Your Daily Devotional for August 26, 2006
August 26, 2006
Change Is Good
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Romans 12:1-2
Once you were saved, things changed in your life. Your old ways were lost and new ways were adopted. But as time goes by, the devil can try to sneak some of those old ways back into your life. What can you do when this happens? You can submit to God’s changing process.
No one likes change but it is necessary in becoming more like Christ. First, you must present yourself to God. Preceding Romans 12 were several chapters on the doctrine of salvation. Based upon the mercy of the Lord, Paul challenges us to present ourselves to the Lord or to yield our lives to the Lord. We must come to God daily and give Him our life. Once He has our life, He can work and change us to become more like Him.
Next, we must be transformed by the Lord. The word transformed in verse 2 means “metamorphosis.” Just as a caterpillar is completely changed into a different insect, we must be changed into a totally different person by God’s power. Ephesians 4:23 says, “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;”
Our thoughts are the autopilot of our life. They control what we do as we go throughout our day. If they are not lined up with God and His will for our life, we are headed for a crash. We must present our thoughts to Him every day as well. When God holds your thoughts, it will be easy to find the path He wants you to take.
Don’t be discouraged if you struggle with change. It is not a natural thing to be constantly changing and readjusting our lives. If you fail one day, claim God’s promise in Lamentations 3:22-23, “It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” God’s mercies are new every morning! We must focus on having victory in our life day by day. Not only is our God loving, He also is forgiving!
Take some time right now and make a list. Write out the areas in your life that you think you need to change. Write down how you will change them. Then, take that list to God and ask Him if He would like to add any more areas of your life on the list to be changed. As you come to Him daily with that list, you will be more aware of what areas you need to work on and will be more able to change because of His power.
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posted by Joe @ 1:58 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
HOLY SPIRIT
About 3 years ago I dropped into a black hole – four months of absolute terror. I wanted to end my life, but somehow [Holy Spirit], I reached out to a friend who took me to hospital. I had three visits [hospital] in four months – I actually thought I was in hell. I imagine I was going through some sort of metamorphosis [mental, physical & spiritual]. I had been seeing a therapist [1994] on a regular basis, up until this point in time. I actually thought I would be locked away – but the hospital staff was very supportive [I had no control over my process]. I was released from hospital 16th September 1994, but my fear, pain & shame had only subsided a little. I remember this particular morning waking up [home] & my process would start up again [fear, pain, & shame]. No one could help me, not even my therapist [I was terrified]. I asked Jesus Christ to have mercy on me & forgive me my sins. Slowly, all my fear has dissipated & I believe Jesus delivered me from my “psychological prison.” I am a practicing Catholic & the Holy Spirit is my friend & strength; every day since then has been a joy & blessing. I deserve to go to hell for the life I have led, but Jesus through His sacrifice on the cross, delivered me from my inequities. John 3: 8, John 15: 26, are verses I can relate to, organically. He’s a real person who is with me all the time. I have so much joy & peace in my life, today, after a childhood spent in orphanages [England & Australia]. Fear, pain, & shame, are no longer my constant companions. I just wanted to share my experience with you [Luke 8: 16 – 17].
Peace Be With You
Patrick
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