I am always amazed by the comments of John the Baptist after Jesus started his ministry (John 3:27; 30). John said: “a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from above” (v27, KJV). John knew that without God he was nothing and could do nothing. He also said of Jesus: “He must increase but I must decrease” (v30).

John knew he was the forerunner to Jesus and in humility and obedience, accepted his role. Verse 30 of the third chapter of John’s gospel can be applied to us as Christians. We need more of God and less of us. When we were born again we died to our old sinful life and became alive in Christ (Rom 6:11).

However, putting off the old ways and putting on the new is a process (Eph 4:22-24). We cannot do this on our own, we need God, we need the direction and power of the Holy Spirit (Gal 3:3).

In the Bible we are told that the only work we have to do is to believe (John 6:29); believe what? We need to believe in Jesus, believe in the word (our Bible). As we allow the Holy Spirit to teach us and as we develop faith in His word, this releases the power of the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.

Paul said he wanted to know nothing but Christ (1 Cor 2:2). He acknowledged that he needed to reach the end of himself, of his abilities and to allow Christ to bring him through. In complete surrender to Jesus, Paul was mighty in Christ. God wants to change us from glory to glory (2 Cor 3:18), so we become vessels fit for the master’s service (2 Tim 2:21).

“Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4:13). Wow, imagine that kind of life in him; the impact we would have individually and corporately!

Please watch the promotional video for our book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training”, which you can find at our web site: www.onthewayinlove.com