Change only takes place when you: (1) Decide to change. The Daily Mail newspaper once invited readers to answer the question, ‘What’s wrong with the world?’ G.K. Chesterton supposedly sent the following reply: ‘Dear Sir, I am.’ Face it, if you could kick the person responsible for most of your troubles, you wouldn’t be able to sit down for a week. Discipleship, the process of becoming like Christ, begins with a decision. Jesus calls to us, and we respond. ‘”Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him’ (Matthew 9:9 NLT). And notice he took his pen with him! That’s all you need to get started: a decision! (2) Change the way you think. ‘Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think’ (Romans 12:2 NLT). Change starts in your mind. The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel influences the way you act. So wash your mind, feed your mind, and program your mind with God’s Word. (3) Take a small step every day. Most of us want overnight change. No, change comes slowly. To be successful we must start with small things and do them every day. St. Francis de Sales said, ‘Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly start remedying them – every day begin the task anew.’ You say, ‘But I fall so far short.’ We all do. Don’t be discouraged: ‘God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished’ (Philippians 1:6 TLB).
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Let God transform you.’ Romans 12:2 GNT
Let God transform you.’ Romans 12:2 GNT
Change only takes place when you: (1) Decide to change. The Daily Mail newspaper once invited readers to answer the question, ‘What’s wrong with the world?’ G.K. Chesterton supposedly sent the following reply: ‘Dear Sir, I am.’ Face it, if you could kick the person responsible for most of your troubles, you wouldn’t be able to sit down for a week. Discipleship, the process of becoming like Christ, begins with a decision. Jesus calls to us, and we respond. ‘”Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him’ (Matthew 9:9 NLT). And notice he took his pen with him! That’s all you need to get started: a decision! (2) Change the way you think. ‘Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think’ (Romans 12:2 NLT). Change starts in your mind. The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel influences the way you act. So wash your mind, feed your mind, and program your mind with God’s Word. (3) Take a small step every day. Most of us want overnight change. No, change comes slowly. To be successful we must start with small things and do them every day. St. Francis de Sales said, ‘Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly start remedying them – every day begin the task anew.’ You say, ‘But I fall so far short.’ We all do. Don’t be discouraged: ‘God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished’ (Philippians 1:6 TLB).
Change only takes place when you: (1) Decide to change. The Daily Mail newspaper once invited readers to answer the question, ‘What’s wrong with the world?’ G.K. Chesterton supposedly sent the following reply: ‘Dear Sir, I am.’ Face it, if you could kick the person responsible for most of your troubles, you wouldn’t be able to sit down for a week. Discipleship, the process of becoming like Christ, begins with a decision. Jesus calls to us, and we respond. ‘”Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him’ (Matthew 9:9 NLT). And notice he took his pen with him! That’s all you need to get started: a decision! (2) Change the way you think. ‘Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think’ (Romans 12:2 NLT). Change starts in your mind. The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel influences the way you act. So wash your mind, feed your mind, and program your mind with God’s Word. (3) Take a small step every day. Most of us want overnight change. No, change comes slowly. To be successful we must start with small things and do them every day. St. Francis de Sales said, ‘Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly start remedying them – every day begin the task anew.’ You say, ‘But I fall so far short.’ We all do. Don’t be discouraged: ‘God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished’ (Philippians 1:6 TLB).
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.’ Psalm 37:7
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.’ Psalm 37:7
The old saying, ‘You can’t always have what you want,’ isn’t necessarily true. When you ‘Delight yourself in the Lord…he will give you the desires of your heart’ (Psalm 37:4 NIV). But usually He makes you wait. Dennis Wholey says: ‘Waiting is an art….If you can wait two years, you can achieve something you couldn’t achieve today however hard you worked, however much money you threw at it, however many times you banged your head against the wall.’ There are things you can’t have today that you’ll be able to have in the future. So it doesn’t make sense to drive yourself crazy and put your life on hold struggling to accomplish something now, that’ll be easy when the time is right. James says, ‘Don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature’ (James 1:4 TM). God allows certain things to take place in our lives to teach us important principles like: (a) developing new skills and ways of thinking; (b) showing grace and controlling our responses; (c) maintaining our faith when times get tough. Paul writes: ‘Patience…[is…the power to endure whatever comes, with good temper]’ (Colossians 3:12 AMP); ‘Be glad for all God is planning.…Be patient in trouble, and prayerful always’ (Romans 12:12 TLB). When you spend time in God’s waiting room, He’s developing qualities in you that simply can’t be developed any other way. When He’s finished you’ll come out stronger and wiser. And you’ll have the maturity to handle what He has in mind for you. So don’t let the enemy rattle you or engineer circumstances that put you into overdrive. ‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.’
