Change rarely comes out of nowhere, and in an instant.
It is most often preceded by deep shiftings.
And where do those come from? Short answer, God.
But our will plays in with this somewhere to, I know.
There first comes a knowledge, “I need change.”
And immediately after, either a desire is born, or the knowledge is rejected.
And that desire to change must come from a vision of purpose.
The stronger the vision of the purpose for change, the more thorough the change will be.
And so it begins in our heart…

The change is sown into us.
The next element is time.
Once that seed of change has been sown into our hearts, our life experience working through time will germinate that seed. We, through our life experience, will water and nurture the same place it is planted.

Then others may see something before we do.
(Seeing as all of these things happen on such a sublime level, we may rarely consider ourselves so closely)
But it is true. Many times, others see changes in us far before we do.

And if those changes that we received into our hearts were good, then they will bring forth fruit for the glory of God, who tends to the vine of our heart.
But if those changes are bad, we can ask God to give us a desire to change. And our loving and gracious Father in heaven will hear us, and grant us the cry of our hearts.

The point of all of this is simple. We should examine closely that we are affected, and we affect others. We should be diligent to watch what comes in and goes out, and have the knowledge that our Father in heaven is there with us through all things. Jesus said, “I will never leave you nor abandon you…I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” He is faithful to transform us into who He is calling us to be; an image and reflection of His son Jesus, the Christ.

The Lord has been really working with me on this concept; Convenience.
“What is worth doing?”

Well, that is the easiest thing to do isnt it? i think it is something that we don’t even stop to consider, either. That makes this as dangerous as it is. If i only do what is convenient; if i only take the shortest route to work; if i only leave with just enough time to clock in; if i give just enough to feel better; if i eat just enou…nevermind on that one. That is different isn’t it.

Our forefathers knew something we are forgetting fast.
Delay self-gratification. Look out for others first, especially your own family. Be diligent and honest in your work. Love God. Appreciate what God has done for you. Be kind to others.

I am not trying to paint a picture that makes everything today look evil, and everything 50 years ago coated in gold, but i am attempting to draw a definite contrast. (which is real)

If the food is not cooked almost immediately, i don’t want to bother preparing it….It’s not worth it.
If the work is going to be difficult, it probably doesn’t need to be done…. It’s not worth it.
If i can’t learn it immediately and effectively, it’s probably stupid, and…. It’s not worth it.
Where this puts us is here. “I deserve to do as little as possible, and receive as much as possible.”

Entitlement. One of the biggest turn-offs of a boss at an interview.
People who have done something and accomplished things in life may have more room to feel entitled, but we are nowhere near that if we are still entertaining such selfish ideas that end with “it’s not worth it.”

The truth is, it probably is absolutely worth doing. And that it is not convenient should be an even greater indicator of that.

Convenience, my friend, will lead to our death if we are not wise. Convenience, and not anything else.

What is the gospel?
It is God’s, first and foremost. It is God’s Gospel of Christ’s coming to this earth to establish His Kingdom.

The gospel is the forgiveness of sins, the restoration of a people back to communion with God.
The gospel is very wide and open in its inclusiveness of different personalities and backgrounds and identities.
The gospel is very narrow in its foundation, that Jesus is the way to communion with the Father.

It is not about how hard we try. It is not about what we can bring before God, who is our creator.
It is not concerned with the greatness of our plans and what we intend to do with ourselves.

The gospel is about surrendering our lives to God in light of a genuine revelation of His love, which is through Jesus Christ.

It is as simple as any line of logic can be.
Yet it is the greatest stumbling block to our hearts, because of what it demands.

Friend, whoever is reading this, a genuine revelation of His love will show you that any amount of things you may give up in this life cannot compare to what He will give back (both in this life, and the life after this one).

It will begin to be a joy to you to shed off the layers of selfish ambition, to shed off the layers of carnality
AS you stand in His presence. In the presence of His love, and His awesomeness.

He is a good God. He alone is worthy to be praised. Amen, Amen.

Come Lord Jesus, Come.
“Maranatha” comes to English from Aramaic and Hebrew, then from Greek it came into English.
It is one of the last phrases written in the New Testament book of Revelation.
It is the cry of the believer’s heart.

It is our hope, and our hope will be fulfilled! Praise God!

This is a compound noun that i recently saw written in a book i have been reading.

What is it?
It operates during communication between two (or more) people.
It occurs when an idea is “bounced off” of another individual, and that individual receives, and interprets, and  hopefully sheds light onto the situation.

it looks like this…
Espression (person a to person b) —>  Reception (person b from person a) —> Expression (person b to person a)

A sounding board is a very good thing to have in our spiritual lives. why?
They might be the only thing that holds our spiritual feet onto the ground sometimes.
They might be the only person to tell you that your perspective is actually completely skewed.
They might be the one that God uses to minister understanding to you.

and if none of those happen (yet this is the most important of all), they might just show you the heart of God through their willingness to just listen for a while.

check out the brand new forum i started at http://forum.ronniewb.net