What are some positive ways that I can make changes in my life?
As we try to live for God’s glory, God will help us. We can start to live with intention and purpose by putting our relationship with Jesus first, by following Him, by submitting to His will, and by obeying Him.
How can I use my life to make a difference?
We often wonder if what we do makes a difference as we go through life. I sometimes think about what my life has meant and what it will mean for all time. As people who follow Christ, we want to honor our Savior in everything we do and live with the goal of spreading his name.
But in our everyday lives, we often wonder how to do this. We want our lives to matter for Jesus, but we don’t know where to start.
The points below are about biblical principles and attitudes to think about if you want your everyday life to have an impact on eternity. In part two, I’ll talk about ways to change people’s lives that are based on the Bible.
Put Jesus at the top of your list of things to do.
It’s more important than anything else in life to put your faith in Jesus and have a personal relationship with him. People who turn down Jesus’ free offer of salvation are turning down the only thing in life that can ever give them meaning, purpose, and hope for the future.
Only people who have put their faith in Jesus can change eternity for the better, because only believers have the gospel, which is the most important message in the universe.
Sad to say, many Christians don’t have as much of an impact on the world as they could because they don’t put Jesus first in their lives.
Instead of following Christ and giving themselves over to His plans, they let other things distract them, even if those things aren’t always bad. For our lives to make a difference, we must put our relationship with Christ first.
Putting Jesus first means putting Him at the center of everything we do and putting Him first in our lives. We should put time and effort into our relationship with the Lord by praying and reading His Word. Doing so will help us become more like Christ, which will in turn help us change the lives of those around us.
Don’t wait to serve God.
When I was a freshman at a Bible college, each student had to do a certain number of hours of Christian service.
The university wanted students to be involved in local churches and the community, but professors and staff also wanted us to learn that we can serve God wherever we are.
We didn’t have to wait until we got a job in ministry or graduated. The lesson was clear: every day we serve God.
You might also put off serving God until things get better or something changes. For instance, finishing a degree, finding the “right” job, getting married, waiting for a less busy time in life, getting enough money to be a missionary, and so on.
The problem with this way of thinking is that life is never going to be perfect or ideal. Jesus told us that we would have trouble in this life (John 16:33). We will always have things to do and problems to solve, so we shouldn’t wait to serve God until our lives get better or change.
Also, if we have put our faith in Jesus to save us, we are his disciples. The process of becoming a disciple doesn’t stop or slow down when bad things happen. Even if we are preparing for a position in the future, we can still be faithful in the present.
The Bible tells us that our lives are just a breath or a vapor. Because of this, we can’t waste the chances God gives us now as His disciples (Job 7:7; James 4:14). Start serving God now by praying and looking for ways to do so.
Give up on putting your faith in boxes
When we separate the sacred and the secular in our lives, we also make it hard to have an impact that lasts. Some people think that they can only serve and worship God at church, and the rest of the week they can do whatever they want.
People are also encouraged by modern society to keep their faith “private” and not talk about it in public.
But the Bible looks at faith as a whole, which affects all parts of life. God, for example, says that caring for orphans and widows is a sign of a religion that is good enough for him (James 1:27).
Also, the Bible talks about how important it is to help the poor and needy, which shows how much God cares about those who are suffering (Proverbs 19:17; Matthew 25:40; Luke 12:33; Acts 20:35). The Christian faith isn’t just about what we do in a building on Sundays. It’s also about how we live our whole lives.
Believers need to realize that God wants us to be involved in the world around us. He doesn’t want us to hide in our nice homes and churches. He wants us to be a light in the darkness (Matthew 5:16).
To make a difference, we must bring our love for Jesus and our love for other people into our everyday lives. Jesus never put His love and service in different boxes, and we shouldn’t either.
Give in to the Lord’s plans and will.
To make a difference, we must give the Lord our will and plans. Jesus used the image of death to talk about the need to give up: “If you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). We must die to our wants and ourselves if we want to make a difference.
In the Bible, Peter is a good example of someone who gave up something that made him feel good in order to follow Christ. Peter was a fisherman and went back to it after the death and resurrection of Jesus (John 21:3). Since he had denied Jesus, Peter was unsure of his future.
After finishing a night of fishing, he and the other disciples saw Jesus on shore in the morning (John 21:3–4). (John 21:3–4). They had breakfast with Jesus, and he put Peter back in his place.
Jesus told Peter that He wanted the fisherman to be a shepherd of His flock. He told Peter about the job of being a shepherd (John 21:15–19). He had already told Peter that his new job was to be a “fisher of men” (Mark 1:17).
Like Peter, we must give up and do what the Lord wants us to do. We can trust God’s plan even if we feel unqualified, unworthy, or uncomfortable. Giving in to his will, which means dying to ourselves every day, is one of the most important things we can do to make a difference in our lives.
Submit to God
After giving up, the next step is to do what they say. “You must follow me,” Jesus told Peter (John 21:22). Since we don’t have all the information, it might be hard for us to figure out what God wants us to do.
But, thank goodness, the Lord has given us His Word and His Spirit to help us know what to do to follow His will.
There are specific rules to follow in the Bible. Jesus instructed His disciples to go to every country and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).Missionaries and pastors are not the only ones who can spread the gospel and teach people how to live it.
This is a command that every believer should follow. So, we can be sure that sharing the gospel and making disciples is something the Lord wants us to do.
Other clear commands are to love God with all your heart and to love others (Mark 12:30–311). All of the Law and Prophets can be summed up in these two rules (Matthew 22:40).
When we look at what we’re doing, we should ask ourselves if it’s out of love for God and for other people. Scripture says that an action is worthless if it is not done out of love (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
We can obey God by not only making disciples and acting in love, but also by trying to make him look good. The Bible says that God made people for his own glory (Isaiah 43:7).
So, when we live to honor our Creator, we are doing what we were made to do. We can make a difference in life by trying to honor the Lord with our actions, thoughts, and relationships with other people.
Start from where you are.
We should start where we are if we want to make a difference. First, we can put money into our relationship with Christ by spending time with Him and doing what He tells us to do in the Bible.
Believe in his plan and follow him with all of your heart. God will assist us as we strive to live for His glory, even if it is difficult for us to step out in faith.
We can start to live with intention and purpose by putting our relationship with Jesus first, by following Him, by submitting to His will, and by obeying Him.
Most people already have relationships and a circle of influence that they can use as a starting point to spread Christ’s message around the world.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship, made in Christ Jesus to do good works that God planned for us to do in advance.”
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