Heaven or hell is a long way off. What good is it being a Christian here and now?

One of my lifelong themes in my work for God has been to answer the question "what is in it for a believer here and now".  For most people I think, the fear of heaven or hell is so far off in the future, at least in their minds, that it is a bit theoretical.  However almost everyone out there is interested in making their lives better today so let's appeal to basic human nature.

And for some reason God has put it on my heart to write about that today.  I've been writing this blog for over 4 years now and one of the things I have learned is that when God says we are going to write about X, no matter what I intend to type, what comes out on the screen is about X.  :)

For me one of the biggest benefits of being a Christian in my daily life is experiencing the "peace that surpasses all understanding".  The certainty that God and Jesus have my back.  I just don't get rattled and worried about much anymore.  That doesn't mean that things always go my way.  They don't.  But it means that there is a certainty in my mind that all will work out for the best.

Now why do I believe that?  For the same reason we believe anyone else who makes a promise to us. First that they promised and second that they came through on the promise.  And the more they promise and come through the more we know that we can trust in that promise.

That is exactly what has happened in my life.  God has made promises in that Bible that I have seen come true, repeatedly, that lead me to experiencing the "peace that surpasses all understanding". 

Now what exactly does the phrase "peace that surpasses all understanding" mean?  I'm sure there are better ways to put this but I am just a plain spoken guy so let me speak plainly.  It means when you are at peace when everyone around you thinks you should be scared shitless!  Make sense?  :)

A very close second to this is the way that God steers my life on a daily basis.  The more I am willing to give up control and let God steer the more serendipitous blessings he lays on me.  Or again to speak plainly.  The more I let God steer, the more cool stuff that I never could have planned happen to me.

Now here is the coolest thing of all.  Each and every one of you can experience the same thing if you choose to.  It is totally up to you.  You can't be turned down or denied.  All you have to do is ask Jesus to come into your life and guide you. 

Have you done that yet?  Why not do it right now?  Just have a conversation with Jesus and ask Him to come into your life and guide you.  "Dear Jesus…."