Monday, April 27, 2015

Follow Me

Luke 9:23-24 NLT
Then he said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it."

Imagine being a young boy and wanting to be a baseball player when you grew up. This was not unusual for boys in my time. And it was not about money because ball players did not get paid a lot of money back then. Today most desires seems to be centered on making lots of money instead of on the actual vocation.

Back to the baseball dream. To become a player good enough to make the big leagues there were some things that would have to happen. First came the decision to put everything aside and work toward the goal. Then you had to do it. You had to play baseball every opportunity you got and more. You read about the game and followed the teams. You practiced and then practiced more. 

School work and chores still got done because that was part of life, but the game was always on your mind. You no longer hung around with those friend with no interest in baseball. All your friends now talked all the time about the game. The game was your passion.

How similar our walk with Jesus. Saying yes to becoming a follower is not just a simple decision like do you want a piece of cake or a donut. If that is all you did then you are not in the game.

When we become born again everything changes, but not right away. He comes to dwell in us. Our spirit man becomes one with Jesus. Our soul man is still unrenewed, still very worldly. With Holy Spirit's help and our desires to be more and more like Jesus we are transformed into the image and likeness of Christ. And it takes our lifetime to get there.

It is our dying to self, our unrenewed self that we grow. The more we try to hang on to those old ways, those old friends, those old habits, those old TV shows, those old movies, those old things that are of no help to us in our transformation, the longer it takes for our mind to be renewed.

Monday, April 20, 2015

Becoming a Better Golfer

When I was a teenager and knew everything I played golf with a good friend. We would head down to Goddard Park in RI and play 18 holes. It was inexpensive to play a round back then; just a couple bucks each. We had fun and were literally teaching ourselves to play. We did pretty good for guys with no formal training.

Had golf become a passion, I would have had to seek professional training. I would have needed to learn the correct way to stand and how to address the ball. I would have needed to purchase better clubs and understand which to use when. My game was pretty much played with two woods, a nine iron, and a putter!

Once I learned what was right, I would have to remind myself all the time to practice it. It would be easy to fall back into wrong habits. And I would have to stay away from others who still played like I used to or it would be too easy to slip back into the old ways.

After a period of time and great improvement in my game, I would be able to play without thinking about right or wrong. The correct moves would come "naturally". At this mature place in my golf walk I would even be able to play with a few duffers and not lose my edge. As a matter of fact, they would learn new methods just by hanging around with me.

Doesn't this sound like our walk with Jesus? When I was younger and asked if I believed in God, the answer was "of course I do." I had been going to church since I was born and knew that Jesus was always with me. My God walk was all set. I went to church on Sundays and participated in the church in many ways. I gave in the offering and was a "good" person. I was doing my part.

John 14:26 NLT
But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

Then our life was turned upside down. My wife, Dianne had been very sick suffering for years with an incurable disease called Crohn's. Her testimony is another story, but the end result was that she was miraculously healed and we each asked Jesus into our heart to become our Lord and Savior. Now we had the professional for training to become more like Him.

The Holy Spirit came to live in me and what a change that made in my life life. I now had someone to show me God's plan and His ways for my life. But I liked what I was doing and did not see anything wrong with most of those bad habits I had developed over the years. And the people I knew were the same.

I was trying to improve my game, but trying to apply the old rules and continuing to play with the duffers. The Holy Spirit was encouraging me to change relationships and break old habits. The more I listened to Him, the closer I became to Him and with others on the same God walk.

The more I walk with Jesus allowing the Holy Spirit to point out the direction in my life the more I find my thinking and my reactions changing to be more Christ like. I no longer have to make myself do the right thing all the time. I have changed because of my relationship with the professional instead of with the duffers.

Now I am not perfect by any means. But I am open to the Holy Spirit's direction ever changing my character to become Christ like. And when I spend time with the duffers in life, their habits do not tempt me back into that old life. Actually, my changes seem to have a positive effect on them!

If you want to learn to play the game well you need to line up with the professional. There is only one professional in the game of eternal life and that is Jesus. Accept Him as your Lord and Savior and He will send the Holy Spirit to be your guide and comforter, too.

Copycat

Romans 12:2 NLT
Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

I remember those early copy machines, the ones that came out on what looked like burned yellow paper. We had one at the bank where I worked as a teller. Then the Xerox machine came. And soon nobody said make a copy anymore. Instead they said Xerox it. It became a household word much like Google is today for finding stuff on the Internet.

We grow up in this fast paced world learning to copy those who have gone before us; to be copycats. Few are taught how to think for themselves but learn the behavior and customs of society as blueprints for the right way to live. They grew up hearing if it was good enough for your grandparents it is good enough for you. A new generation copying from a previous generation and on and on. Copycats.

When we become born again we get to start over. We become a new person in Christ Jesus. As we allow Holy Spirit in us to work in and through us we begin to change from the inside out. He changes the way we think transforming our mind into the mind of Christ.

It is time for us to stop being copycats of the world. Time to stop trying to copy others. Time to become who God made us to be before the universe was created.

Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ is with us to teach us all things, all things good, pleasing, and perfect. I pray daily for the renewing of my mind. Take away all that is old, Lord. I give it all to you. Take away the thoughts and actions of that old man, that person I used to be. Make my nature be like your nature. Give me the mind of Christ. Thank you, Jesus.

Monday, April 13, 2015

Christ in Me

Galatians 2:20 NLT
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Wow. Christ lives in each and every believer. That is so powerful and yet not really grasped by most of us. The creator of the universe, all that is, lives inside us. He is in us!

If we really had a grasp on that reality, would we be watching the kind of movies we watch? Would we be telling the jokes we tell? Would we be ingesting the foods and drink we find ourselves attracted to? Would we be the worldly person we seem to be most of the time?

I remember how my character seemed to change when I was young and would be around my grandparents and older aunts. I was that wonderful little boy they knew. Even when I was a teenager! Not that I was into anything real bad, but I did test out swearing and talking back at adults and a few other things.

That old man grew from boyhood into an adult and picked up more bad habits from those he hung around with in the early days. Then I became a believer and a follower of Jesus Christ. Oh what a change that made.

I did not have an earth shattering conversion like we hear from many. I just accepted Jesus into my heart and asked him to save me. He did and He sent Holy Spirit to confirm my conversion. The spirit of Christ was now living in me and my life began to change.

What I thought was fun and exciting shifted from those worldly things to do into godly things to do. And I was not forcing it upon myself with self discipline. The Lord was in it all the way. It did not happen suddenly. It has taken many years and He is still doing a work in me.

I thank Him everyday for what He has done in me and through me. As we allow Holy Spirit to show us the way daily, we grow a little more each day, and we become more and more Christ like, Thank you, Jesus.

Monday, April 06, 2015

Not Magic

Matthew 4:23 NLT
Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.

It is one thing to receive prayer for healing, but it is not magic. It requires us to do something too. When I hear from someone who I prayed for last week and they come and say that it didn't work I know they looked at it like a switch. For them I flipped it on and it switched off when they did not mix it with belief and perseverance. They doubted.

When Jesus heals, He heals not just for the moment. You are healed. The enemy is very quick to attempt to sneak back in and reverse it by giving us thoughts of doubt, by causing that pain or symptom to come back for a moment. As soon as we allow the enemy to stay, he takes over.

Why do we let the enemy come back in so easily? Why do we doubt? The healing has not gone away and yet we allow the enemy to come in and steal it from us. And he is a thief. He has no legal right to come into our house and take or leave anything. But we let him.

It is time we stood our ground. Time we kicked him out of our house. It is time we put our internal security system on and when the intrusion alarm goes off it is time to send the enemy packing.