REMODELING YOUR LIFE #2
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
We started a discussion last blog about the needs and changes that occur in making a decision to follow Christ seriously, and some of the steps to be taken and considered just like in any other remodeling venture we may take; say with our house as an example. While we would not want to tear into the walls of our house without first knowing what was placed there at first so it is with the remodeling of our lives in Christ Jesus. God already knows what is there hidden behind the texture or the paint we have used to decorate ourselves with; many times we have covered it up so well that we no longer remember the materials we have used to build with or the shortcuts we may have taken to achieve what we now see in front of us.
When we begin to tear into that rubble we will begin to uncover some very distasteful things that at some point in our lives we may have found to be very good to use in building an attitude or lifestyle; but which no longer will work for our new life in Christ. As we begin to look around us the world around us will be very quick to remind us who we were at one time made from, and now are trying to deny. These accusations will come thick and heavy from the world around us the more we strive to get closer to God. As we begin to look at the way we have constructed our lives around certain things of this world we begin to see ourselves from an almost third person perspective. We have to view ourselves apart from the emotional ties we have that has held us in captivity in the past and that allows us to see the situation and the decisions we are making from a more clear view.
In the past, I have used a method that has helped me to understand better who I am from seeing three major things more clearly in my life. 1. I think of and write down 5 things that have happened in my life that have changed me on the inside from that moment on, 2. I have looked and written down 5 circumstances that have caused me to change my view of life; and 3. I have written down the names of 5 people in my life that have influenced me the most in life, and I have included myself. When I did this and dwelled on this list for a while I began to see how my life has been shaped up to that point. This became a kind of blueprint for where I am really coming from within my heart and it helped me to find my reasoning for what and why I was thinking as I was about things in life.
From that exercise, I was able to find the truth about my approach to God and therefore I could be more honest in my prayers and share my desires with Him through the Spirit without going through that season of denial and forgiveness that would come later at some point when I realized how dishonest I had been even with myself. Believe me that this is an important stage in our building of life in the Spirit of God, and often without this process, we must go back to the foundations again once we realize that what we have built upon may not be the kind of material or quality that will withstand the test of God's law.
After this, it gets really crazy because it is when we start the demolition of those things within our lives that have kept us from God, and it is often when things get really dirty and cluttered in our lives until we have convinced both ourselves and the world around us that we mean business. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
We started a discussion last blog about the needs and changes that occur in making a decision to follow Christ seriously, and some of the steps to be taken and considered just like in any other remodeling venture we may take; say with our house as an example. While we would not want to tear into the walls of our house without first knowing what was placed there at first so it is with the remodeling of our lives in Christ Jesus. God already knows what is there hidden behind the texture or the paint we have used to decorate ourselves with; many times we have covered it up so well that we no longer remember the materials we have used to build with or the shortcuts we may have taken to achieve what we now see in front of us.
When we begin to tear into that rubble we will begin to uncover some very distasteful things that at some point in our lives we may have found to be very good to use in building an attitude or lifestyle; but which no longer will work for our new life in Christ. As we begin to look around us the world around us will be very quick to remind us who we were at one time made from, and now are trying to deny. These accusations will come thick and heavy from the world around us the more we strive to get closer to God. As we begin to look at the way we have constructed our lives around certain things of this world we begin to see ourselves from an almost third person perspective. We have to view ourselves apart from the emotional ties we have that has held us in captivity in the past and that allows us to see the situation and the decisions we are making from a more clear view.
In the past, I have used a method that has helped me to understand better who I am from seeing three major things more clearly in my life. 1. I think of and write down 5 things that have happened in my life that have changed me on the inside from that moment on, 2. I have looked and written down 5 circumstances that have caused me to change my view of life; and 3. I have written down the names of 5 people in my life that have influenced me the most in life, and I have included myself. When I did this and dwelled on this list for a while I began to see how my life has been shaped up to that point. This became a kind of blueprint for where I am really coming from within my heart and it helped me to find my reasoning for what and why I was thinking as I was about things in life.From that exercise, I was able to find the truth about my approach to God and therefore I could be more honest in my prayers and share my desires with Him through the Spirit without going through that season of denial and forgiveness that would come later at some point when I realized how dishonest I had been even with myself. Believe me that this is an important stage in our building of life in the Spirit of God, and often without this process, we must go back to the foundations again once we realize that what we have built upon may not be the kind of material or quality that will withstand the test of God's law.
After this, it gets really crazy because it is when we start the demolition of those things within our lives that have kept us from God, and it is often when things get really dirty and cluttered in our lives until we have convinced both ourselves and the world around us that we mean business. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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