One
Step at a Time- In His Word
If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.1 John 1:9
God
is faithful to forgive, are we?
Lately
I have heard a lot of people say “ I am a changed person...”
either in movies, T.V. Or other social situations I have heard people
profess that they have changed. It made me examine my life and see
what I have changed, good and bad, and what needs changing.
I know that my God is faithful and just, and I know that I have things that I must change in my life in order to become that person that God intended me to be.
I know that my God is faithful and just, and I know that I have things that I must change in my life in order to become that person that God intended me to be.
It
is so easy to say “I am going to change...” but it is not always
easy to do what we know needs to be done.
Let's look at the small things we can do to create a habit of change.
I
am going to change... my shoes!
That
may seem like a small thing, but as I have personally found a change
of shoes can change your walk. Recently I found myself tripping over
things, I found that the shoes I had for about a year, not cheap
either, had managed to become too big for my feet. I did not know
this was possible, but I went out and bought new ones and have since
found my feet on solid ground.
Sometimes
our lives need just a small change to make a big difference.
Once
we begin making changes why not take another step? Due to at
least one of my falls I ended up in Physical Therapy. This step has
caused me to rebuild areas that were injured in ways I never would
have thought of myself. I feel pain treat that area, but it turns out
that sometimes we have to treat a totally different area in order to
heal the injury.
As
I have mentioned before; we sometimes may need to change who we are
hanging around with in order to change our speech. It can also change
our thought process. If I am listening to slang a lot my writing will
come out slang-filled. If I am around kids more than adults I will
find myself taking like a kid. I change the way I feed my brain, my
soul, my heart by adding in more Biblical talk or songs, more godly
reading and viewing then I change my thought process. It takes exercising my brain though to remember to stop doing, hearing or
viewing what I have done in the past.
It
is all connected in one way or another so that one area effects
another.
So
put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have
nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil
desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater,
worshiping the things of this world.
Because
of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You
used to do these things when your life was still part of this
world.But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious
behavior, slander, and dirty language.
Don’t
lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature
and all its wicked deeds.
Put
on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator
and become like him.
In
this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile,
circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free.
Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Colossians 3:5-11
So
what can we do to change in a big way? A life change? We can move on
from a past hurt, or offence we have taken to something someone has
said about us. Just dump it! It is so easy to wallow in self
righteous pity and think we deserve to feel bad. Yes that is what I
said. We can sometimes find pleasure in felling mad at someone
because it makes us feel power over our lives. I really do not think
that is what God wanted when He gave us the directions to put on the
new man. Nor when He told us to forgive our brother 70 times 7.
Since
you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from
him,
throw
off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is
corrupted by lust and deception.
Instead,
let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
Ephesians 4:21-23
We
are told by Jesus that we are to forgive the trespasses that people
do to us, and move on. Do not give in to the anger or frustration you
are tempted with; give it to God and move on to a new step in your
life.
Maybe
you are the one who is reading this article today and thinking of
someone or some occasion that caused you to fall to temptation; maybe
you are harboring anger or frustration at the person whom you have
decided caused this to happen? Or maybe you slipped on a mountain and
found yourself in the valley below wondering what in the world
happened to all the joy you were feeling only moments before. Whether
physical or emotional, or even spiritual; valleys can feel awfully
deep and cause us to focus on the suffering instead of how lovely it
was on the mountain top, or even how glorious it looks from where we
sit.
Today lets take a step to get out of the valley. We can't fly
out, it takes steps, one at a time cautiously walking, climbing and
then we will get back to the top.
Sometimes the Lord will pick us up
and carry us to the top, or another level but most often we have to
walk through our lives step by step, day by day, glorious moment by
moment.
What
we began as a decision to change took one small step toward the
mountain top.
The
continuing steps from that first step brings us to the path that
leads us upwards to gain ground and live closer to Him.
Dear
Heavenly Father, thank you for drawing us one step at a time. Thank
you for helping us to get out of the valley and back up to the top of
the mountain to go on with each new day enjoying Your precious
presence in our lives. In Jesus name, amen.
Suggested
Reading: Colossians 3:1-25, Matthew 6:1-34, Ephesians 4:1-32 and
Psalm 23:1-6.