Choosing Positive Change

Every person at some point in life’s journey needs to be liberated. That’s why Jesus came into the world. Gloria Steinem, a prominent leader of the women’s liberation movement, decided to get married after years of struggle and isolation. It’s interesting how concepts about bondage and liberation change with the passage of time.

    

Courage in the face of obvious change helps diminish outdated opinions and paradigms while opening gateways to freedom and a new life. Lack of courage is essentially linked to insecurity, embarrassment and shame. Courage, however, is a bridge to liberation, a more fulfilled life and open doors for new beginnings.

Liberation may come in the form of renouncing a lifestyle that predisposes you to bondage. Jesus said, “Man cannot serve God and money,” and “You must be in the world but not of the world.” Liberation comes by activating courage to commit your life to what you know to be God’s way for you. It’s the bridge to inner peace.  

Challenges that Come with Change - Part 1

Political campaigns are a mixture of flattery and condemnation. Adlai Stevenson said, “I suppose flattery hurts no one, that is, if he or she does not inhale.” Some confessed, “I smoked dope, but I did not inhale.” Every-  one acknowledged they changed to avoid condemnation. People do change and give up old habits by God’s transforming grace.

Reinhold Niebuhr realized change was necessary, so he composed the Serenity Prayer in 1934. Listen for a moment: “God, give us grace to accept with serenity what cannot be changed, courage to change what can be changed, and wisdom to know the difference.” Serenity means composure and contentment.

Our past follows us into the future, but by God’s grace and mercy it surrenders the grasping choke-hold that enslaves us. God equips us with courage to step up to the challenge of change, to take hold of the newness of life that comes by faith in Christ Jesus. He is the giver of wisdom and permanent change to all who seek it.  

Conscience, Courage and Confidence - Part 2

Choice and change are essential to each person’s sense of freedom. Even in dismal situations where freedom is limited, choice and change still can be activated. Choice by its very nature indicates that options are available, along with the power to set in motion changes that have lifetime benefits.

One of the benefits of making significant choices is the opportunity to consider available options. When God said, “Let us make man in our image,” this attribute for choosing was part of the design. Have you ever wondered why God created mankind with this incredible ability to make choices and then take definitive actions to assure change takes place?

Each time a choice is initiated, change is automatically activated. Choosing to be available to God’s transforming work sets in motion changes that endures for life, for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is power to be transformed into his likeness. It is my hope that this will be your choice.  

At a Crossroads? Get Out of the Rut and Reach Higher - Part 1

Getting into a rut is relatively easy. All it takes is following a pattern of behavior for months or years. Dedicated to his practice, a young attorney paid his dues working long hours and weekends. Long, stressful days created fatigue and irritability, so when he arrived home, he was unable to provide the affection and acceptance his family longed to receive from him.

He progressively became alienated from his family, totally missing out on the blessings of being a husband and father. After years of alienation he came to a significant crossroads. As an older man, he was forced to choose between being a workaholic and being submissive to what God intended a husband and father to give and receive.

While his marriage may be irreconcilable, there is hope for being friends with the woman who once loved him. Reaching out to his children, he hopes to achieve some semblance of reconciliation. God's word reminds us that what seems impossible can be possible with God. Asking, seeking and knocking, while grasping on to patience, can be a winning formula.  

Shaping Life Scripts at the Crossroads - Part 3

Confronting oneself at a critical crossroads can be a life-changing experience. Consider the young man who had every opportunity to excel, but started doing drugs in high school. His intelligence permitted him to squeeze the system enough to look good and sound good, fooling everyone including him-self. At thirty he was a financial wreck, and his marriage was so shaky it could end any day.                       

Then a friend invited him to attend a church that was different from the one where he had been confirmed as a child. At this new church he encountered another crossroads. He had to look at his life that was gutter-bound. He knew he had to completely change the disastrous life script he lived by.

The sermons he heard at this church gave him hope, but it was the love and encouragement of the congregation that gave him courage to choose Christ Jesus plus a life script that would save his life and marriage. Joshua said it best. "Choose this day whom you will serve. As for me, I will serve the Lord God." There is no better choice. 

