The Lie: I Can Do It Myself!

The intern’s rock:

Theresa, a young intern in the Bad Herrenalb Klinik, frequently interpreted for me. One day I noticed her fondling this crystal rock; I asked her why she did this. “Oh,” she said, “I believe there is healing in the rocks.”

Then I asked  her if she knew that Jesus Christ is the greatest rock of all, and there is healing in His name. Her eyes got wide, and she answered, “No, I don’t know anything about Jesus.”

Later she shared with me, “This week I got my faith in God back, the faith that I had as a child. Thank you for telling me.”

Do you know the difference between Christianity and other religions?

I have seen much confusion about who Jesus Christ is and how Christianity differs from other religious ways. Because of this ignorance, many Christian people are being deceived by competing worldviews—humanism, Utopianism, New Age and Eastern Philosophies. These secular, humanistic, atheistic, agnostic and Eastern forms of spirituality are accepted because they are regarded as politically correct or scientific. Whereas Christianity is increasingly met with hostility.

Do you know the major difference between Christianity and the other world religions? Jesus Christ! Because of his work on the cross, we have the possibility to become a new creation and to allow the indwelling Holy Spirit to bring restoration inside of us. The other worldviews don’t offer this; instead they say we must do it, we must make our self become something better.

In Christianity, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the sending of the Holy Spirit, water baptism, and receiving the Holy Spirit, God made something new possible—a new heart and spirit, an inner transformation of our identity.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh…I will put my Spirit within you, and you will come to life (Ezekiel 36:26; 37:14).

Ralph Nault (The New Life, Inc.) says, “In Christianity, God promises us that, if we allow it, if we go to him, he will cause something new to happen inside of us and we will be restored; the old things will pass away and everything will become new. Restoration will happen, and it doesn’t hinge upon our work and our efforts: it hinges upon the power of God and the work of the Holy Spirit to transform us into a new being.”  (www.thenewlife.us)

Most competing worldviews teach us that we can change by perfecting ourselves: If we try hard enough, have enough rules, if we belong to the right church, behave ourselves real well, then we can become a better person. True Christianity offers us rest from our efforts—if we learn to place our faith in the power of God and not on our wisdom and efforts. We must learn how to rely upon the Holy Spirit to do the work as St. Paul did:

For I determined to nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified…And my word and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God (I Corinthians 2:2-5).

Tomorrow, I can do it!

I was 44 years old when I finally understood this transforming biblical truth. As I wrote on the pages of my journal, my eyes opened. Here are a few lines from my entry: (to see my complete journal entry, “The Lie,” go to my Resource Page www.judithdoctor.com/resources/)

Tomorrow will be different, I tell myself. I can do it!
Tomorrow I will make it.
I won’t do anything wrong tomorrow.
I will do everything right.
There’s “the lie”! Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow! 

But looking back at thousands of tomorrows, 44 years worth, I see,
That with a million tomorrows I could never make it.
Oh God help me to “see” this,
Totally and finally and completely,”
Deep inside where it counts.
To know it in the deepest fibers of my being,

That with a million tomorrows, I could never make it,
Never be good enough.
So the useless toil and struggle can stop.

Question: Are you relying on your efforts to change your life?  Use the Bible method and go to Jesus Christ. Put your trust in Him and in the power of God. He is calling to you:

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My load is light (Matthew 11:28-30).