Live Christ,
Live Happy!

Are you a believer in Christ, but have this gnawing feeling that something is missing from your life?

You can’t quite put your finger on it.

All you know is that you aren’t experiencing the love, joy, and peace other believers seem to be experiencing.

You’re not alone.

I’ve felt it, too, and would venture to say that most Christians on planet earth have also experienced it at some time in their lives.

Can I tell you a secret?

Your problem is not what you think it is.

You think your problem is directly related to something that you’re doing that you shouldn’t be doing or something that you’re not doing that you should be doing.

Most Christians I know sincerely love Jesus and are trying to grow in their knowledge of Him through something they’re doing.

Regular church attendance, for instance.

And if they are really committed, they schedule in a “quiet time” with Him first thing in the mornings.

This time usually consists of:

• doing a daily devotional,

• reading through the Bible in a year,

• or maybe even an extensive Bible study–depending on their personal preference.

And on top of all of that, they try to “do the right thing” in their daily living, in the hopes that their life is pleasing to God–for the most part.

Because they know that they will never do everything right.

You may or may not relate to the above.

If you experience perfectionist tendencies like I do at times, you certainly can.

But please don’t check out if you don’t.

Most Christians’ daily living can be characterized by one of three categories:

• Perfectionist (above average performance)

• Par (average performance)

• Pathetic (below average performance)

Which category characterizes your experience most days?

Regardless of whether your daily living is filled with perfectionist, par, or pathetic tendencies, I have wonderful news for you!

This life on planet earth is not fundamentally about what you do.

It’s about who you’re in.

The moment you believed in Jesus, Father God changed your spiritual location by literally and actually (not just philosophically or theologically) taking you out of Adam and placing you into His Son (1 Corinthians 15:22; Ephesians 2:5).

“By His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30, NASB).

By Father God’s doing, you are in His Son.

You share His life.

Jesus is your wisdom, your righteousness, and your sanctification (fancy word for holiness).

That means that you don’t have to try to be wise, righteous, or holy.

You already are.

Father God wants you to learn what it means to live from the “already”– what His Son alreadyaccomplished on your behalf.

Instead of from the inaccurate mindset that you need to do something to be more ________.

You can fill in the blank.

Learning to live from what Christ has already accomplished for you and in you and now wants to do through you (as you trust Him) is the key to living a happy Christian life.

That’s where I’m at.

Learning to live from Christ’s finished work–His “already.”

And that’s where you’ll find me until He takes me home.

Learning and sharing what I’ve learned with others.

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If you enjoyed this post, I invite you to check out all of my books and my video series based on my first devotional.