If He Can Change Me... He Can Change You

Struggle: If God can heal the sick, raise the dead, calm the sea, then why is he not making a difference in me?

Scripture Truth: "If we walk by the Spirit, we will not gratify the desires of the flesh." Galatians 5:16

Truth Encounter: I had accepted Christ as Savior of my life as a young girl but I had not been very successful when it came to the things in life that tempted me most. I had tried living the Christian life but it had been more about me doing "what Jesus would do," instead of "being like Jesus.

As Paul would say, I had done most of the things a good "Christian" or "church worker" would do. In fact, most professing Christians are not really Christian at all but are individuals who are living in the flesh and are domesticated to look and act like Christians. In other words, I was able to act in, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control,(Galatians 5: 22-23), when it was beneficial to me. Even though I could produce something that appeared to be these things, they were not my character. In fact, as I examined my heart, I realized that much of my actions were works of the flesh such as idolatry, impurity, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, dissensions, divisions, envy, and the like, Galatians 5:19-24.  Instead of finding my joy, power, and strength in God, I found joy in things of the world, and I operated out of my power and strength rather than in God's.

This was not what I wanted. I wanted His majesty, power, and strength working in my life, empowering me to live the life he had called me to live. Scripture tells us that "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires,"(Gal. 5:24), and, "if we walk by the Spirit, we will not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Gal.5:16). We cannot make this transformation on our own. 1 John 4:4 tells us that God's children can overcome temptations because "greater is he that is in us than he who is in the world." In other words "we abide in Christ and he abides in us" (John 15:1-8). This means that we cannot passively sit back and watch it happen; we must be intentional about being a follower of Jesus. 

How do we do this? We must make James 4:7 our focus for each day, "Submit to God, and resist the Devil." Each time I am tempted to sin, I have the choice to "take my thoughts captive in obedience to Christ," (2 Cor. 10:5), or obey Satan. I am learning to act and react to God's Word, His truths, and His promises. 

I am not perfect, and there are times that I fall desperately short of what God desires of me, but I praise God that I am not the woman I used to be. Daily, I resubmit my life to God and asks Him to change me, to mold me, to complete the work He began in me. As I have chosen to abide in Christ, he is transforming my mind. Instead of producing works in the flesh, the Holy Spirit is actually producing fruit of the Spirit in me and through me.  I am seeing his transforming power, splendor, and majesty at work inside me, changing the way I think. The things that once affected me, causing me to act and react in unChristian ways, do not have the same effect on me. 

It was truly like experiencing a miracle, not before my eyes, but in my mind and heart. And, for the first time, I knew that God was transforming me, because never before had I been able to deal the negative reactions that were triggered by my feelings. To God I give the glory.

I have been transparent concerning how my life was filled with works of the flesh. My prayer is that you will allow the Holy Spirit to begin a work in you. Will you take a moment to read Galatians 5:16-24. Ask God to reveal the things in your life that is not of him.  Ask God to change your heart to become like his. If He can change my heart, He can change yours.

I came across a song that a pastor used to lead a group of worshippers in Barbados as they prayed for God to change them. I had never heard it before but it touched my heart. The words of this song was the words of my prayer as I cried out to God, seeking transformation in my life. 



How has God changed your life? Share how great our God is and how Jesus has made a difference in your life.

The Key to Exercising Authority over Satan

Struggle: Every day we accept and exercise authority in most area's of our lives. In fact, most new reports are filled with people exercising their authority or their rights. So... Why is it so hard to exercise our right when it comes to living the Christian life?  

Scripture Truth:

“Submit to Christ, resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

Truth Encounter:

The crowds witnessed as Jesus exercised his authority throughout his ministry, healing the sick, raising the dead, calming storms, walking on water, and casting out demons. It must have been confusing as the crowds watched Jesus take a beating that should have killed him. It must have been confusing as they watched his followers walk away. It seemed that Jesus had given up all authority as he spoke his last words, “It is finished,” and took his last breath.

