One day to the next can make a big difference. Basically any event in history has been different the day before. Someone was still alive or buildings were still standing the day before.
Last year was 2011 and you were a "certain way." As we are into 2012, this is your year to do something different. You can be a different way. You can go from 211-degrees to 212-degrees and allow bubbles to produce due to being at the boiling point. This will produce power and power can accomplish amazing things.
Sunday, we looked at the first couple of chapters of Joel. In those chapters is a descriptions of the coming of locusts. With that said, there is a difference in one day to the next. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...
- One Week Before ~ Start praying that God will bring about a change in your perspective of how you can be used.
- One Day Before ~ As you've been praying for the change, look forward to the change that God will bring about. It may be something tangible, or it may simply be a new outlook on being used by God.
- Day 1 and Beyond ~ This is the time. This is the start of something special. This is when you will have a change in perspective. This is when God will start to use you in ways that are unlike the day before. Why is this possible, this is because you have a different outlook. As long as that remains, you will see fun things come to your life.
I love being surprised by God. I love being able to use my talents to His glory. I love the "interruptions" in life that bring about a noticeable Spirit-moving through people. The kind of interruptions that bring people my way waiting for me to share my faith with them.
How is God using you? How has He used you this month? Have you noticed anything different about this year? I already have, I hope you have too.
Now it's your turn, what obstacles prevent you from going all in to seeing God's working in your life?
Being different for some people is easy. Easy may not equal positive. Maybe you are not in the "in crowd" and that causes you to be different. Maybe you would be considered a member of the "in crowd" and that is what makes you different. For whatever reason that you are different, you are exactly that, different.
Technically speaking, we are all different. Something about us makes us different than others.
I hope we can learn to be different because of something positive. Spiritually speaking, I hope you can be different by being "yourself" but the yourself is still real with people and able to show them that you are "living with grace."
Sunday we talked about that last phrase. Some may have health issues and must learn to live with it, despite the lifestyle changes. As we learn to live with grace, there are going to be some lifestyle changes we must make. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...
- Take of the Offer ~ Grace is offered to you. Grace that comes through Jesus. Are you willing to take of the offer? If not, why not? Don't need it? Don't deserve it? If that isn't your reason and you do take of the offer, are you willing to make the extra degree lifestyle change to be the hands and feet of Jesus on this earth.
- Reject It ~ Once we take of the offer (above) our old life will have a tendency to want to creep back in. Our body was made a certain way and we like the way it has been made. To be given a new organ, our body will have a tendency to reject it. In the way of a transplant, we will have to take anti-rejection drugs; with a spiritual transplant, we will do the same. In this case, we were comfortable with ungodliness and worldly passions. To rid ourselves of those and replace it with a transplanted life, our spiritual life will reject the new life. May we take the continual dosage of grace to show what our new life entails.
- Live Now ~ Sometimes a deadline simply means that one can put things off until they reach that critical point in which they cannot wait any longer. That behavior is usually defined as procrastination. I think there are a lot of Christians who are figuratively procrastinating to use their gifts/talents until a day they are "ready" or think they are ready. The peculiar thing is that we are created ready. We all have our talents and we must use those talents to share our faith with them. The time is now to use our gifts and to share the joy that we have through the grace that's been handed to us through the Son...live now!
Changes to one's lifestyle after having to live with a condition are generally not easy. So to change our lifestyle as we live with grace may not be that easy for you. But to cause yourself to live longer, we must make those changes. Speaking from the spiritual point of view, to "live longer" we must also make some lifestyle changes. "Just say 'No'" is for more than drugs and alcohol. It also applies how we live with grace and let the previous life know it is not going to rule over us.
Have you ever been to the eye doctor for an exam? As the doctor is trying to figure out what prescription of lenses are best he will use this contraption with lots of lens types in it. You will go through a series of combinations. During that part of the examination he will ask questions like "1 or 2? 2 or 3? A or B? B or C?" Some combinations will be noticeably different where others will not be that different at all. (on a personal note, I love having the eye exams).
So, it is "A vs. B" or "1 vs. 2"...which one are you going to choose? In lenses it will be the one that you can see better. But which menu item are you going to choose when so many choices look good? Or which choice are you going to choose when it comes to moral versus immoral? Fun versus disciplined? Integrity versus compromise?
There can be some tough choices in life when the concept of "versus" is presented. That concept is what we focused on during our lesson on Sunday. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...
- Say "No" ~ Sometimes people can just expect so much out of you that you don't have time anymore for the important things. In those times, saying "no" to people can be a way to go the extra degree. Other times, people can ask or tempt you to do something you know you shouldn't do, so saying "no" may keep you out of a lot of trouble for the future.
- Chin Lift ~ When life hands you some overwhelming challenges - peers, finances, self-esteem, affairs - it can be hard to pick yourself up and take that next step. Even with that next step you may be just wanting to walk through life with your chin down. Go beyond that and lift the chin. It makes me think of the the song "Tomorrow" in the movie Annie, "just pick up my chin and grin and say, 'Tomorrow, tomorrow, you're only a day away.'" Keep going! Lift the chin!
- Kill 'em With Kindness ~ Has someone knocked you down a few notches? Was it undeserving? Fight back with kindness. They will most likely hate that, but you will be doing good things after they were doing bad
- Pray Ahead of Time ~ You never know when you will be faced with an important "versus" decision. So, pray in advance that you will be able to make a good decision, even if you do not know even the capacity it will show itself in.
I wish things could be easy in life and I'm sure you'd agree. Though it is not easy, getting over the hump of the hard decisions will give closure to matters. As you go through life, consider the freedom and joy that will come from going the better way when you are met with a "versus" situation.
Now it's your turn...what "versus" situations have you encountered in the past two weeks? Maybe that you gave in to or you won over?
