THINK 3.5.12
What has God taught you
that helps most where you are in life right now?
Posts Tagged ‘Change’
03/05/12
Monday, March 5th, 2012
Stalled?
Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
I just read an article about spiritual change. It reports the findings of a 2010 phone survey by The Barna Group asking if anything related to your religious beliefs, practices, or preferences changed in the past five years.
The results are disappointing. Even the evangelicals or born again Christian adults surveyed say they have experienced very little, if any, change in their religious life over the five-year period.
Is this as disturbing to you as it is to me? How would you answer?
I can say without a doubt, transformation continues to take place in me at an (almost) daily pace. This partnership with the Holy Spirit doesn’t let me stand still. Are the changes extreme all the time? No. But the impact of Him changing the way I think (and therefore behave) is there consistently.
Do you have the same experience? Am I the weird one? Isn’t this supposed to be what happens after we’re born again (John 3:7) - made a new person (2 Cor. 5:17) - transferred from one Kingdom to another (Col 1:13-14)? If we’re being led into all truth (John 16:13), shouldn’t that be changing our perspective – which changes us?
In my experience, transformation has been slow….. but certainly steady. And there has ALWAYS been evidence of the Change Agent working in, on, and through me. I can’t imagine answering no in this survey. It’s disappointing that so many of my brothers and sisters did.
What are your thoughts and experience?
The Three Chairs
Thursday, November 18th, 2010Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Gal. 6:9
click the title below to listen and read along
In life every single person owns one of three chairs. The first chair is the most comfortable chair in the world. It has soft deep cushions as well as a button on the side which you press in order to recline back. There is even a button to allow you to get a gentle back massage whenever you want. I’m sure you would agree that this is definitely the type of chair that no one would want to get out of once in it.
The second type is a chair made completely out of steel and is cold and hard when you sit in it. Now while certainly no one would argue with you that this chair isn’t the most comfortable in the world to sit in, the average person would probably be able to tolerate it for a while before having to get up because of the discomfort.
Now the third type is a chair made completely out of rocks, broken glass, and nails. This is the type of chair that no one in their right mind would want to sit in for any amount of time because of the serious pain involved in doing so.
The type of person who owns the first type of chair is someone who may be comfortable with their current status quo. Getting up and attempting to do anything would certainly be less comfortable for them than just staying where they are and doing nothing.
The type of person who owns the chair made of steel ends up eventually becoming a little uncomfortable with where they are in life and will actually get up and take action to do something about it. The sad fact however is that once things get too difficult for them, then they turn right back around and go back to that same chair until it becomes too uncomfortable for them again.
The type of person who owns the chair made of rocks, broken glass, and nails is hardly ever caught in that chair because the pain of staying there is far greater than the pain of getting up and doing something. When this person sets out to achieve their goals and encounters difficulties and the pain of set back, they will choose to continue pushing forward rather than going back to the greater pain of sitting down and doing nothing.
The only question I want to ask you is which chair do you now own? If you are not currently achieving all of your goals and moving forward to be, do, and have everything in life that is yours for the taking, then I want to encourage you now to stand up and get out of that chair and begin moving forward towards your goals and dreams.
The Three Little Chairs is an Audio Success Article from the Audio Success Network. For more: http://www.livingsuccessnetwork.com/audiosuccessarticlesWhat’s the Holy Spirit saying to you?
10/4/10
Monday, October 4th, 2010Tension
Thursday, August 26th, 2010 
We don’t lead from the safety of the fringe.
We take up residence in the fray.
Where change is happening
Where change is necessary.
There we find ourselves in a unique tug-of-war
between what was, what is, and what could be.
We are faced with the reality
that we are the catalyst in the moment.
A tension ensues between ambitions and fears.
We are tempted to bail on our goals
but discover that under pressure
our vision becomes remarkably crystallized.
A hundred voices attempt to sway us.
And we find we must lean into God with a faith
deeper than we have ever known.
Change happens in the very place where many leaders
flinch, fear, and fail.
The tension we resist is actually by design.
It tests us, it tries us,
It conforms us to His image.
The tension is necessary.
The tension makes us strong.
The tension is good.
(From the catalystconference.com website)
I needed to read this today. How about you?
Register here for the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta.
Image from cacradicalgrace.org.
7/5/10
Monday, July 5th, 20106/7/10
Monday, June 7th, 2010Pondering Proverbs 2:6-11
Monday, May 17th, 2010Proverbs 2:6-11
6 For the Lord grants wisdom!
From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.
He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.
8 He guards the paths of the just
and protects those who are faithful to him.
9 Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair,
and you will find the right way to go.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will fill you with joy.
11 Wise choices will watch over you.
Understanding will keep you safe.
I am impressed with verse ten.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will fill you with joy.
For wisdom will enter your heart. Jesus is the wisdom of God. That’s what the scriptures say. When I opened my heart and let Him in my life, He
brought another way of seeing life that compels me to live differently. There is no longer the effort there once was to “be good”. He changed my “have to” into a ”want to”, propelling me into a new way of thinking and living. I believe it’s because God’s wisdom moved into me in Jesus. Wise people naturally approach life from a different angle than the ignorant or rebellious. Why? Different perspective.
And knowledge will fill you with joy. The Holy Spirit carries knowledge to me. When I became a Jesus follower, I was given the Holy Spirit of God in some mysterious way. Scripture tells me the Holy Spirit is 
guiding me now. He’s leading me into ALL truth. I have truth because I have Jesus. That’s what the bible says. He is the way, the truth, and the life. It’s the Holy Spirit who brings me the special knowledge (revelation) so I can understand this truth God is showing me. I can tell you, I AM experiencing great joy in this process. It’s really fun!. He is my mentor for all things God.
These are my thoughts.
What’ s the Holy Spirit saying to you?
Life Changer
Saturday, May 15th, 2010
Blog-Wise Wednesday.7
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
It’s Blog-Wise Wednesday - the day I link to a guest post that I believe will challenge you in a good way.
We’re growing wise together.
This week I’m highlighting the post Pastor Barbie & Pulpit Culture by Grant Jenkins from anidolheart.com. Grant shares openly about how non-authentic lives can rip off both leaders and Christ followers.
I’m offering you a two-fer this week.
If you like the original post, be sure to click here too to read Grant’s story. You’re in for some powerful Holy Spirit driven sharing! I’d really love to hear your reaction to this week’s choice. Drop a comment and let me know your thoughts!
In Grant’s own words:
I’m in the middle of a major heart and life realignment that is reshaping how I see and process well, pretty much everything. Through a series of events which I believe have been anything but inconsequential, God has been wrecking my heart and my life, and said “wrecking” is largely the impetus behind this blog. I’m passionate about my faith, about life and about culture, and how all those things intersect. So, this blog will be some sort of a collision of all those things.
