Are You Willing to Change?

 

By Andrea Merrell

Give your complete attention to these matters.

Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress.

1 Timothy 4:15 NKJV

 

“I’ve done everything I know to do,” the woman said to her therapist. “I’ve always used the same methods to get great results, but nothing seems to be working now.”

The problem comes when we’re unwilling to change. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. In other words, if we want to see or have something different, we have to do something different. Otherwise, we’re stuck. No moving forward. The same old, same old.

This applies to every area of our life. The Word for You Today says:

If you want to grow, you must be willing to change. General Douglas MacArthur said, “Life is a lively process of becoming. If you haven’t added to your interests within the past year; if you are thinking the same old thoughts, relating the same personal experiences, and having the same predictable reactions, rigor mortis of the personality has set in.”

I’ve heard it said that the only constant in life is change. Nothing remains the same except God and His Word. He accepts us just as we are but loves us too much to let us remain the same. As we submit to Him, He will lovingly lead and guide us, helping us to grow and mature into the person He created us to be.

Change is always good when God is in the driver's seat.

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com and Ross Findon.

 

The Power of Gossip

 

By Andrea Merrell

The words of a talebearer are as wounds,

and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

Proverbs 18:8 KJV

“Did you hear about that new girl at church?” the woman asked the group. “I got an earful from someone she used to be friends with.”

Someone in the group moaned and walked away. A couple of others followed. Only one stayed behind, anxious to hear the latest dirt.

Gossip: reports about other people that are generally not true. Some folks make it a part of their everyday life, thinking no harm can come from sharing everything they know—and a lot they don’t know for sure—about others. Many even try to disguise it in the form of a “prayer request.” We need to pray for so and so because …

If you’re of the opinion that gossip has no power to harm anyone, listen to this from The Word for You Today:

I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives. I am cunning and malicious, and I gather strength with age. The more I’m quoted, the more I’m believed. I flourish at every level of society. My victims are helpless; they can’t protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face. To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I become. I’m nobody’s friend. Once I tarnish a reputation, it’s never the same. I topple governments, wreck marriages, and make innocent people cry. Who an I? My name is gossip.

The Bible clearly tells us in Proverbs that the words of a talebearer are like wounds. But what does it say about those who anxiously listen to those slanderous words? The Message puts it like this: “Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy. Do you really want junk like that in your belly?”

Sounds like a good place to apply the Golden Rule—treating others as we want to be treated and letting our words be uplifting and encouraging. If we have a tendency to say things we shouldn’t, let’s pray as the psalmist David did: “Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips” (Psalm 141:3 NLT). But let’s not forget that our ears are not trash cans to collect all the garbage others might want to throw in there.

Let’s do everything we can to diminish the power of gossip.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Finish Well

 

By Andrea Merrell

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, 

and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2 NIV

The woman’s testimony, shared with a group of her peers, spoke of promiscuity, drug and alcohol abuse, and shoplifting. She couldn’t hold a job or relationship because no one trusted her.

“Then I got saved,” she said. “I expected everything to change immediately. To be free of all my ungodly behavior. But I stayed so focused on my past that it kept pulling me backward. I kept failing the Lord time and time again.”

The Word for You Today says:

When you focus on something, you empower and give it momentum. That’s why Satan wants you to concentrate on things that don’t matter. The Bible tells us to fix “our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith.” God doesn’t pay by the week; He pays at the end. You will be rewarded based on how you finish, not how you started.

When the woman switched her focus, her life began to change—in every way. She took her eyes off her past and put them on Jesus. She filled her mind and heart with the Word and learned to shut out the voices trying to pull her back into a life of sin and shame.

The word tells to “work out our own salvation … to cultivate it and actively pursue spiritual maturity” (Philippians 2:12 AMP), but God doesn’t demand perfection. No matter how many times we fall, He lifts us up and puts us back on the right path, promising to help us and never leave us.

Remember … it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

Photo by Adam Winger on Unsplash

The Power of Connection

 

By Andrea Merrell

I have come that they may have life

and that they might have it more abundantly.

John 10:10 NKJV

 

“Who are you connected to?” the speaker asked. “What are you receiving from your current relationships?”

After giving his audience a few moments to ponder his questions and jot down some notes, he went on to explain the difference between life-draining and life-giving relationships.

His wise words made me think back to friendships I had experienced over the years. Some were difficult, even toxic—as I came to realize after the fact. I always walked away feeling exhausted and discouraged yet not knowing what to do. A couple of those relationships practically drained the life out of me.

Then I thought about the true friends who had poured life into me. People who truly cared. People who loved me and nourished my soul.

Jesus said, “I have come that they (you) may have life and that they (you) might have it more abundantly.” How do we experience that abundant life He speaks of? By being securely connected to Him, the Vine (John 15). That is our ultimate connection. Our relationship with Him determines the quality of our relationship with others.

One writer says that’s how our souls are nourished: through the love of God and other people. People He places in our path. I call those God-connections.

God created us for fellowship. For communion with Him and others. That’s what causes us to flourish. So my question for you is, “Are you firmly plugged in to the very source of life ... the source of everything that is good and true and lasting?” If not, today’s the day. It will be the best decision you ever make.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Make Room for Love

 

By Andrea Merrell

But love will last forever!

1 Corinthians 13:8b NLT

The couple had longed for a child. They prayed and waited for what seemed an eternity. Finally, the long-awaited day arrived. They joyfully brought their newly adopted son into their home, but all was not as they expected.

The boy was shy. Hesitant. Afraid. Having been in a number of foster homes and part of the system for all of his eight years, he had become accustomed to strict rules and boundaries. He had not been allowed freedom or the privilege of making his own choices. He was also treated harshly by many of the people who were supposed to take care of and protect him. To him, this transition would be no different than the others.

But this couple gave the boy something he had never experienced: love. They did everything they could to make him feel safe. Trusted. At home. They gave him freedom he had never experienced and told him he had the “run of the house”—his new forever home.

Too many people feel like that little boy—unloved and unwanted. But the Bible tells us:

God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear.  (1 John 4:17-18 MSG)

This couple made room for love—unconditional, undeserved, and unearned—just like God’s love for us. The young boy thrived in his new environment

Love never fails. Have you made room for love?

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Stuart Miles.