Who God Is » change

The Word And Its Astounding Effect

WhoGodIs — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 04:13:22 +0000

Acts 2: 14-36 gives Peter’s (what is now famous) Sermon on the Mount. It was a mere 448 words (KJV) which would have taken only a few minutes to say at most, but at his invitation at least three thousand people accepted Christ. Not only did they accept Christ, their lives were radically changed and those few thousand people turned the world upside down for Christianity.

What happened on that day had nothing to do with Peter’s talent or eloquence in speaking. He was merely a vessel that God could use to pour out His Power so that people could be changed. I’m sure that Peter was astounded at what happened. He certainly had to know that it was nothing he had done that had caused this huge outpouring.

It seems that most of us must become miserable in the way we are now in order for us to want “change.” The people in that day must have been so tired of their current lives that they wanted something better even though they might have been anxious as to what might happen in the future.

Also the presence of the Holy Spirit was working in an extremely powerful way in the thinking and hearing of those people present to hear Peter’s sermon.

As I was thinking about this passage I wondered, what is the hindrance for our churches today turning the world upside down for Christ?

I think more than anything else it is not being obedient to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. When God speaks, He expects us to be listening and walk immediately in obedience to what He has told us.

AND…many times He will tell us to do something that will be absolutely impossible from a human standpoint. The only way we will be able to accomplish it is by the awesome Power of God.

When Peter preached that great sermon in Acts, they listened to the Word and not the person preaching it. They didn’t put a person up on a pedestal. The Word itself was the thing that drew people to listen and it totally changed their life forever.

John 6:63

It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.

Quickeneth in the Greek means to vitalize or make alive

The words that God speaks are filled with power and are true life to those who will live and abide by them. But you absolutely cannot do things from a human perspective and expect God to bless it.

He sees the whole picture and knows exactly how your part fits in with the rest of the puzzle. It makes perfect sense to Him even though you might not understand it at all.

He wants you to trust Him enough to believe that He has everything under control. The more you study the Bible and discover His Character, the more you will be able to trust Him with everything in your life.

It will truly astound you at what God will be able to accomplish through your life when you surrender your all to Him!

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Be Willing To Make A Change For Better Results

WhoGodIs — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 03:23:26 +0000

We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

-Joseph Campbell-

Our lives today are inundated with commercials, magazine ads, and other forms of advertising that encourage us to decide what we want and go for it with gusto. We are told to live life to the fullest, and each commercial hints strongly that their product will help us to do so. Sadly, just about all of them fail in a huge way.

You will never be really happy only living life to please yourself. I know the quote above may not have been written from a Christian perspective, but it applies perfectly to the person who wants to live the Christian life to the fullest.

Most of us have grand plans for our future as we finish high school and start to college or learn a vocation. We want to be able to do something that will change the world in a huge way and make life better for mankind. Most of us don’t accomplish something grand that will win us a Nobel Prize, so we start to get disillusioned after a few years of trying. That world-changing idea seems to be slipping further and further away, so eventually we give up and convince ourselves that we have attained the best life that is possible for us. All the world-changing stuff is better suited for someone else. We are just meant to be an “average joe” and we accept it and decide to move on.

The wonderful thing about God is that He has a great plan for every Christian life, but He sees things you are capable of that you probably won’t see in yourself. He will call you to do things that you won’t be able to do without His help.

As strange as that might seem, it is what pleases Him. He desires for you to trust Him enough that you will step out on faith to do what He wants you to do. He has everything under control, but you must get to the point that you understand and know that He is working everything out for your good.

God loves you more than any other person ever can, and you can truly trust Him to want the very best for you. Take the first step forward right now and let Him unfold the awesome plan He has for your life.

Are You Different From The Crowd?

WhoGodIs — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:55:59 +0000

Are You Different From The Crowd?

“Change” is a scary word because most of us have created a “comfort zone cocoon” around us and that is where we like to stay if at all possible. We think of the picture above as being very beautiful as long as we are not the white petal that stands out so vividly from the rest of the flower. Many times we would rather blend in as much as possible or even fade into the background.

Most of the time God has to make us so miserable that we can’t stand it any longer before we will be open to change, because as long as we are comfortable we usually won’t consider it. Our circumstances might be bad, but somehow we have grown used to them and would rather stay where we are than step out into the unknown and attempt something better.

