A New Vision

 

As this year is coming to a close and a new year is almost upon us, we typically start thinking of New Year's resolutions.  These resolutions start off strong but by late February or early March, we can no longer remember what our resolution was.  One of the reasons we sometimes fail at keeping our resolutions is because we do not have an accountability partner.  Someone who will encourage us and keep us honest, someone who will help us stay on track and who we do not want to tell them, "we quit".  We pick some very odd resolutions sometimes like giving up chocolate.  Who is their right mind would want to give up chocolate?  I think the biggest reason we fail with our typical resolutions might be, we do not ask for God's help with these things, we just choose and think we can do it on our own.

I was so thankful I had someone today to keep me accountable and encouraged me.  That is what having an accountability  partner is all about.  After a couple of days of suffering, I finally reached out and asked someone in our group to just pray for me.  She immediately started praying, I felt the load lightening over the next couple of hours.  She called me that evening and I was slowly able to share with her the trials of what was going on.  I must admit it was very difficult to share.  I am a strong person and I like to handle things on my own.  I do feel like I have a strong relationship with God, and the majority of the time I can just lay something at His feet and walk away.  But occasionally I need help even doing that, and that is what she helped me do.  For me it was difficult to share because I was sharing something of my inner most thoughts and feelings.  Not the outside appearance of what I portray but the real me.  When I do that, it makes me feel very vulnerable.  I think God is trying to teach me something about sharing better with others.  We all have the person we portray to others and what we allow others to see of us.  But we all have an inner self, that for many of us is very private.

In sales sometimes, the top producers will have pictures of something they really want to motivate them like a fancy new car or a exotic vacation.  They look at these pictures everyday to motivate them to keep pushing and to make that next sale and not be lazy.  It reminds them why they are working so hard.  The majority of the time when sales people do this, they become very serious and focused on achieving their dreams. By visualizing themselves having the fancy car or being on this vacation, it helps them accomplish their goals.  It is also a reminder of working toward those goals every day. But I got to thinking . . . instead of a fancy car or crazy vacation trip, why not visionalize what God wants me to be.  God wants me to be holy but I fail at this miserably every day.

1 Peter 1:13-16

Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be serious and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance.  But as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.   Holman Version

1 Peter 1:13-16

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.  As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written:  "Be holy, because I am holy."   Life Application

I love the Life Application version the best.  "Prepare your minds", what does that mean?  I think it is to being mentally alert.  If we were to prepare for a test, we would study for it.  If we are preparing for a race, we would practice.  Jesus is returning, how are we preparing?  He wants us to prepare by practicing to be holy.  The verse tells us to be "self-controlled".  We are probably patting ourselves on the back, thinking we are self controlled, that was my first reaction.  But then that little voice in my head reminded me that I was not showing very much self control today, when I let worry and fear consume my thoughts.  To be self controlled requires vigilant practice.

God has set the standard and he wants us to follow him.  What are we doing every day to practice or work out so we can be closer to God's standard which is holy?  We cannot become holy on our own, but God gives us the Holy Spirit to help us and to give us the power we need to become holy.

We will never get better at something until we realize we have a problem and we become conscious of it.  After you become conscious of it, you choose to either change or keep doing it.  Changing can be difficult at first, it may even be uncomfortable and it maybe something we really do NOT want to do.  It is our choice how we handle it.  What things about myself does God want me to change or do differently?  The first thing He did was to show me some areas He wants me to be mindful of in my life and how I act or react.

Below is a list of the things that I believe God has laid on my heart that He wants me to be cognizant of and to work on so I can work toward the goal of being holy.

1. I will not allow negative thoughts to enter my mind or come out of my lips.
2. I will remember to praise Him even in my most troubled times or situations. 
3. I will stand up for Jesus even when it is not comfortable for me.
4. I will look for opportunities to serve others in my community.
5. I will stop dwelling on my problems. 
6. I will work on fixing me and no one else.  (This included spouses.)
7. I will humble myself and check my motives.
8. I will love and pray for the people that I do not like, frustrated or ticked off with.
9. I will do my best to build up my spouse and not tear him down.
10. I will not judge other people.  I will look at them from God's perspective.
11. I will do my very best to become Holy everyday and draw closer to God.
12. I will thank him specifically for the many blessings He gives me every day.