It appeared Jesus was defeated, as Jesus was taken from the cross and buried. But we know the rest of the story. Jesus' work on the cross was finished. But what seemed to be the end was only the beginning. For the work of the cross was still yet to be seen. However, three days later Jesus raised himself from the grave and completed the work that he came to do. 

Jesus came to give us eternal life. No where does the scripture say, "Believe on Jesus so you can go to heaven." Some say, "All you have to do to be saved is to believe that Jesus died, was buried, and was raised from the dead," and you will be saved. This is true but acknowledging this truth does not result in a transformed life. Satan also believed this and he is still filled with lies and deceit. So what are we to believe? The Son of God had defeated Satan (1 John 1:8). Christ died to destroy the power of sin in the lives of God’s people. 

Because Adam and Eve sinned, we were born with Adam's sin nature. We cannot live the fullest if we are captive to sin in our lives. But Jesus came to defeat the power of sin in our lives.  Jesus came to defeat sins  said that He must go so that he could send the Holy Spirit which would live in the lives of believers.

How do we stand in victory? How are we able to exercise the authority given to us? James 4:7 tells us, “Submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Did you get that? 

1. Submit to God. Before we can exercise spiritual authority we must be under the authority of God, submitting to His Lordship in our lives.We must receive the truth, believe the truth, and act upon our authority in Christ. As long as you allow Satan to deceive you into giving up, or moving out from under your authority of God through temptation, accusation, or deception, you will NOT be able to resist him. How do we act upon our authority?
2. Resist the Devil. We must exercise our authority in Jesus Christ over Satan. If we know God's Word then we know we must obey God. If you are being disobedient to God you are inadvertently submitting to Satan.
3. And he will Flee from You. Spiritual warfare is not a power encounter, it is a truth encounter. A man cannot serve two masters. When we resist Satan's temptations by submitting to God in obedience to His Word. As we deny Satan's authority over our lives, and choose to live for Christ, Satan will flee. 

Have you tried to resist the devil but were unsuccessful? What are you struggling with: pride, rebellion, bitterness, jealously, anger, un-forgiveness? Each time you are tempted, say "yes" to God, and "no" to Satan's authority over your life, and be obedient to His Word and Satan will flee. Keep in mind this is not a one time event. We will always be confronted with sin and as we deny Satan he will up the auntie. But as we practice obedience to God it becomes easier to detect Satan's attempts to trick or deceive us. 

How have you exercised authority in your life to remain obedient to Christ? My next post will be a personal story. I hope you will share one of your personal stories.

Prayer:

Dear Father, thank you for the gift of eternal life. Help me to exercise my faith by receiving and believing your truth, by submitting to you, and by acting upon the authority of Christ within me to resist the devil. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Keeping Up Appearances

Struggle: What do you see when you look at this picture? What caught your attention?

Scripture Truth: “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

Truth Encounter: What did you see when you looked at this picture? Did you see the sunset, church, flags, prayer bench, power lines, or any of this? Actually, this unaltered/unedited photo was shared on my Facebook. Different comments were made, but it was not the image alone the caught my attention. 

As I viewed this picture I was reminded of how we often view churches. I have often passed a church or saw a photo and said, “What a beautiful church!” But is it? Our statements are usually based on whether it is the largest structure in the area, or if the location is right, meaning, on the right side of the tracks, where no one or anything would distract from it’s (the building’s) beauty. We identify it by its carpet, padded pews, lighting. Sometimes we identify it with how spotless it is, as though no one “lives” there. Other times the church is identified by the style of music, it the choir is big, or the worship team is loud, how the members dress, or how the pastor delivers the message. I call all these outward appearances, power lines. Do these power lines indicate the true heartbeat of the church?

A building may be structurally beautiful, or there may be some things that are not so aesthetic but, just as with the Christian's life, their true identity is based on the condition of the heart and not the way things appear to be. 

How do you determine the heart condition of a church? Scripture tells us, “By their fruit you shall know them.” Because the Church is the ‘body of Christ,” she too should be producing fruit. The answers to these questions will help you know if in reality, a church is beautiful in God’s eyes.

