Change is God’s Job

I do not have the power to change everything i want to
change about myself. Only God can do that. Transformation is God’s
job. My job is to make room for Him to work and receive
it.

DVD Player

For the past few years, I’ve been in the practice of reading a chapter of Proverbs each day.  Honestly, it started out as a prideful desire to possess an uncanny amount of wisdom.  I don’t know if it worked or not, but I DO know that you can’t read the Bible for very long and remain a prideful person.

So, today, chapter 15.  What stood out to me were the number of verses that talk about the mouth and the heart in conjunction.  I think the structure of these proverbs reveals something interesting about the connection between mouth and heart.  For example:

“The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.” (v. 28, NKJV)

Here, the righteous and the wicked are being contrasted.  In order to contrast two things in a meaningful way, the object of contrast needs to be the same for both things.  In other words, if I’m going to contrast football players and soccer (fútbol ha) players, it would make sense to contrast their stamina. It would not make sense to contrast the number of tackles.  Sooooo…if we are going to talk about the heart of the righteous, it would make sense to also talk about the heart of the wicked. Instead, the proverb talks about the mouth of the wicked.  The heart and the mouth. What’s the connection?

“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” (Matthew 15:18-19, NKJV)

The mouth reveals the heart!  The heart is like a DVD player and the mouth is like a television screen, broadcasting all that is going on in inside the heart. Sure, your mouth and your heart are not the same thing.  But what you are and what you say are virtually the same.  They are so connected, that they can effectively be used as like objects when contrasting the righteous and the wicked.

The heart and the mouth. Connected.

Score One More!

Once again, God has come through!  He has shown himself SO faithful in the areas of school and work in my life.  Grace and favor are abounding, and I’m humbled and grateful.  I don’t deserve the job I have or the blessings that come with it.  But God is a gracious, generous, trustworthy God.  My heart is encouraged by this further evidence of His character.

Oh that I would perceive His workings in ALL areas of my life!

What Does Transformation Require?

I have tried to change….

How much of transformation is my responsibility?  My striving. My effort. My self-help. My will. My determination.

How much of transformation is God’s responsibility?  Holy Spirit. Sanctification. Deliverance. Healing. Imputation. Impartation. Faith. Patience. Endurance.

Holiness is Hard

Really, it is.

Who Shows Up?

“When they had crossed over, the landed at Gennesaret.  And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country.  People brought all their sick to him…” (Matthew 14:34-35)

Who shows up in your life?  Fabulous people?  Sometimes we are fortunate enough to be surrounded by wonderful, great, fabulous people.  And thank God for that. But is that all?  See, if we are like Jesus, I think we’ll find lots of people of a different sort showing up in our lives.  Sick people.  People with physical ailments.  Despairing, rejected, dejected, outcasted, “abnormal”, unclean people.  So, look around.  If you don’t see these people, maybe it’s because they don’t see Jesus in you.

Honoring The Real Good Guys

So I’m watching this show on MTV (yes, shame on me) called “T.I.’s Road to Redemption”.  Basically, the premise of the show is that this rapper (T.I.) who got in trouble with the law sets out on a personal mission to change the lives of young people who are on the wrong path and bound to face his same consequences or worse.  And somehow this makes T.I. a hero?  I mean, I guess I’m glad he’s doing what he’s doing.  And I sincerely hope that the young people on his show are deeply impacted and change for the better.

But what about all the men who never get in trouble with the law and who are daily impacting people’s lives?  What about the guys that never join a gang?  What about the guys that raise their kids and stay out the streets?  What about the guys that don’t wait til they screw up themselves before they start helping people?  When do they get a TV show?   When do they become stars?