Pray about what God wants you to be aware of in your life?  What does he want you to work on so you can work toward the goal of being holy?  Now here comes the hard part.  Once you have these things and you start to become aware of your short falls, it's up to you to make an important decision.  Do you want to take the step of handling it the way God wants you to handle it, or do you want to stay exactly where you are.  The sad part is if you choose to keep doing the same thing you are not staying the same but moving further from God.  We cannot play the ignorant card if we are aware of our mistake and still choose to do wrong.  When we do that we are moving away from God, not just staying the same.  In other words, we are either moving toward God or away from God with every decision we make; there is NO standing still. 

Once you have this list from God and if you have trouble figuring it out, ask a close friend and ask them to be honest with you and I am sure they will help you get it started.  Try to list approximately, but no more than ten (10) to twelve (12)  things that God wants you to be.  If I tried to list everything I need to work on, I would never finish with the list.  Write your list down in big bold lettering.  Post it somewhere you can see and read every day.  Maybe even post it several places, like your bathroom mirror, your computer screen, etc.  Every time you see that list take just a couple of minutes and ask God to help you recognize each of those issues in your life, for His help to give you the courage and strength to make the right choice and grow closer to Him.

If we pray for the Holy Sprit's help and we have faith, we will make these right choices, we can help ourselves accomplish these goals.  It is also a reminder of working on ourselves every day.  We should continually pray on these things so the Lord can help us, for we cannot do these things on our own.  Really take the time and pray about each item on your list.  Find the Bible verses that apply to each one. There could be several verses that apply.  If you do not have tools to help you find them, the internet and Google is wonderful and can help you.  Write down how you should react when the specific situation comes up, and how you will make that right choice.  If you are not prepared to make that right choice when the situation comes up, you will only have a split second to make the choice.  If you are prepared, it will be a lot easier to make the right choice and know how you can handle it.  This may sound like a lot of work.  Well, it is!  I could definitely see this taking me several hours to complete.  But it does not have to happen all at one time.  It's your choice. This is a great way to study on your own, God's word!

Next let's share our lists and our research with each other and let's hold each other accountable.  At least find one person in our group that you will reach out to for help.  We need each other.

Let's do something every day to bring us closer to our vision, closer to being holy, closer to God.  It is sin that separates us from Him, and as we work on ourselves we draw closer to Him because we need His help.  But also with His help we drawer closer to Him because we are trying to eliminate the sin in our lives.

It's not about what we want; it's about what God wants us to be.

So now, I am asking you . . . who is in with me?  Some of you since September have become very vigilant with your time reading our email devotions every day.  That is totally awesome!  Now it's time to move to the next level.  Are you ready?  Some of you are thinking, "I'm too busy, does she not realize it is the holiday season, and I have to cook, and clean, shop, put up decorations and work for a living?"  I really do believe that God has laid this message on my heart and He wanted me to share with you.  If He wants you to do this and draw closer to Him don't you think He will make a way for you to get it done?  It's about choices and priorities.  Do you have a time waster (i.e. TV, Facebook) in your life you could get rid of to make the time?  Could you get up thirty minutes earlier every day?  Could you do it while you are eating lunch?  It's your choice, your decision.

Let's plan a time for those of you that want to do this to share with the group.  How about sometime between Christmas and New Years?  Let me know if you are ready to jump in and move closer to God.

Take It to the Next Level

Our journey through 2012 is almost over.  We can all look back and see where we were and where we are now.  We can evaluate if we made progress or did we take a step back instead.  There may be some of us that perhaps did not move at all.  The good news is whether you are 2° or 102° off course, it's not too late to change your direction. 

