REMODELING YOUR LIFE #1
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
Just about every one of us at some point has gone through a remodeling project of some kind in this life. Some may still be young enough to have not had to deal with this kind of project as yet, but when it comes there are several things that will be a bother for you to deal with.
1. There is a stage of preparation which requires some amount of planning as to what you want to accomplish with what you are about to do. How seriously are you changing things? How costly will it be, and do you have the ability to finish it after you start? How long will it take to do the work? These are areas of this preparation that cannot be overlooked, but unfortunately, there are many who don't even think about the prep time to plan out a strategy before they begin the change.
God warns us about such things and in the danger of becoming overwhelmed with confusion while in the heat of the work being done. If we find ourselves in a need for the remodel of the life we are currently living there will always be the need for council and preplanning beforehand to make sure that we have not missed a vital step that is needed beforehand. I believe that there are many people who would rededicate their lives to Christ right now, but don't know where to start. For us to plan means we must take the time to think about the consequences of what we are doing. Making a decision based on an emotional pull alone often results in a shallow root system for growth. Many who have based their faith in an emotional decision for Christ find that they need a constant stimulation to feel close to God instead of a quiet and unwavering knowledge that God's word to them never changes. There are many who cannot let go of the fight they have with past sins coming back to accuse them because they cannot lay the sin down and walk away.. They somehow need the constant high of emotion to feel God is near and often have a very limited view and understanding of their own growth in the Spirit of Christ.
The process of accepting Christ as our Savior is one which should be wrestled with somewhat in our hearts and minds especially if we understand the seriousness of what it means. This does not mean that we cannot make a decision for Christ effectively and immediately, but for those who do make that decision, I also believe there is a time period where they need to meditate and pray on the decision they have made and what that means to them. I believe that those of us within the church have a grave responsibility to help these new Christians in mapping out this new remodeling of their lives.
2. There are several other steps in this process that go without much thought until the person finds themselves in the middle of it. Another of these deals with the demolition that occurs when we start tearing into an old lifestyle. There will be much to deal with in cleaning up the rubble left behind from the changes that happen from the attitudes, likes and dislikes; to the friends that we may have always been close to suddenly putting up walls between us and them. The fall out of making a decision for Christ to be our center instead of going along with the crowd will make a huge difference in the ways others perceive who we are as a person. The joy that we may have been used to sharing with our friends has suddenly been cut short because of a general perception that we no longer approve of their chosen lifestyles. Many times an unseen wall is built in friendships because of a change in our choices of pleasure or entertainment. Many times this wall of rubble from our decision to follow Christ becomes so high that the new Christian can no longer communicate with the world they have always had around them and they find themselves cut off from familiar resources of comfort and understanding. This is just another reason why the church must be prepared to step in to help even when the person is saying they don't feel they need it; because many times they just don't know how to deal with this kind of change in their lives. I want to take some time for this discussion as we continue through some of the next blogs with the subject of remodeling your life. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
Just about every one of us at some point has gone through a remodeling project of some kind in this life. Some may still be young enough to have not had to deal with this kind of project as yet, but when it comes there are several things that will be a bother for you to deal with.
1. There is a stage of preparation which requires some amount of planning as to what you want to accomplish with what you are about to do. How seriously are you changing things? How costly will it be, and do you have the ability to finish it after you start? How long will it take to do the work? These are areas of this preparation that cannot be overlooked, but unfortunately, there are many who don't even think about the prep time to plan out a strategy before they begin the change.
God warns us about such things and in the danger of becoming overwhelmed with confusion while in the heat of the work being done. If we find ourselves in a need for the remodel of the life we are currently living there will always be the need for council and preplanning beforehand to make sure that we have not missed a vital step that is needed beforehand. I believe that there are many people who would rededicate their lives to Christ right now, but don't know where to start. For us to plan means we must take the time to think about the consequences of what we are doing. Making a decision based on an emotional pull alone often results in a shallow root system for growth. Many who have based their faith in an emotional decision for Christ find that they need a constant stimulation to feel close to God instead of a quiet and unwavering knowledge that God's word to them never changes. There are many who cannot let go of the fight they have with past sins coming back to accuse them because they cannot lay the sin down and walk away.. They somehow need the constant high of emotion to feel God is near and often have a very limited view and understanding of their own growth in the Spirit of Christ.
The process of accepting Christ as our Savior is one which should be wrestled with somewhat in our hearts and minds especially if we understand the seriousness of what it means. This does not mean that we cannot make a decision for Christ effectively and immediately, but for those who do make that decision, I also believe there is a time period where they need to meditate and pray on the decision they have made and what that means to them. I believe that those of us within the church have a grave responsibility to help these new Christians in mapping out this new remodeling of their lives.
2. There are several other steps in this process that go without much thought until the person finds themselves in the middle of it. Another of these deals with the demolition that occurs when we start tearing into an old lifestyle. There will be much to deal with in cleaning up the rubble left behind from the changes that happen from the attitudes, likes and dislikes; to the friends that we may have always been close to suddenly putting up walls between us and them. The fall out of making a decision for Christ to be our center instead of going along with the crowd will make a huge difference in the ways others perceive who we are as a person. The joy that we may have been used to sharing with our friends has suddenly been cut short because of a general perception that we no longer approve of their chosen lifestyles. Many times an unseen wall is built in friendships because of a change in our choices of pleasure or entertainment. Many times this wall of rubble from our decision to follow Christ becomes so high that the new Christian can no longer communicate with the world they have always had around them and they find themselves cut off from familiar resources of comfort and understanding. This is just another reason why the church must be prepared to step in to help even when the person is saying they don't feel they need it; because many times they just don't know how to deal with this kind of change in their lives. I want to take some time for this discussion as we continue through some of the next blogs with the subject of remodeling your life. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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