So we all know that God is the great Make~Over Artist, right? Well, for those of you who don't know me all that well (yet), I used to be a rude, prideful, horrible, revenge~seeking person. Gasp! Yup. You read it. I did. And I can still revert back to those same old ways, but then I quietly whisper, "God, change me. From the inside out. Give me a new attitude for this day and the ones to follow." And just like that, He does. I am nobody without Him. Or at least nobody that any of you would like to be friends with. So I am thankful that He has changed me, and that He has given me family and friends in abundance. Here are some words on what the Lord has to say about newness in Him.
Hebrews 12
1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice~the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. 2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. 9 Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection , and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! 17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
I was pretty much the exact opposite of these verses. Really. So if you are reading this today and thinking, "No way could I ever do what those verses tell me to", well then sister (brother), you are wrong. W.R.O.N.G. We are all God's masterpiece...He has created us anew in Him! Eph. 2:10 is where that comes from. I never in a million years would have thought I would be who I am today...and I'm still not, at least not on my own. God has made me new. This is that Spiritual birth the Bible talks about...we are born again when we ask Him for forgiveness and invite Him into our hearts. We no longer want to be who we were before we asked His forgiveness~we want our words and our actions to be pleasing to Him, we want to know what He wants us to do in order to do that. That's why the Bible is my life's instruction manual. There is no greater book around...it speaks on marriage, parenting, everything and anything you could ever imagine is packed into 1488 pages. Why do you think I have at least one in every room of my house? I want it nearby at all times.
The above that I spoke of was about 4 years ago, by the way. Not all that long ago. God took me down some crazy paths, and someday I will share more of it, but He was preparing the way for me to draw closer to Him. There was a time when He was all I had. I went through one of the darkest phases of my life a few years back, and while I loved my family, I was alone, with no one to care for me, except for my Heavenly Father. I learned to completely lean on Him and to depend on Him. Was that a fun time? Heavens, no! BUT you know what? I rejoice in that trial that I went through now...it was part of that molding process He was doing in me.
So if this you today, then you have hope! You have hope in the Lord. If you are discouraged (like I was), God has not forgotten you. I would encourage you to read some of the book of Proverbs. There is some amazing wisdom in that book of the Bible, and it's one of my absolute favorites. I honestly have to read it in small doses because if you read it too quickly, nothing will soak in. There is tons of information packed into that one short book!!!!
I love you all and am praying for you today. May God bless you.
Hebrews 12
1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice~the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. 2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. 9 Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection , and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! 17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
I was pretty much the exact opposite of these verses. Really. So if you are reading this today and thinking, "No way could I ever do what those verses tell me to", well then sister (brother), you are wrong. W.R.O.N.G. We are all God's masterpiece...He has created us anew in Him! Eph. 2:10 is where that comes from. I never in a million years would have thought I would be who I am today...and I'm still not, at least not on my own. God has made me new. This is that Spiritual birth the Bible talks about...we are born again when we ask Him for forgiveness and invite Him into our hearts. We no longer want to be who we were before we asked His forgiveness~we want our words and our actions to be pleasing to Him, we want to know what He wants us to do in order to do that. That's why the Bible is my life's instruction manual. There is no greater book around...it speaks on marriage, parenting, everything and anything you could ever imagine is packed into 1488 pages. Why do you think I have at least one in every room of my house? I want it nearby at all times.
The above that I spoke of was about 4 years ago, by the way. Not all that long ago. God took me down some crazy paths, and someday I will share more of it, but He was preparing the way for me to draw closer to Him. There was a time when He was all I had. I went through one of the darkest phases of my life a few years back, and while I loved my family, I was alone, with no one to care for me, except for my Heavenly Father. I learned to completely lean on Him and to depend on Him. Was that a fun time? Heavens, no! BUT you know what? I rejoice in that trial that I went through now...it was part of that molding process He was doing in me.
So if this you today, then you have hope! You have hope in the Lord. If you are discouraged (like I was), God has not forgotten you. I would encourage you to read some of the book of Proverbs. There is some amazing wisdom in that book of the Bible, and it's one of my absolute favorites. I honestly have to read it in small doses because if you read it too quickly, nothing will soak in. There is tons of information packed into that one short book!!!!
I love you all and am praying for you today. May God bless you.
You are awesome and I thank God for all that He has done in your life. It has been over 40 years since I started serving the Lord seriously and He is still working on me. I just give Him praise for the lives He has changed and know that there will be lots more. Thanks for your encouraging words.
ReplyDeleteBunches of love!!!!