I believe our class has grown spiritually this year but also we have come together, built relationships, encouraged one another and enjoyed each other fellowship.  I know some of us have developed the habit of spending time with God each day and we have now completed more than 100 email lessons.  With the start of the new year thou, it's time to take it to the next level.  We must do more than just read God's Word and spend just a few minutes with Him each day.  If this is all we are doing each day, really in my opinion we are doing the bare minimum.  Should we give God, the Lord of this creation our bare minimum?  In order for us to build our relationship with God stronger and also to make ourselves ready for any assignment God has for us, we must do more than the bare minimum.  We must prepare ourselves for what God has in store for us.  It is similar to any other occupation, we must prepare and train.  Also in this preparation it will allow us to grow stronger in Christ to face whatever life has to offer us, whether good or bad.

You will start seeing in our email lessons where I ask you to read a certain passage of scripture.  I encourage you to take the time and look it up.  Think about how that passage relates to our lessons.  You will see more "homework" assignments.  I have found by researching and studying our lessons I get so much more out it.   What I am asking is for each of us to do more than "read" the lesson, but to study it, to ponder it, to pray about it and then determine how you can apply it to our lives.  Let's share our thoughts with each other so we can be an encouragement to each other.

Some of you may be saying, I do not know how to study the Bible.  First let me tell you, "don't over complicate it".  Sometimes it is about reading the same verse in different versions of the Bible several times.  If you do not have different version Bibles, no problem.  Go online, there are lots and lots of FREE Bibles online.  A tool that Amy shared with me is a software application that you can download for FREE called e-Sword.  It will give you different versions of the Bible, Commentaries, Maps, Dictionaries as part of their program.  If you want to get really serious about different ways to study, Rick Warren wrote a book called Personal Bible Study Methods - 12 Ways to Study the Bible on Your Own or How to Study the Bible for Yourself by Tim LaHaye that I found very useful.

The theme that God is still laying on my heart is from 1 Peter 1:15-16

1 Peter 1:15-16

But as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.

If we are to be holy as God is holy, we need to know God better which means we need to study His Word with diligence. 

Ephesians 1:4

For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight.

1 Thessalonians 4:7 (GNB)

 God did not call us to live in immorality, but in holiness.

Leviticus11:45

For I am Yahweh, who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, so you must be holy because I am holy.

Holy life starts as we detach ourselves from the source of sin. Then we shall become the children of God and holiness shall become a way of life.   What is holiness for us? It is that we live in obedience to God. To become holy is to obey him.  It is to emulate His life.  A reflection of Him in us.

We need to know what it means to be holy! Being Holy is an attitude of the heart.  It means you must desire and make a determined effort to do what the Lord wants.  You must make up your mind that you are going to do what the Lord wants, not what YOU want.  We have to make the decision to once and for all live for the Lord!  Sometimes we think we have made that decision but if you are still living for self, then you are deceiving yourself.

Why are people trained in advance to deal with emergencies? We are told to have a plan in the event we have a fire in our homes.  We have emergency numbers by our phones so we can call for help quickly.  We practice fire drills in schools and in our homes to prepare just in case a fire was to break out we would know what to do.  This training and preparation will help to know exactly what to do in the moment of danger.

As Christians we are also to be prepared. We face danger every day, are we prepared to know exactly what to do?  The danger may not be a fire as we may traditional think, it could be the danger of controlling our tongue or our temper.  First, we have to recognize our sin.  We are a blaming society.  It seems like it is someone else's fault for everything including our lives, our children, our marriages or other relationships.  We are so quick to see other people's sins and short comings but we are blind to our own.  We will not get better until we realize WE are the problem.  Let's stop trying to fix everyone else and focus on fixing ourselves and our relationship with God.  Then we must trust God to work out everything else.  Do you really mean business with the Lord?  Make up your mind to be holy!

Present your bodies (our life) as a living sacrifice that is holy and acceptable to God.  A sacrifice is an offering, it is something given in an act of worship and dedication to God. It is something that we do, an act of worship and thanksgiving on our part to God. We give up control of our lives, putting ourselves in the hands of God to be used as He desires.  I know with most of us being "control freaks" it is hard to do, but God has given us the power to let go, IF we let Him.

