The Greatest Upgrade of All

As I'm pondering the meaning of Christmas on this Christmas Eve, I'm thinking about the ultimate UPGRADE.

The greatest upgrade of all time originated in the heart of God. He desired to transform our minds and hearts so He could have a relationship with us. But to do that, He had to do something about our desperate sin problem.

So "the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world" (1 John 4:14). God didn't send Jesus to condemn the world, but to save it (John 3:17). This perfect baby would grow up to be our restitution with God - the "atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 2:2; Romans 6:23). This had to happen because God could not have a relationship with sinners like you and me; we are all sinners (Romans 3:23), alienated from the Creator God.

The Author of Life loved us (John 3:16; Romans 5:8) and desired to give "forever life" to us, but we cannot receive His gift until we believe in what Jesus accomplished on the cross and in the power of His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 10:9-10). We need to place our trust in Jesus' work for us.

God's salvation is a free gift (Ephesians 2:8). There are no good works or attempts at self-help that can make us right with Him. Self-help tends to cultivate independence from God, and much of it can lead to unbiblical thinking - being "wise" in our own eyes (Proverbs 3:5-7).

God says we can be justified - legally declared righteous by Him - on the basis of Jesus' shed blood (Romans 5:9; Hebrews 9:22). We receive God's mercy and forgiveness, and His purposes for us are all wrapped up in our relationship with Christ.

The miracle is, God exchanges our sin for Jesus' righteousness. It is the greatest, most transforming upgrade of all time ... if we will receive it.

And then, God does not leave us alone in our daily struggles. He gives us another gift, the Holy Spirit,  and He sanctifies us - He makes us holy (John 17:17; Romans 6:6; Hebrews 10:14; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Jude 1:24). He makes us "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:3-4). Through the power of the Holy Spirit, our loving Father God continues to work in our lives to make us more like Jesus (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

We have the joy, privilege and opportunity to cooperate with God in His work of making us more like His Son.

In other words, we "upgrade" in our daily choices whenever we trust God, surrender to His control and obey the truth principles and commands of scripture in every area of life: finances, marriage, attitudes, parenting - everything!

"For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

Everything we will ever be and do to glorify God is accomplished through our union with Jesus. We will glorify and enjoy the Father as we learn to "fear" Him properly, look to Jesus, walk in the Spirit and become wise in the Word (Proverbs 9:10; 16:6;  Hebrews 12:2; Galatians 5:16; Colossians 1:9-10).

The Puritan writer Thomas Watson once wrote, "The glory of God is a silver thread which must run through all our actions .... We glorify God when we live to God." We can glorify Him in the ordinary ... the everyday choices we make. And that is the purpose behind all the "upgrades" you will see on this blog and website.

This Christmas - remember:

Your transformation began in the heart of God, and He is pleased when you cooperate with His work in your heart!

The Father's love was poured out to us in a lowly manger in Bethlehem, and His love continued to pour out when Jesus died for our sins. We still hear His words echoing through the ages:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life" (John 6:47).

What an upgrade!

How has God changed you ... encouraged you ... challenged you ... and made you more like Jesus? I'd love to hear your story.

Or ... do you still need to trust the Savior? You can do that today. Here is a suggested prayer you might pray:

"Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I do not deserve eternal life. But, I believe You died and rose from the grave to make me a new creation and to prepare me to dwell in your presence forever. Jesus, come into my life, take control of my life, forgive my sins and save me. I am now placing my trust in You alone for my salvation and I accept your free gift of eternal life. I ask You to teach me how I can now make choices every day to please and honor you. Thank you, Jesus."

Friend, if you have prayed that prayer, let me know so I can rejoice with you.

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Ministries, is the creator of three blogs: Heart Choices Today, LOL with God (with Pam Farrel), and Upgrade with Dawn. In these ministries and as President of the San Diego chapter of Network of Evangelical Women in Ministry (NEWIM San Diego), Dawn encourages, edifies and energizes women with scripture so they can better enjoy life, bless others and honor God. Dawn and her husband Bob have two grown, married sons and three granddaughters.

Note: The Heart Nativity Ornament is from Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Michigan.

The Ultimate Life Upgrade

The Bible talks about one woman who certainly UPGRADED her life!

Dianne Matthews, who wrote the devotional The One Year Women of the Bible—reflections on women of the Bible and women today—writes about this transformed woman.

“While researching women in the Bible,” Matthews wrote, “I fell in love with the story of an unnamed woman in Samaria.”

She continues…

As I read the fourth chapter of John, I pictured this woman with the bad reputation plodding along the path to the village well. She occasionally paused to shift the weight of her clay jar. At least the other women can draw water in the cool of the day, she thought bitterly. She hated waiting until noon when it was hot, but she knew how they’d treat her if she showed up when they did.

What the woman didn’t know was that she would leave the well a short time later as a changed woman. A conversation with Jesus would upgrade her life.

Jesus’ request for a drink shocked her. Jews and Samaritans didn’t associate with each another. A Jewish man who drank from her water container would be considered unclean. Then Jesus made a mysterious comment: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst” (verses 13-14).
 
Her curiosity aroused, the woman asked the man to give her this miracle water. Jesus responded by telling her to go get her husband. The woman probably stiffened.

“I don’t have a husband,” she answered. To her amazement, Jesus’ response showed that he already knew the sordid details of her life—that she’d had five husbands and currently lived with a man to whom she wasn’t married.

She didn’t like the direction the conversation had taken. The fact that this stranger knew all about her personal life horrified her. So she steered the talk away from herself. Surely this man was a prophet. Perhaps he knew the answer to the debate between the Jews and the Samaritans over whether Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim was the appropriate place to worship God.

Jesus explained that since God is Spirit, a worshiper’s attitude matters more than location. Then Jesus astounded her. For the first time in his ministry, he overtly revealed his identity as the Messiah. The woman’s mouth must have dropped open—she’d received more than an answer to a theological argument.

She'd just met the One who is the Answer to everything in life.

At that point, the Samaritan woman ran off to share the news. I find it interesting that the Bible makes a point of telling us she left her water jar behind at the well. I think it’s to let us know that she left much more than that.

When Jesus revealed himself as the Messiah, she understood that he offered forgiveness instead of condemnation for her sinful past. Besides her water jar, she left behind a heavy burden of guilt, shame, and humiliation, along with her old identity as an immoral woman, an outcast from society.

She began the new life of a woman accepted by God as a beloved daughter. The woman with the bad reputation had just received the ultimate life upgrade.

        How has God’s forgiveness changed your life?

[Photo credit of Jesus and the Samaritan woman - "Living Water" by Simon Dewey]

Dianne Neal Matthews is a freelance writer and the author of our daily devotional books including The One Year Women of the Bible and Designed for Devotion: A 365-Day Journey from Genesis to Revelation. She also writes regularly for websites and blogs (such as CBN.com and FindingGodDaily.com), and contributes to compilations (including Guideposts’ 2013 Mornings with Jesus). Learn more about Dianne at her website or connect on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.