For those who understand the misery of not knowing Jesus, and being a stranger to His covenant promises – we have truly tasted hopelessness. The Bible says we were all once alienated from the Presence of God because of our inherited sinful nature (Romans 3:23). The moment the Holy Spirit touched our hearts and opened our eyes to the truth of salvation through Jesus Christ, hope became ours! The blood of Jesus washed our sins from us, wiped clean every record of wrong, and cancelled every argument and accusation against us! The Holy Spirit re-created our spirit-man and made it His home! Then, when we received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, all the power and life that exists in Him rose up and started to flow like mighty rivers of living water – flooding every part of our souls! Through the gift of our new heavenly language – God’s Holy Spirit prays the Father’s perfect will through us, edifying and strengthening us in our most holy faith! (Jude 1:20). What is there to compare to the value of having a life snatched out of darkness and eternal alienation from God, and in an instant, transferred into the kingdom of God’s own dear Son? What did we do to earn this glorious miracle? What price did we pay to come alive and continue to live in righteousness, peace, and the joy of the Holy Spirit? Our only cost was a complete surrender to the Lordship of a truly wonderful Saviour. That surrender was not for the duration of the prayer of accepting Jesus – it was for every moment of every day for the rest of our existence! Paul put it best when He said, “I consider myself as having died and now enjoying a second existence, which is simply Jesus using my body.” (Galatians 2:20, The Distilled Bible). Jesus says that if we believe that having our own way, living life on our own terms and being our own lord is of more value than surrendering to His Lordship, by choice – we will certainly lose the life we have in Him. However, if we will yield our lives to Him, giving up total control over all we have and are to Him, we will actually save it. Every day we face the value of this decision – make the right choice and live!