Some of us have been going to church for a very long time,  and know many of the things we need to be doing.  But knowing the principles of the Bible does not automatically make us holy or righteous. If we do not apply them to our life it is simply a mental exercise.  It is critical that we as believers mature and grow spiritually.  When we do, our lives will be changed. We need to move beyond baby Christians and grow spiritually. Some of us are still baby Christians even thou we have been Christians for years.  We have not grown because we refuse to do what God wants us to do.  Maybe we are holding on to anger, bitterness, unforgiveness,  or learning how to control our tongues.  We may wonder why God does not bless us or answer our prayers the way we want Him to. Could it be that He is waiting on us to grow as a Christian and follow Him wholeheartedly before blessing us or answering our prayers?

Being Spiritually mature is not a matter of how much one knows.  What matters is what you do with what you know! It is a matter of willing myself to do as God wants. It is a matter of commitment. It is a matter of dedication. It is a matter of faith!  A matter of trusting God for letting Him direct my life. It is doing what He says obediently.  Want to do right, then just do it. If you are a child of God, you have the ability; that was God's gift when we were saved.  It's all about choices.  What do you choose?

Do you ever wonder why we struggle with problems in our lives.  Why we feel defeated and feel like failures. It is because most of us are spiritual anemic. We are too weak to overcome even the smallest trials that come our way in life.  The goal of our life should be to bring glory to God.    When we obey, He is glorified.  When our lives are shaped by doing right He is glorified.

Joshua 1:8

This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to recite it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it.  For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.

One of my favorite songs is Where I Belong by Building 429.  One of the verses goes like this:

When the Earth shakes, I wanna be found in You,

When the Lights fade, I wanna be found in You.

Where do you want the Lord to find you?  Are you holding on to anger, bitterness . . . unforgiveness . . do you spend more time tearing someone down than building that person up?  Do you spend more time with your hobbies, Facebook and other activities than you do with the God of the Universe?   Every time you have a conversation it is all about you and how someone has wronged you?  Are you taking control of your thoughts before they come out of your mouth.  Are you so focused on your problems, you see no one else's?  Is your only prayer for God is to fix someone else?  If you are, you are being nothing but selfish.  I am not pointing fingers for I am one of the most selfish people around.  God pointed that out to me recently.

Let it go and let God work in your life.  Make that choice to focus on strengthening your relationship with God.  When you are so in tuned (strong relationship) with God, your other relationships will fall into place.  It's about choices.  Are you happy and content?  If not, stop complaining about it and give it to God.  Only He can fix the problem anyway.  Take that energy used for complaining and use it to talk to God and then studding His Word and see what His reply is.

I am burdened for each of you; please know you are so often in my thoughts and prayers.  Each one of us needs to grow closer to God this year.  One of the things I having started is reading more of my Bible each day.  I have a Bible that is organized so you can read the Bible in 90 days. I have had this Bible for years and never used it until now.  To read the Bible in 90 days, I have to read 12 pages a day, which is approximately 45 minutes.  After reading the preface of the book, I found out they had a web page and on the web page you can also listen to the Bible.  The web page encouraged readers to listen to the Bible as you read it.  I tried it and it is totally awesome.  For one thing, they can pronounce all the words correctly.  It has been great and I am really enjoying it. 

USA Today Poll Results: Only 11%,” of Americans read the Bible every day. More than half read it less than once a month or never at all. 18% of born-again Christians read their Bibles once a day, while 23% who professed to be Christians said they never read their bibles at all. In which statistical grouping do you find yourself? Are you satisfied being there? If you’re not, today would be a great time to change your status.  It would take approximately eighty (80) hours to read the Bible from cover to cover.  Eighty hours?  Compare that to the number of hours you watch TV or on your computer.  Which is more important? 

I am also doing more research and study of our lessons.  I want to make sure I receive the message that God has for me in each of His lessons.  I also feel like I need to communicate some of the things that God is laying on my heart with you (hope you don't mind).  What is God telling you to do?  It's time to take it to the next level!