The unknown can be scary even with God as your guide. You can’t see Him, but that doesn’t mean He can’t lead you exactly where you need to go. He is looking for the person He can make into the white flower that stands out from the rest. You have a unique personality and unique talents that He wants to develop and use for His Glory and to promote His Kingdom here on earth.

As God reveals Himself to you, He will ask you to do some things in a way you probably won’t understand. I’m sure that Joshua didn’t understand it when God told him that the Israelites should march around Jericho silently once a day for six days, and then 7 times on the 7th day, and after that the walls would fall down.

Don’t be afraid to step out into the unknown as long as you know God is with you. Don’t settle any longer for living life in the “comfort zone cocoon” you have created around you. God has great plans for your life, so please open your heart to Him and let Him show you what they are.

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Change: It’s a Scary Thing!

WhoGodIs — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:23:28 +0000

It is easy to look at all the bad situations around you and be greatly affected by them. Just about all of us know someone who has lost their job and suffering financially, or someone who has a debilitating disease that faces an ongoing battle, or someone who is facing great difficulties with family or relationship problems.

You only have to listen to the first sentence of the news each morning or night to hear bad news, at least most of the time. As a Christian, instead of concentrating on everything wrong around you, concentrate on what God wants you to do to change it. Then let Him work through you to accomplish the impossible.

It is easy to look back in history and think of great Christian reformers such as Martin Luther, John Wesley, Dwight L Moody and Charles Spurgeon as being unique people who did not have everyday lives as we do. We think of them as being larger than life, and never having a bad thought or never doing anything that would be considered as being wrong.

I have even thought of them as sitting in their study all day either reading their Bible or on their knees in prayer. I never thought of them as having a “real life” being the head of a family with all the responsibilities that came with it. Many of them were also pastors, so they definitely had to deal with people in all sorts of situations. I know they gave great importance to prayer and Bible study, but being locked up in their office all day praying or reading the Bible was out of the question.

When you read the story of their lives, you also find that they had faults and flaws just like everyone else on the planet. They were definitely not perfect or worthy of being put up on a pedestal as a person who never messed up, because many of them made huge mistakes.

If you feel God leading you to do something you feel is impossible or larger than life, don’t say NO just because you look at yourself and see all your imperfections and flaws.

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Isn’t God big enough to use you in spite of flaws and imperfections?

And will you trust Him to lead you in the right direction even if you don’t have a clue where you are headed, at least at the start of the journey?

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Every Christian must live in the world but should never conform to the values of it. If we conform, God can’t use us to change what is around us.

Romans 12: 2

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

God works through us supernaturally when we are determined to walk in obedience to Him, and will we always be astounded to see what He does and the way He does it.

If Luther, Wesley, Moody, and Spurgeon had conformed to people around them instead of walking in obedience to God, He could never have used them to impact the world the way He was able to do.

Make the decision to submit your life to God and let Him use you to do whatever He chooses. There is no greater feeling when you wake up each morning than knowing ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY FOR SURE that you are in the center of His Will. It might seem that things are falling apart around you, but in the center of His Will is where you will find a peace and joy that you cannot understand any way other than knowing it is a supernatural thing from God Himself.

Do You Want To Know The Truth?

WhoGodIs — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:14:59 +0000

This is quote from Charles Spurgeon, and it rings more true today than when he spoke it in 1868. It seems that many of us are so busy that we don’t take the time to actually study the Bible for ourselves. We just depend on the Pastor or Sunday School teacher or some other person to teach us everything about it in an hour or two a week.

We use the excuse that we don’t have a degree in theology or Bible, or the Pastor is the one who is supposed to make sure we know these things. There is no possible way he can do that in a couple of hours a week. You must read and study the Word for yourself – then if you have any questions you should ask your pastor or another mature Christian to explain what you don’t understand.

If you don’t really know the truth, it will be easy for Satan to make you believe a lie. Usually he will give you just enough truth to make you think that everything he says is the truth.

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If we sometimes looked a little more to the connection of sentences, we should be kept from very dangerous errors. The Bible ought to be treated in conformity with common sense, as you would use any other book. If you took the writings of any author, however carefully he might express himself, if you picked out a sentence here and a sentence there, [you] might make the man to say what he never believed; nay, even make him to be the supporter of opinions which he abhors. So it is with the Bible: if you pay no regard to the connection and general run of the passage, you miss the mind of the Spirit of God, and rather thrust your own mind into God’s words than bring out God’s mind from the words of the Holy Ghost.

