virus – The Arrow Preacher

Tough Changes

Have you ever been in a situation where you dreaded to face changes? I recently experienced the need to change my cell phone case. It wasn’t allowing me to use the functions as they should have been and it became more of an inconvenience then the protection it added. I think tough changes are hard for many people to go through. Changes at your job can be tough, and stressful. Changing schools can be tough for many. Moving out of your parents house and getting your own place can be an incredibly hard change to go through. All of these things are easy or difficult depending on each individual person. While for each situation everyone’s reaction is drastically different, and while some love change, and others loath it, one of the biggest things to change is our actions.

A popular saying is “some people never change.” Another popular saying is “once a cheater, always a cheater.” While both of these are very popular, how true do you personally think these sayings are? From my personal experience I believe they are right on the money. I think the hardest thing we will ever do is change our personality to change our actions. I’ve always said humanity would never change without a major outside force. I always figured a global extinction event such as asteroid, or drought, or contagion would be the most likely just behind nuclear war. Alien invasion (less likely) could potentially bring humanity together to face a common enemy. That being said, most people do not change without something big, and life changing occurring within their life or someone very close to them. Cancer, or a near death accident has a way to change someone’s perspectives. While we often see a spiritual change in some during these times, it doesn’t always stick. The biggest change most will ever experience is the coming to the savior Jesus Christ. It’s the change in the heart that can change a man completely.

Romans 12:1-2“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” In the Lord we are born anew. In the Holy Spirit the soul is reborn in fire. When the Lord takes hold of our hearts, we cannot not be changed. We must push forward in the Lord and we must face that like the Phoenix, we are reborn in the burning fires of the Lord, and in our new selves we are compelled to repulse the desire of the sinful flesh. 2 Corinthians 5:17“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Change isn’t always easy, and even when you begin the following of the Lord, change isn’t always easy even after choosing the Lord. In our struggles though we should turn to our siblings in Christ and ask for them to help keep us accountable and true. We grow and we sprout from seeds in Christ and grow into a wonderful flower. The beauty in this world is only limited by our own stubborn selves. We often want to stay in our struggles because we are unwilling to change our own actions. We must change our lifestyles if we are ever expecting to change our own lives. I have watched my life grow and change in my financial walk with the Lord, my spiritual walk with my God, and even how I treat my friends. While life is full of tough challenges, changing our hearts to follow the Lord, and living in love, and denouncing hate shouldn’t be so hard, but the draw of sin is strong. Keep your faith, and keep your eyes on Jesus and always strive to change yourself to better please the Lord to what we see in scripture. Never give up hope on those around you who may be stuck in sin, and who don’t treat others with respect or love. It

Defeat

In a war you won’t win every battle. You won’t have a successful run every day all year. When the world feels like it’s against you, when it feels like everyone you know is turning their backs on you, when your loved ones betray you, best friends leave you, just know that these things are temporary set backs. John 15:18 “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before [it hated] you.” We all go through pain and suffering, we all feel low at times. Does the tree feel defeated in the winter when it looses its leaves, it looses its looks? No, the tree accepts the natural order of the seasons. There’s a season for love, a season for pain, a season for joy, and when the seasons for pain and suffering come around just know that like the spring rains, the spring warmth, the blossoms always come back, the leaves and the greens always defeat the gray.

Think of pain slipping away as rebirth. Each time we suffer, each time we feel defeated we are given the opportunity to go through our own rebirth. We have the chance to be who we want to be, fight for what we want. We can always redeem our situation. Redemption is only a course of action so why not take it?

Psalm 144:1-2 “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples[a] under me.” You can overcome this world and fly like an eagle because God will never leave you or abandon you.

In the last 12 months I’ve learned what pain feels like, I know what despair feels like and what I’ve learned going through all that is even in the fight to recovery you’ll have your bad days. It’s not a matter of having bad days; it’s how we handle it. The bigger question is if we let those bad days breed and spread. We cannot allow negativity to infect our lives like a virus. We must learn to focus our energy towards positivity, towards the grace of God, towards the wonderful gifts God has given us in our lives. If we ever question anything about our lives never questions God is with us. Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” No matter what the world does to you always follow 2 Corinthians 4:8 “8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”

Through it all the storm wages on and passes by, the pain will fade but the scars will always remain. Keep them as a reminder of the battles one, or even the mistakes you’ve made. Learn from them. Hebrews 10:35-36 “Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” God’s love will always surround us. God’s love is our security blanket to keep us warm, to keep us safe. This life is temporary, Gods glory, Gods promise is forever.