Facing the Giants of Life - Part 1

Opportunities will invariably include some obstructions. Obstructions are deterrents that can obscure success. The Hebrew people chose wandering the desert forty years rather than facing giants that possessed the land God had promised to give them. Fear prevented them from following God’s guidelines that would insure their success.

Refusing to take advantage of the opportunities God makes available demonstrates lack of courage to step out in faith and be accountable. Numbers 14 gives evidence of this process in action. Listen to the voice of protest and blame. "If only we had died in Egypt or in this desert. Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?"

They cried out against exaggerated obstructions while rejecting God’s promise of victory. God's promises always embrace possibilities for victory. He does require that you be submissive to his directives and, with the faith he provides, confront the real or imagined giants. He will empower you with his strength, so victory is assured.

Turning Points for New Beginnings - Part 3

My dad sometimes reminisced over opportunities he had let slip away. He wasn't much of a risk-taker, but in a real crunch he would muster up the courage to do what was necessary. When he needed a good job to support his family, his brother who worked at an aircraft plant told him about an available job. All he had to do was apply and the job was his.

Taking this job was a turning point for him. Turning points are those moments in time when change and decision-making are required but may be accompanied by anxiety or fear. However, these feelings can be thought of as part of significant decisions and required changes. Facing down these feelings is possible by believing God is always at work for your good.

Insight helps you see possibilities for starting over or changing directions. What gives power to insight is trust and faith in God's unfailing love for you. His desire is to help you through the turning points of life. Yes, God put his claim on your life but will never take possession without your permission.  

Resilience: Character Strength for Survival - Part 1

When reading biographies of Christian martyrs, it's impossible not to be amazed by their character strength to endure hardship and pain. They refused to give in to pressures and temptations and abandon their commitment to Christ and his church. Their faith paralleled St. Paul's, who was willing to face death rather than default on his faith in Christ. "I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day."

President John F. Kennedy acknowledged this strength of character. "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." Defectors and traitors usually are despised because they portray a weakness of character like Judas, who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

Resilience is a character strength that enables each of us to overcome adversity and hardships we're bound to face. Pain is inescapable, but St. Paul declared that he rejoiced in suffering because he knew that suffering produced perseverance, another good synonym for resilience. Standing up to adversity strengthens your faith in Christ Jesus. 

Rising Up, Finding Hope - Part 2

Everyday life presents challenges that demand reevaluation of past choices. Intense conflict or crisis requires determination to set in place a desirable outcome. Reframing necessitates being open to alternative behaviors and opinions in order for conflict to be managed successfully.

The prodigal son lost his way but made a decision that changed his life. Reframing meant visualizing an alternative to the abject poverty of his body and soul. Reframing gave him courage to rise up from shame and failure and find his way home. He found hope for his life in spite of the hardships he brought on himself.

Isn't it just like God to extend his grace and mercy to us, to supply answers to hard questions, and help us find our way back home? God gives us the will to face reality regardless of how that reality is defined. He gives insight for making choices that will change the downward spiral that your life is taking. Ask him to help you do this today.

Crisis and Reality - Part 2

In the parable of the prodigal son Jesus relates how a young man, his older brother, and a father came face to face with reality. The younger son demanded that his father immediately give him his inheritance. Days later this young man sold his inheritance, packed his stuff, and left home. What do you think the father felt as his son walked out the door?

If your children have left home or are ready to do so, maybe you can identify somewhat with the ambivalence this parent felt experiencing his son's leaving home to find his way in the world. Leaving home takes determination, courage, and dreams. It's not whether you leave home, but what attitude motivates you to do so.

In this parable the young man left home with false assumptions that evolved into a life-threatening crisis. Someone said, "We cling dogmatically to our assumptions as long as possible." We often experience pain and suffering by acting on false assumptions. Yet God in his mercy helps us correct the plunge into crisis and return to the loving Father's love and forgiveness.

Facing Tough Realities: Pressing On - Part 3

Some people are sadly lacking in the desire to deal constructively with reality even when confronted with undeniable facts. Dealing constructively with reality often requires letting go of what is unattainable. This also applies to being rejected. Feelings of rejection can be difficult to manage in healthy ways.

