Christ living in you brings eternal life and a close relationship with God

TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

When a person puts their trust in Jesus Christ, something remarkable happens on the inside, and it changes everything about who they are and where they are headed. Christ comes to live within every believer through the Holy Spirit, and with him comes the gift of eternal life.

The Bible speaks of believers living in Christ and Christ living in them, which points to a deeply personal relationship rather than a distant or formal one. This is not something a person earns or achieves on their own; it is given freely the moment someone places their faith in him. Because of this, every believer carries within them the very presence of the living God, which is the foundation of all the hope and peace that following Christ can bring.

I am not implying Christians suddenly become “good people.” I am saying they no longer see sin as a good thing, but something from which to be delivered.

On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I in you.

John 14:20

God has a real plan for your life and wants you to seek him to discover what it is

TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

God has not left people to figure life out on their own; he has a plan, a purpose, and a will for every person, and he has chosen to carry that out by living in and through those who belong to him. That is not a vague promise but a direct invitation to seek him with everything you have, trusting that he will make himself known.

The reason anyone is able to find God when they seek him is not because they are good enough or smart enough to track him down; it is because he chooses to reveal himself to those who call on him. When God says he has plans for you, that is worth paying attention to and worth pursuing. The practical step is to call on him, seek him genuinely, and then be willing to follow wherever that leads, knowing that his plans for your life are better than any you could come up with on your own.

And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

The defeat of death is not just a future hope but a certainty already secured in Christ

TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Our culture tends to avoid the subject of death as much as possible, and when it cannot be avoided, it tries to push it further away through medicine and technology and anything else that might buy a little more time. And yet no matter how hard we try, death remains the one thing no one has ever managed to escape on their own. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:25-26 that Christ must reign until every enemy has been placed beneath his feet, and the final enemy to be destroyed is death itself.

The resurrection of Jesus was not simply a personal victory for him. It was the moment when death received a wound from which it will not recover. The fear that death has held over people for all of human history has already been weakened, and its final destruction is assured because of what Christ accomplished. One day death itself will die, and life will reign without end. That is not a wish or a dream. It is a promise backed by an empty tomb and a risen King.

But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.

1 Corinthians 15:54

Receiving Jesus means accepting who he is and what he did for you

TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Accepting Jesus as your personal Saviour means more than agreeing with a set of ideas; it means personally trusting that he is God’s Son and the only way for people to be forgiven of their sins. When you receive Christ, you are accepting that he died for your sins and that this applies directly to your own life by faith.

God the Father and God the Son have both spoken clearly in scripture about who Jesus is and what he came to do. When you place your faith in him, you are taking God at his word and trusting that belief in Christ brings salvation. That is not a small thing; it is the most important decision any person will ever make.

Finding peace in the risen Christ

DON HEBERT

Many of us go through life feeling small, insignificant, or vulnerable. The world can feel hostile, our resources limited, and our influence tiny. When opposition rises against our faith, or when we lose battles within our own hearts, fear and anxiety can take over. Yet these feelings, while honest, should not lead us to despair or to live as though Jesus is still in the tomb. The resurrection changes everything about how we see ourselves and our circumstances.

When Jesus rose and met his disciples behind locked doors, his first words were not blame or rebuke, even though they had abandoned him just days earlier. He simply said, “Peace be with you.” This was grace beyond what any of them deserved. That same peace is offered to us today. Because Christ rose, we are made right with God, no longer his enemies but his friends and children. We can stop fearing the future, stop dreading death, and stop carrying the shame of past failures. The wounds Jesus showed his followers are proof that the price has already been paid.

This peace also moves us outward. The same Jesus who spoke calm into a frightened room then sent his followers into the world, breathing his Spirit on them. We are not left alone to do this work. The Spirit lives in us, giving us strength we do not have on our own. Our task is simple: carry the message of forgiveness to others. We cannot forgive sins ourselves, but we can tell people the good news that God will forgive those who turn to him. When we feel weak, we remember that the One who lives in us is greater than anything we face.

If you feel small or afraid, picture the risen Jesus standing near, speaking peace over your heart. Receive his forgiveness, accept his Spirit, and join the work he has set before you. The same words spoken in that locked room are spoken to us now.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Romans 5:1