The old saying, ‘You can’t always have what you want,’ isn’t necessarily true. When you ‘Delight yourself in the Lord…he will give you the desires of your heart’ (Psalm 37:4 NIV). But usually He makes you wait. Dennis Wholey says: ‘Waiting is an art….If you can wait two years, you can achieve something you couldn’t achieve today however hard you worked, however much money you threw at it, however many times you banged your head against the wall.’ There are things you can’t have today that you’ll be able to have in the future. So it doesn’t make sense to drive yourself crazy and put your life on hold struggling to accomplish something now, that’ll be easy when the time is right. James says, ‘Don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature’ (James 1:4 TM). God allows certain things to take place in our lives to teach us important principles like: (a) developing new skills and ways of thinking; (b) showing grace and controlling our responses; (c) maintaining our faith when times get tough. Paul writes: ‘Patience…[is…the power to endure whatever comes, with good temper]’ (Colossians 3:12 AMP); ‘Be glad for all God is planning.…Be patient in trouble, and prayerful always’ (Romans 12:12 TLB). When you spend time in God’s waiting room, He’s developing qualities in you that simply can’t be developed any other way. When He’s finished you’ll come out stronger and wiser. And you’ll have the maturity to handle what He has in mind for you. So don’t let the enemy rattle you or engineer circumstances that put you into overdrive. ‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.’
Monday, February 2, 2009
I]…could never have made it apart from…mercy.’ 1 Timothy 1:15-17 TM
I]…could never have made it apart from…mercy.’ 1 Timothy 1:15-17 TM
If you’re finding it hard to forgive yourself for something you’ve done in the past, it may be that you’re reaping what you have sown. And it’s particularly hard (but not impossible) to keep from feeling bad when you’ve condemned somebody else for doing the same thing. Here’s a scriptural truth you need to understand, accept and live by: as long as you’re alive you will have to keep forgiving yourself and others! When guilt and condemnation tell you your sins are too big for God’s forgiveness, remember what Paul said: ‘Jesus…came…to save sinners. I’m proof – Public Sinner Number One …someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy…evidence of his endless patience.’ Before his conversion Paul persecuted the church, killing and torturing believers. It’s how he made his living! And if he could learn to forgive himself, you can too! In fact, when you don’t you’re implying that your transgressions are beyond the scope of God’s grace to forgive and Jesus’ blood to cleanse. And that’s a bigger sin – pride! Plus, when somebody always has ‘issues’ with other people, they may be looking for somebody to offend them; that way they can point out how bad the other person is and feel better about themselves. Pride and a judgmental attitude feed off each other the way humility feeds off forgiveness. God said, ‘I am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake. And I will not remember your sins’ (Isaiah 43:25 NASB). When you adopt a humble attitude and work on forgiving yourself the way God has, it’s a lot easier to overlook other people’s mistakes. Give it a try; you’ll be amazed!
If you’re finding it hard to forgive yourself for something you’ve done in the past, it may be that you’re reaping what you have sown. And it’s particularly hard (but not impossible) to keep from feeling bad when you’ve condemned somebody else for doing the same thing. Here’s a scriptural truth you need to understand, accept and live by: as long as you’re alive you will have to keep forgiving yourself and others! When guilt and condemnation tell you your sins are too big for God’s forgiveness, remember what Paul said: ‘Jesus…came…to save sinners. I’m proof – Public Sinner Number One …someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy…evidence of his endless patience.’ Before his conversion Paul persecuted the church, killing and torturing believers. It’s how he made his living! And if he could learn to forgive himself, you can too! In fact, when you don’t you’re implying that your transgressions are beyond the scope of God’s grace to forgive and Jesus’ blood to cleanse. And that’s a bigger sin – pride! Plus, when somebody always has ‘issues’ with other people, they may be looking for somebody to offend them; that way they can point out how bad the other person is and feel better about themselves. Pride and a judgmental attitude feed off each other the way humility feeds off forgiveness. God said, ‘I am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake. And I will not remember your sins’ (Isaiah 43:25 NASB). When you adopt a humble attitude and work on forgiving yourself the way God has, it’s a lot easier to overlook other people’s mistakes. Give it a try; you’ll be amazed!
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