"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord , continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Colossians 2:6,7
This verse teaches us that we are to walk each day in faith and be full of thankfulness for God's merciful salvation.

It is unfortunate that in many cases, not long after beginning the Christian life, the joy is dissolved and the experience of the presence of God is no longer felt. Even the assurance is diminished. It is very puzzling and frustrating to the new Christian and they do not know what to do because they do not understand what is happening to them.

One of the reasons for the loss of joy may be that sin has overtaken their lives; it has hidden the face of God from them, and it has robbed them of their initial joy and peace.

What does God want us to do about the sin in our lives…
"Restore to me, the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:12

God's secret for walking in Victory and staying in Victory…is in Colossians 2:6,7.. This verse teaches us that just as we became a Christian through faith in Jesus Christ, we must walk in faith day by day.

God knew from all eternity everything that you were and everything you would be. When God redeemed you, He did not choose you because of any goodness that He saw in you. Therefore He does not keep yu because of any goodness in you.
Get this straight… YOU NEVER WERE AND YOU NEVER WILL BE ACCEPTABLE TO GOD IN YOUR OWN RIGHT.. But, in Christ we are accepted even though we are entirely unacceptable.

Many Christians when they sin feel, Oh, how could I do this? I suppose I'm not a Christian anymore. They are afraid to come into God's presence. They turn away from His Word and from prayer – the very thing the devil desires them to do….after all he is the master of deception.

What should they do? They should go to a gracious Father immediately who loves them, knowing that He will receive them, and in the name of Christ, confess their sins and claim anew His forgiveness and refilling with His Spirit. We live as Christians by constantly confessing and repenting of our sins, and by faith claming and taking hold of the grace of God and His forgiveness in Christ.

Remember, God has promised to receive us when we live each day in the attitude described in 1 John 1:8-10
If we claim to be with out sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we clam we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

This verse tell us that we are acknowledge our sin and depend soley on Jesus for His acceptance by god.

What happens to us when we become Christians?

When Christ comes into our heart, He creates a new life – a new nature with us. But this new nature does not obliterate the old. The Christian, therefore, is a unique individual in whom two natures dwell…the old nature and the new.

The old nature does not have the abilty to do good! That is why before one is regenerated by God he can do nothing but sin. We are self centered not God centered. On the other hand the new nature can not sin at all.

For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. Galatians 5:17

So the question is ….which nature are we going to yield ourselves?
Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedeness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. Romans 6:13

The secret of the successful Christian life is letting the new nature control our life..When the new nature is in control, our life is going to bring forth the fruit of the Spirit.
But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Against such things there in no law. Galatians 5:22,23
When we bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, we live lives pleasing to God and consistent with our confession of faith in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.

When the old nature is in control..there are all kinds of works of the flesh which are difficult to live with: strife, jealousy, animosity, hatred, lust, and greed.(Galatians 5:19-21) When we produce such works we are not pleasing to God and are failing to demonstrate evidence of the faith in our lives. If our entire lifestyle is controlled by such attitudes, we must question if we sincerely trusted in Christ as the Lord of our lives….

So how about you? Which nature is going to control you life? Go to God in prayer and to His Word. pray daily that Christ will control your life. This can make each day a great adventure with God.

Try this today.. As soon as you are aware of any sin in your life…any tone of voice any look in your eye, any attitude of your heart that is not pleasing to God..then recognize that your old nature is asserting itself. Confess the sin and ask to be controlled by the Spirit of God. Ask for His mercy and Forgiveness.

What a difference it will make in your day, and you will begin to make Jesus Christ known to others through your lifestyle. God desires to see the manifestation of Christ demonstrated in our daily attitudes, words and conduct.

The Bible tells the story of God's love for people.  In the beginning, God created us to reflect His image and to have a relationship with Him (Genesis 1:27).  We were created good but sin entered the world and we essentially chose to try life on our own without God, instead of living our lives for God as we were designed.    

God loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross to pay the price for our sins and bring us into a relationship with Him.  Jesus' resurrection is proof that we are now accepted and made right by Jesus.  We can know the promise of eternal life and experience the joy of knowing God here on earth!

If you would like to have a relationship with God, the Bible tells us that we begin by acknowledging that we have sinned and that there is nothing we can do to earn our way into God's love (Romans 3:23-26).  We believe and confess that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9) and allow Him to guide our lives.  Where we once wanted to control our own futures, we now allow Jesus into our hearts to be our Lord.

Here we see the man of God ,Elijah in a hopeless situation with the dead child of a widow and how he revived the child through his prayer. Prayer can change your seemingly hopeless situations around.
Keys to life-giving prayer:

a) I Kings 17:19- Elijah carries the boy to the upper room. The upper room signifies a place of prayer; a place where you have freedom with God; a place where you know the Holy Spirit is on the move .In Acts: 2 we read of how the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples when they were gathered together in the upper room. Daniel 6:10- Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. Daniel would go three times daily to the upper room and pray. Even when the King issued a decree that the people were to worship no one else but the king himself, Daniel still continued his habit of praying in the upper room. The first thing to do when you are faced with a hopeless situation is to get into your "upper room" and be alone with God. We read later how Daniel was cast into the lion's den for violating the king's decree, but God keeps him safe. Finally the king himself confesses that the God of Daniel is the true God.

b) I Kings 17:19 – Elijah laid the boy on his own bed. This signifies sacrificial giving. 2Chronicles 7:1- When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. After Solomon's prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice. Fire is symbolic of the acceptance of prayer. Where there is a sacrifice, the fire will fall. II Chronicles 3:1- Now Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

Solomon built the temple on Mount Moriah.Mount Moriah was the place where Abraham took his only son Isaac to be sacrificed unto the Lord. Sacrifice is all about giving even when it hurts. When Abraham was willing to sacrifice, he was actually paving the way for God's temple to be built. Similarly, because God the Father was willing to sacrifice His only Son Jesus, the church which is the temple of the Living God came into existence. II Samuel 24:18-24- Mount Moriah was also the place where David said,"…nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing." ,when Ornan the Jebusite, the owner of the threshing floor offered the oxen and the wood for the sacrifice freely to David.

c) I Kings17:19- Elijah carried the widow's son-this is to take someone else's burden as your own. It was the widow's son and not Elijah's. The greatest burden that you carry can become your greatest miracle if you persist in prayer. Only when there is a death can the resurrection power of the Lord be revealed.

d) I Kings 17:21- Elijah stretched himself on the boy three times. It speaks of persistence in prayer. In Luke:18/1- Jesus exhorts us to pray unceasingly and faint not. We may have to persist in prayer to see certain prayers answered. Closed doors do not always mean locked doors.
Luke 11:5-8- And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; 7 and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'? 8 I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
Though the friend was unwilling to help him at first, the man's persistence made him rise up and give him what he needed. Likewise Jesus is the only true friend Who will help you in your time of need.
Therefore continue to persist in prayer and you will see hopeless situations turned around.