Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

The church seems to have lost our direction, gradually reverting back to some kind of primitive paganism, to become more like the world, where there is nothing but confusion dissatisfaction, unfulfillment, which has overshadowed our commitment to being faithful to God’s Word, turning our attention away from the One Who alone is the source of all of our sufficiency, namely Jesus Christ.

You cannot come to Christ and imagine that He is less than Who He says He is; He is Lord. In fact, in the New Testament, He is called Lord more than 700 times and Savior less than 10 times.

In Romans 10:9 no one can be saved, can receive forgiveness and receive eternal life who does not confess Christ as Lord and deny himself. By confessing Christ as Lord, and denying yourself, that means you refuse to associate with your former self, your old way of life in order to follow Him. He has been very clear on that fact that by taking up your cross and follow Him it means you must prepare to die to self.

If you have been crucified with Christ and you no longer live, than you no longer have a will of your own, a desire to do what you want, your desire is now to do only that which pleases Him. To be alive in Christ is complete self-denial.

Christ has no interest in false converts who claim to follow Him but choose to live no differently than the world.

False worship is a worthless offense to God. Anything that doesn’t bring us closer to God and obeying His Word, isn’t from God, it’s from Satan.

The invitation to salvation has always been a call to self-denial, a call to submission, a call to self-sacrifice through genuine repentance. That’s what it means to confess Christ! That’s the bitter pill that many professing Christians must learn to swallow! We’re not Christians to fill our lives with passing things, and superficial achievements. We are Christians to embody His love, and reflect His character, to become more Christ-like, the One with Whom we’re going to live forever.

Colossians 3:1-3, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Brian Monzón grew up attending church with his grandmother. Through her actions, she impressed upon him the power of the prayers of the righteous, as she herself spent many hours kneeling before God, praying for her family and the needs of others. Besides being a pastor, Brian has been studying and teaching the Word of God for many years. He has devoted his life to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, praying with and for others, especially the unsaved. Brian is also a proud father of four children. He challenges them to be their best and has strived to raise his family up in church and on the Word of God. To discover more about Brian and his ministry please visit Brian Monzón Ministries.

Photo by Brian Monzon