“He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.”

Colossians 1:28-29

As your 20 minute coach, I must say “I’m pumped!” Many people last week said “I’m in!” on an intense, focused, and clear 20-minute study to start the week. I received a lot of comments and personal messages about last week’s post. Some of the posts discussed how people are ready to shake off the dust on their Bibles, others want to remove the cobwebs of spiritual apathy, and others know they need to simply get back to praying again.

I am not promising great breakthroughs with this study, but what I am trying to do is get you to exercise your spiritual muscle. We all need to keep working, as Colossians says, “To present everyone mature in Christ.” So I offer you these 20 minutes to meet with God and allow yourself to be transformed into Christ-likeness.

So if you are ready to go on to week two for only twenty minutes of “conviction transformation”, then grab a Bible, pen, and notebook and let me lead you down the path I first followed that has changed me forever.

Today’s Verse: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13)

There came a definite point in my life where “I wanted to know, I needed to know.” I was a lost man and I was looking everywhere for real answers. Opinions and sweet sentiments no longer satisfied, they did not offer concrete answers for a man who was hungry for truth. My dear brother Don knew I was searching for something, so he told me to read this one verse. I didn’t want to…but I did. And five little words found in this verse stopped me dead in my tracks. It is exactly what I needed to hear…

SO THAT YOU MAY KNOW!

These are words of rock-solid certainty. The next verse, 1 John 5:14, continues by saying, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God…” What this means for a person who is confused and is tired of being lied to is that I no longer needed to wonder. Belief in Jesus gives me supreme confidence in approaching the throne of the Holy God. As I said last week, he is a dangerous terrifying God. And yet, I didn’t need to worry, because…

BELIEF = ETERNAL LIFE!

It seems too simplistic, but there it was none the less, clear as crystal. You cannot possibly misunderstand or misconstrue this verse. If you want CLARITY, CERTAINTY, and SOLID GROUND to stand on, here it is in black and white! In a noisy, confusing world, this verse is a single rifle shot. A hard punch to the gut. God drops the microphone. You cannot miss it.

The Son of God is my singular ticket!!

For years I tried to earn his favor in a hundred different ways: I was an altar boy, I fasted, wore a St. Christopher medal, remained silent for the 3 hours Christ was on the cross every Good Friday, said all my “Hail Marys”, went to Catholic grade school and university, listened to the nuns, went to confession…etc…etc…etc. When it came to jperforming religious work, I was exhausted!

According to this, believing in Jesus alone is enough. He’s enough.

Ask yourself these questions:

(1) Are you tired of trying to please God? What religious activities do you find yourself doing because you think it will earn his favor? What are some of the traditions you grew up doing because you were taught they made God happy?

(2) Do you ever question your salvation? Do you find yourself becoming anxious when it comes to thinking about eternal life? Have you ever gained certainty?

(3) Do you think God is a clear communicator? Or do you think he likes to remain mysterious so he can always keep you guessing?

(4) Are you fed up with confusion? Are you ready to get serious with God? What does Jesus want you to do based on today’s study?

Your twenty minutes are up!