From a sermon entitled “Working Out What Is Worked In,” delivered July 12, 1868.

The Daily Spurgeon

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No matter what version of the Bible you read, you will never truly be able to understand it without the Holy Spirit opening your mind, comprehension, and ears to hear the real truth – not just the truth as you have always perceived it to be.

If you don’t read the Bible with the determination that you want to know the truth, your mind will filter the parts that make you uncomfortable, telling you that the changes you need to make are far beyond your grasp or helping you justify why you don’t need to change.

* If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, make it a point to read the Bible for a few minutes each morning. You can start out with 5 or 10 minutes, asking the Holy Spirit to show you truths that you have never seen before. It won’t take long for you to look at the Bible differently. It will change your life to the point that you will never want to go back to where you were before.

Don’t let Satan make you believe the lie that the Bible is boring or just an old fashioned irrelevant book that is out of date for today’s times. Its Words are life, health, and well-being for the one who reads it and applies its words to their life.

Check out my other sites:

Handbook for Victorious Christian Living – practical ways to learn to live a victorious Christian life

Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living

Power of the Living Word

You Truly Can Start Anew From Where You Are Right Now!

WhoGodIs — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:13:42 +0000

Life definitely does seem like we are negotiating a maze much of the time, and it is easy to get off track, out of focus, and sometimes even lost.

The great thing with God, though, is you can decide to make a change and He will meet you right where you are at this moment. You don’t have to become better, or more in control, or even have an answer. God knows right where you are, and wants to start now to begin to lead you in the right direction.

The only choice you have to make is whether you will let Him change your life for the better. You truly can begin again where you are right now and in whatever situation you are faced with. There is no problem that is too big for God to handle.

(This pic came from the site typographyserved.com)

Check out my other sites:

Handbook for Victorious Christian Living - Practical ways to learn to live a victorious Christian life

Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living

Power of the Living Word

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Does adversity change you for better or worse?

WhoGodIs — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:14:01 +0000

We all have times where circumstances are less than ideal, and sometimes they are downright lousy. During these times, we must make an extra effort to stay in the Word, pray, and trust God. That is the only way you can stay strong and not be changed for the worse.

It is during the hard times that you have the greatest potential to grow as a Christian, but it is also the time when you must be on guard not to fall into the trap of defeat and want to give up. Always remember that God can see the future and He is in control. In your moment of greatest despair, He is working on your behalf to give you victory.

Learn to trust Him with everything in your life. As the story below says, you be the instrument of change instead of letting circumstances change you.

You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ‘Tell me what you see.’ ‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’ she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma the daughter then asked, ‘What does it mean, mother?’

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

‘Which are you?’ she asked her daughter. ‘When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May we all be coffee!!

Check out my other sites:

Handbook for Victorious Christian Living - for the person who desires to live a victorious Christian life

Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living

Power of the Living Word

Do you let God be "innovative" in your life?

WhoGodIs — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:42:59 +0000

If there is one word that could describe what God wants to accomplish through the Christian’s life, it would be the word “innovation.” I know in my own life, when God has told me He wanted to do a particular thing, He has always brought it about in a way that is refreshing, innovative, and totally blows me away. I have to wait for His Timing, of course.

When I looked back, I could see how He brought several different circumstances and people together to do a certain thing at a certain time. Many of them probably did not even realize that they were a part of His great plan for the answer that I needed.

When I saw this poster, I started to think about how God works vs how Man works. “Change” is and has always been a threat to most people. We hit upon a way to do something, and want to stick with it. When something new and innovative is introduced to us, most of the time our first thought is to disregard it as being beneficial in any way. We surely can’t imagine that it would be a better way than what we know now.

It’s funny how we resist something new for awhile, but then get used to it and treat it like we have always known it would be the best way to do things.

If it is your desire to be obedient to God, the word “innovation” will be a huge part of your vocabulary. God is not big on letting people stay in their “comfort zone” for long at the time. He constantly prunes and shapes your life to ease you in the direction He knows will be best for you.

People usually say the things in the poster above because they cannot see the whole picture. God can see it, and He wants to continually “blow you away” by using you to carry out His Plans.

Seek Him in prayer and take a step in the direction He shows you
Ask Him to reveal any sin in your life and be sure that you truly REPENT of it – don’t just be sorry and stop there
Know that most of the time He probably won’t show you the whole picture – just a step at the time
Learn about His Character, and then you will know that you can trust Him with your life

Decide today that you will take the ride of your life – you won’t be bored any more if you truly seek to follow God.

