To delight in what you desire is death. To delight in what God desires is life. Grace isn’t the end of salvation. It’s the beginning.

Christ comes into people as a seed. In a heart that is poor in spirit, meek, and mournful He begins to grow a hungering and thirsting desire for righteousness and to produce purity within. He fills that heart with mercy and love as He cultivates blessed inner peace and the restfulness of the fruit of the Spirit.

Then persecution comes along and further tills the heart’s soil, intensifies spiritual growth, and generates supernatural strength and miraculous rejoicing. Experiencing the reality of the Beatitudes depends on active and ongoing surrender to the risen Christ living inside of you.

Beware of the inner and outer weeds. Keep them out of your heart and mind. Being a sincere Christian doesn’t mean being beyond deception. Any Christ-follower can be deceived. “Beware of false prophets.”

Christian bystanders are easily deceived. They sit out of (and excuse themselves from) the most important Bible instructions: “forgive,” “repent,” “humble yourself,” “deny yourself,” “take up your cross,” “consider others better than yourself,” “speaking the truth in love,” “blessed are the merciful,” “turn the other cheek,” “bless those who curse you,” “love your enemies,” “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” etc.

Salvation doesn’t end with being born again. That’s where it begins.