's hard, is probably because of the happiness they get after they climb the mountain. As we lead a life in faith in Christ, we will finally reach New Jerusalem. It is joyful and happy to achieve the goal. But some of you say that you feel it is hard when you discover the shortcomings in your Christian life. Some may think they do not want to cast them away. However, if we believe that we go nearer to our goal of New Jerusalem by discovering untruthful things, we can happily find them and cast them away.
Suppose you are climbing a mountain, and you are carrying a very heavy backpack. As the backpack feels heavier and heavier, you open your backpack and find out that you have so many unnecessary things in it. Then, you will throw them away. Never will you say. "I want to keep them." You will try to throw away unnecessary things as much as possible. The same goes with discovering your shortcomings and casting them out in your Christian life. The more you cast such things away, the happier you will become and the easier you will find it to manage your Christian life.
If we truly believe the love of God for us, it is not difficult to discover sins and cast them away. Even if we have to go through trials of faith, we will never lose joy and thanks in our hearts. If you find it hard to lead a Christian life now, you have to realize that you are now looking at the world and you have to adjust your mind-set and think 'it is easy and happy to lead a believing life!' There is definitely the most glorious heavenly dwelling place New Jerusalem. If you have this clear goal and you do not give up in the middle and do not change, any of you will lead a happy and joyful Christian life and you will dwell in the glory of God.
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