Check out my other sites:

Handbook for Victorious Christian Living – For the person who desires to live a truly victorious Christian life

Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living

Power of the Living Word

The Story of my Cousin’s Death and what God showed me about Change!

WhoGodIs — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:20:37 +0000

A week ago my cousin was tragically killed in an automobile accident at the age of 38. Another person ran a stop sign and rammed his truck right where he was sitting. It flipped over at least twice, and was really mangled up. He died a few hours after being taken to the hospital. There were a lot of things that happened, but this is the short version.

He left behind a wife and two children ages 10 and 12. They were and continue to be devastated. As much as I hurt, I can’t imagine the pain that his parents, brother, wife, and children feel. I am so thankful that he had accepted Jesus as His Savior, though, and is now in heaven.

He was athletic director and head football coach at his alma mater high school. The outpouring from the players, students, and faculty was astounding. He had coached for several years and had touched many lives. It is estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 people came to the viewing. Some stood in line almost 3 hours to see the family, and they received visitors continuously for 6 1/2 hours. It was an astounding outpouring of love and respect.

At the funeral the next day, people were there almost two hours early and some had stood in the same spot for almost three hours before the funeral was actually over.

The high school where he graduated had gone downhill over the last few years. He wanted to be part of the answer to help bring it back to its former glory, so he moved back 3 years ago to be athletic director. He went from assistant coach to being in charge of all sports and gave it everything he had. He was in the process of building the football program back again. Not only did he want to have a winning team, he wanted to instill pride, self confidence, and good moral values into each of his students and players. They were responding well, and many of them broke down into tears as they came through the line. It was easy to see how much they loved and respected him.

When he first became head coach, he told the players that he wanted them to develop moral values. He told them to dress appropriately, and showed them how to work together as a team. He would not tolerate bad language or talking back, and he didn’t talk bad to them either. He was passionate as their leader, but treated them with the utmost respect and expected them to always put forth their best effort.

They had really started to come together as a team, and this year were expected to do well and make it to the playoffs. He also had instilled in them that there was much more to life than football, with the most important thing being their relationship with Jesus Christ. He told them over and over that nothing was more important than that. It was his goal to use football and other sports as a tool to win them to Christ.

He brought in other coaches that had his same vision for the team and school by finding as many as he could who had graduated from there and still had an allegiance to the school. Then he started to build relationships with the other coaches and teachers. At the funeral, the principal spoke of his vision to get everyone on board and excited about making the school top-notch in every respect. He wanted it to become a model that other schools would want to copy.

For just one person, he was able to accomplish quite a bit in three years. He knew that God had given him a vision, and he wanted to do what it took to carry it out by being obedient.

You can be the instrument of Change!

The moment I saw this picture, I saw how powerful it was. By changing one symbol and one letter, the whole mood of the photo goes from negative to positive.

As I read all the comments of love and respect from hundreds of people, I realized that one person CAN make a huge difference when they have the power of God behind them. No, it won’t always be easy, but God is a master at accomplishing the impossible.

We as humans tend to look at things the way they are at the moment, and deem them impossible before we have even taken one step toward the direction of change. We look at what we think is a hopeless situation and forget that there is hope for it to ever be better.

When the children of Israel were at the Red Sea, things looked very bleak. There were mountains on either side, the sea was before them, and the Egyptians were closing in fast behind them. It truly looked like an impossible situation. There was no way that 2 to 3 million people could have had the time to get away from the enemy.

God’s whole plan was to reveal His Glory, though. He had already told Moses that he would harden the hearts of the Egyptians so they would come after them. It was his way of judging them for being a heathen nation as well as showing the Israelites His magnificent power and glory. God wanted all the heathen nations around to see that His Great Power was with them wherever they went.

So if you know that God is telling you to do something, don’t look at the immense problems you might see before you in the present. Take a step each day towards the goal He has given you and let Him take care of the rest of the details. He will come through in miraculous ways and show you that the “impossible” is always “possible” with Him.

Decide today that you will be the instrument of change with the Power of God behind you to lead, guide, and protect you. You can do anything with God! Don’t get ahead or behind; just walk WITH Him each day and be obedient to do whatever He tells you.

Check out my other sites:

Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living

Handbook for Victorious Christian Living

For the Christian who desires to walk in victory in everyday areas of their life and have a closer relationship to God.

Power of the Living Word

Let God Change your Life 2° at a Time