Jesus wept over the people of Jerusalem when they refused to accept him. The people he would die for saw him as undesirable. Grieving is a choice and is God's way for managing rejection. Where does the ability and desire to grieve come from when we are forced to deal constructively with the harsh realities of life?

Using Jesus as our model for managing the reality of rejection, we find that he never lost sight of who he was or of his purpose. He was willing to see other choices for his immediate situation. It's important to have long-term goals for making healthy choices when change is required. Ask Christ Jesus to give you courage to press on toward what you know to be God's purpose for you.  

Facing Evil: Choosing Survival - Part 2

Evil does not occur by happenstance. Evil is a deliberate power force  whose mission is to possess and destroy anyone who submits to its enticements. Anton Chekhov wrote in 1887 that "evil passions are as inherent in life as are good ones." Those who close their eyes and ears to evil do not distract from its penetration or its grasp on people.

The Irish politician Edmund Burke wrote, "It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph." Surviving and defeating evil takes courage, courage to put on the armor of God to stand up against the Devil's evil tricks. The shield of faith which God provides for you deflects Satan's evil darts that he hurls your way.

The shield of faith proves that God stands with you against Satan, which is affirmed by 1 John 4:4: "Greater is he who is in you, than he who is in the world." The shield of faith enables you to reject evil thoughts and impulses by petitioning Christ Jesus to intervene on your behalf. This choice saves you from hurt and suffering. God bless you as you face this challenge. 

Battling Evil Assaults: Allied with God - Part 3

It may seem that God turns his back on evil. A governor once said video poker had stolen the soul of many people in his state. He spoke of a mother who left a newborn infant in her car for ten hours to play this game. The infant died from dehydration and heat. Evil is any addiction that captures your thoughts, heart, soul, and mind.

No one is beyond the influence of evil. Have you this day been tempted by evil or engaged in evil behavior or thoughts? Jesus reminds you in Matthew 6:13 to be constantly on the alert less you be led into temptation and into the hands of Satan. He specifically tells us to pray and ask God  "not to lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

Surviving the onslaught of evil requires letting God do his work in you by filling you with his power and courage. Ephesians 6:14 directs you to constantly keep on the breastplate of righteousness to prevent the fiery darts of Satan from penetrating your life. The nudging of the Holy Spirit enables you to keep making this choice.  

Battling Evil Assaults: Allied with God - Part 1

While the accumulation of seemingly trivial instances of evil will threaten our integrity, we're often encouraged to overlook little offenses and treat them as insignificant. No offense of evil is insignificant, for these offenses chip away at our integrity by corroding our conscience. A corroded conscience proceeds to become disconnected from God, and from those who love us.

Romans 12:21 commands us to "not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." These words warn us we're vulnerable to evil's influence and power. Evil's strategy may not be a frontal attack, but rather a subtle infiltration of the conscience. Shading the truth with half-truths or white lies may seem harmless but will damage your integrity.

Overcoming evil with good in order to survive spiritually necessitates choosing Christ Jesus to be a part of your entire life. When tempted by evil, no matter how seemingly trivial, ask Jesus to empower you with the courage to do what is good and pleasing in God's sight. With his guidance and assistance you will succeed. 

Surviving a Personal Crisis with God's Help - Part 1

Can you imagine life without electricity, indoor plumbing, and the automobile? How would you survive? It's impossible even to consider how radically your life would change. Personal crises can be so disruptive that your very survival appears questionable. Seldom does anyone get to cruise through life without having their world personally turned upside down.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the thirty-second President of the United States, had to struggle for survival when he was struck down by polio. Following this attack which left him paralyzed in both legs, he spend months in despair and depression. Food, clothing, and shelter were never an issue, but survival reaches beyond these basics needs.

God permits us to experience personal crises so we can realize his plans and purpose for us. Change and growth inspired by personal crises open our hearts to God's unconditional love. Experiencing his love gives us courage to make needed changes. God never permits you to be tested beyond your ability to survive, but gives you strength to endure any crisis.