An improved environment does not change a person either. When you take a man out of the slums, for example, and put him into a nicer environment, you do absolutely nothing to the man himself. In a little while he’ll make that new environment the slum as well. This is not to say that these reforms have no value. But let’s not make the mistake of thinking that these reforms will lead us to ... transform human nature and the inner human being.

I spent years in therapy as the result of childhood abuse and self-inflicted abuse as an adolescent and young adult. I’ve read many self-help books and attended hundreds of secular seminars on how to attain healing, peace, and joy. In doing so, I eventually learned to function in a somewhat healthy manner in a dysfunctional world. Nothing I tried, however, brought even a glimpse of complete healing in any area of my life. You might say that I moved from a Dutch garden to an Italian garden, but I sensed that there was something more—I just didn’t know what.

When I became a believer on November 2, 1993, my reconstruction began from within, and it continues to this day, transforming a garden overrun by weeds into a temple wherein the Holy Spirit resides. Although the remodeling is not yet complete, the Holy Spirit is the contractor and oversees every step of the building process. The goal is for the temple within to reflect perfectly the image of Christ. It is tragic when developing believers never have the opportunity to reach maturity in Christ, fully and perfectly reflecting his image.

The Lord’s desire is for each of us to grow, become mature, and to bear fruit— “some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (Matt. 13:8, NKJV). There are many times, however, when immature believers experience an arrested development. As the chaplain for a private prison that housed over 1,400 inmates, I was allowed to hold one evangelistic outreach per month; this was granted to me by the gracious warden of the facility. As word leaked out about this opportunity, I had a backlog of churches and ministries signed up to share with the inmates. Every month the same scenario played out: a church or ministry would come in and conduct worship and prayer, present a speaker, and then extend an invitation to accept Christ. Every month hundreds of inmates would commit their lives to the Lord. The pastors and leaders walked out of the prison on a spiritual cloud. The inmates, however, went back to their cells and were forgotten. There was little or no follow-up, no discipleship, and no contact. The new Christian, momentarily soothed by the washing of the Word, was left to drown in stale, cold water. There were simply too many people and too little time to complete the necessary follow-up after the initial investment from the church.

The next month another church would arrive, present another program, and the inmates would go through the process all over again. I knew inmates who had received salvation thirty times but had never been discipled. Unfortunately, this is also common in churches. A message of salvation is given without discipleship or follow-up, and new believers, often fiercely attacked by the Enemy, walk away from their newfound faith feeling defeated and labeling the experience as emotional rather than substantive. The part of the evangelistic process that was missing was painfully clear: followup and discipleship. Every believer needs to experience a process of discipleship in order to gain a strong foundational understanding of who she is in Christ. This is not to imply that everyone who is discipled is guaranteed not to fall away from his faith. But when a building has a strong foundation, it is much more likely to withstand the earthquakes and storms of life. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:24–27, Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. (NKJV) New Christians are like babies, and babies cannot initially feed themselves. They begin with breast milk. Even when a child graduates to solid food he can make a real mess. Have you ever watched a baby feed herself solid food for the first time? It’s everywhere: on the floor, walls, highchair, and child! This is a picture of the new believer who needs assistance with his newfound faith. Mature believers need to teach new believers how to eat what is healthy and why it’s important to feed our souls.

Keep in mind that it is not always the fault of pastors and leaders when individuals do not achieve fruitfulness. Some people attempt to manipulate the world around them rather than to make changes from within. Making internal changes, however, will have the most profound and lasting effect on the world around us. Psychiatric wards, hospitals, prisons, and even the body of Christ are full of people who try to manipulate the outside world but refuse to change on the inside. They resist change, defy growth, and demand others to conform to their perception of reality, which in turn draws people around them into the bondage that has captivated them. These individuals lack one of the two necessities of faith: trust or belief. In my experience, the missing link is most often trust. They have been so wounded in life that they refuse to trust anyone, even God. They tear apart the body of Christ rather than build it up. They are critical and demanding, with little or no desire to examine their own hearts. As long as they focus on the sins of others, they don’t have to face their own. When we realize that God is active in every moment of our existence, from our conception to our birth, from our salvation to our death and the afterlife, daily events will fall into place and all of life will take on a spiritual significance. When I can demonstrate to those whom I counsel that God has not forsaken them but has orchestrated their very existence, they see life differently, through God’s perspective.

There is no limit to how much God will work through one person and how much glory he will receive when he finds one person whose heart is sold out to him. Shortly after my conversion I was blessed to be instrumental in leading my younger brother, Dale, to the Lord. He now serves as a worship leader among his church family in Oregon. He has married and is raising two children as unto the Lord. My older brother, Danny, also a songwriter, has also recently come to know Jesus. In the fall of 2003 my mother accepted Jesus as her Savior. What a blessing it has been to watch God restore my family to him! There are still members who have yet to embrace God’s kingdom, but I am praying and believing God’s Word to be true and that my entire family will be saved.

Are you looking for restoration in your life? Do you desire the peace of God and forgiveness for your sins? God loves you and wants you to experience His peace, life, and love, abundantly and for all eternity. Because of our sin nature, we are separated from God. Out of our own disobedience, we have gone our own way. We all experience the void of that selfishness. Jesus Christ is the only answer that can fill that void. You don’t have to hit ‘rock bottom’ before coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. He died on the cross for our sins and rose from the grave so that we could have His peace, love, and experience a life of glory in Him. You can trust Jesus Christ and receive Him as your Savior by asking Him into your heart now. 1. Admit your need for forgiveness and peace. 2. Be willing to turn from your sins, believing that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave.

3. Through prayer, invited Jesus Christ into your heart and ask Him to forgive you of your sins and be your Lord and Savior. 4. Find a non-denominational church and start going to a Bible study as soon as possible. If the church you find has a discipleship class, make an effort to go to that group. That class will help you understand what you believe and why. 5. Please let us know that you’ve made this decision for Jesus Christ to be your Savior so we can pray for you!

If you have just received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, we celebrate your birth into the Body of Christ! The Bible says that you have crossed over from death to life!