• Is the churches vision based on Matthew 28:19-20; sharing the    gospel with the lost, baptizing them, and teaching them to be obedient to God Word?
• Are they reaching the lost, saving them, and discipling them?
• Are the members interested in conforming their mind, to that of Jesus Christ, which is our daily commitment? 
•  Has this body of believers set themselves apart from the world so that they are NOT engaging in the sinful activities the world promotes, and accepting the corrupt mind the outside world has so embraced?
• Do the members as well as community have good things to say about the unity among its members?
• Is the church active in the community, supporting other churches to meet the ministry and evangelistic, and spiritual needs of the community instead of being self-serving?

If you were able to respond with yes to these questions, about a given local church, then, it is a beautiful Church. This does not mean that a body of believers should neglect the appearance but appearance should not take priority over its vision and mission. A  church should be the lighthouse that dispels the spiritual darkness in the community that surrounds her.

Churches have all the potential by the powers given to them by Jesus Christ to be a lighthouse in the community but are plateaued or dying, because they have focused to long on the power lines. Gospel doctrine makes it clear that we must live in this world to achieve our eternal destination. When tried and tested we must be found worthy of a greater kingdom. The Church is called to be the salt of the earth, and the light of the world.

Let’s go back to the picture. I did notice the power lines at first but then if you look closely the bottom one intersects the steeple and flags, reminding us of the very reason we call this place... "church." Just saying, look beyond the power lines. If a church is fulfilling her mission she is the temple of God, and you could say that where she resides is Holy Ground… and she will be the “light” in the community. How does your church look?

Prayer: Father help me as a member of a local church to look beyond the power lines and focus on the heart of the church. May we have your heart, thus enabling us to be a "light" to our community. In Jesus name, Amen.

Persecution for Your Beliefs

Struggle: “Have you been persecuted for what you believe? Maybe not by death or imprisonment but by unfair harassment, ridicule, or lies? Persecution can undermine one’s sense of security, cause much heartache and pain, and create a hell on earth.” How should I respond to persecution?

Scripture Truth:

Jesus says, ““Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew: 5 9-12

Truth Encounter:

Jesus just finished the Beatitude portion of Sermon on the Mount, by stating that anyone who chooses to follow Him, setting a moral standard for others, will be persecuted. His early Followers were literally persecuted unto death. We may not face death, nonetheless, individuals who choose to follow Jesus should not expect to receive less than what Jesus experienced. He said, they will, “revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” Revile means to attack someone verbally, usually using abusive language. Persecute means to oppress, harass with ill treatment with the intention to injure, grieve, or afflict another person. Speaking evil of someone is done by suggesting, passing along, or bringing on false reports or charges against another person, to focus on their failings, or by depreciating their character to discredit and disesteem them.

The best example of persecution and persecuted is from the story of Saul the persecutor transformed to Paul the persecuted in Acts 9:1-6. As Saul was still “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord” he journeyed near Damascus, and “suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

If our lives bear witness to the presence of Christ in us, we will face persecution. The key here is in understanding not only the act of persecution but being persecuted. Either way Christ is the object. We may feel the act of persecution is against us personally but God said that if we persecute his children we are actually acting against God our Creator and Christ our Savior and Lord. Persecution through harm or harassment in any form is forbidden. However if we are persecuted for Christ sake it is an honor bestowed upon us that we truly belong to Christ. 

We are not to set out to be a martyr. However, if we live according to the standard that Jesus explained in the previous verses of Matthew 5 the world will hate us. They hated Jesus. Jesus told his followers one something that I think is the hardest thing to do in our Christian walk. He said that if we are persecuted for righteousness sake, then we should "rejoice." We are not to rejoice in persecution but he said, "Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven" (v.12). Our earthly reward will only last for a season but our heavenly reward will be eternal. The apostle Paul must have been aware of this promise when he wrote, "As it is written: ’No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"’ (1 Cor. 2:9 NIV).

Prayer:

Dear Father, you have told us we would face persecution and if I suffer may it be because of righteousness. But Father help me that I would not say anything or participate in any activity that would bring harm to another person, and ultimately against you.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen.