Micah J. Sturm

Dear Christian,

I rejoice that you have been born from above by the grace of the Lord Jesus!

This new life is a divine trail of transformation.

Everything is different now…well, almost everything.

There’s something you need to know.

We were all born sick—hearts poisoned by sin—declaring our independence from God and His way. So, we left Him out of our lives and went our own direction—doing and being whatever we desired.

See, God loves us so much that He’s been chasing us from the beginning so that He might rescue us and heal our hearts.

The very moment you heard Him talking to you was His love gripping your heart.

Sin ruined you, but He rescued you!

Turning away from all the rebellion and trusting in Jesus, He erased all the sins you had ever committed and made you a brand new person!

But you’re still behaving too much like YOU.

The Bible describes the symptoms:

“It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom.”

Galatians 5:19-21 MSG

The new you in Christ and the old you are trying to occupy the same heart—and it won’t last long.

One of you has to die…one of you will die.

The Lord lets us decide which one will rule our hearts, but it cannot be both.

Please do not stop short of the possibilities that are yours in Jesus!

“God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways. And because we belong to Christ Jesus, we have killed our selfish feelings and desires. God’s Spirit has given us life, and so we should follow the Spirit.”

Galatians 5:22-25 CEV

Christian, you brought Jesus your sins and He forgave you—making you brand new!

Now, bring Him YOU so He can heal your heart—ruling there without competition!

This is what the Bible calls HOLINESS—entirely His, pure hearts, filled with His Spirit, perfect (complete) love, sanctified, and only One in charge!

I am praying for you to experience this depth of God’s miraculous grace in your own heart and life! It’s available to you because He loves you!

Don’t turn back! Keep going!

His servant,

Pastor