ON THE WAY TO BECOMING…

Hey friends, how are you today? Really… how are you? Thankfully, spring is quickly approaching.  not only does the temperature give evidence of this beautiful phenomenon, but our environment, ever so slowly, agrees with this change.  Creation does not dictate its path, he (yeah, I think it’s male) does not do what he wants.  He obeys His Master, willingly without negotiation, humans are the only ones which this disobedient defect.  I do look forward to spring actually; to its warmth and the beauty of the leaves on the trees and blossoming flowers. I love the change spring brings with it. How are you? What are you plans for spring? 

Spring reminds me that change is inevitable. Change comes to everything and everyone, whether through deliberation or unintentional; change is unavoidable.  Personally, I do not really like change.  Change is hard for me to accept because I have the tendency to like things my way, my style.  It’s not as hard as it used to be, but there are days when I really do struggle with change, especially the ‘bad’ change.  

Our Heavenly Father delights in process of change, as a matter of fact, He looks forward to it.  He wants us to want change in our lives. There is no one good; no not one.  As someone who grew up in the church and has spent most of my lifetime, in the church, it was difficult to me to believe that I was not a ‘good’ person.  Because I accepted Christ as my Personal Savior at an early age, there were lots of things I did not do. Soon, I began to believe I was good enough, that I could live life at my own pace, on my own terms.  After a while, I began to think I was better than others, because they became my standard for justice; my ‘good’ works versus their ‘good’ works.   I did not understand at the time, that evil was in my DNA, that’s why I needed a Savior.  I could not bring about change on my own, I was just not good enough.  

In order for me to be effectual as a Christian; in order for me to become more like Christ, there were a few things I needed to know and believe:

There is no one good, no not one.  God’s righteousness is the standard and His holiness demands justice for sin.   Sin is anything and everything that is against God.  

The penalty for one sin against the God of the Universe is death;  one sin equaled eternal separation from God. 

The standard for goodness isn’t man against man, but rather man against God. I do not get to decide that people are not my standard for righteousness. Righteousness and everything’s that’s good belong to God and thus He decides the standard.  He not only defines these terms; He also says what it entails. 

Jesus Christ satisfied God’s justice for my sin.  His death was sufficient for my salvation; His death on the cross paid the price for my sin.  

In order for change to take place, I must spend time with the One, Who sets the standard.  We must commune together.  We must have a friendship and fellowship with each other to strengthen our bond. I must cultivate a relationship, there must be constant conversations between us.  He speaks through His Word, primarily and I also speak, He tells me about Himself and He also tells me about me.  I tell Him about my troubles and my worries and my fears and my desires. We talk to each other. 

Change becomes possible when I accept that His ways are not my ways; that His ways are higher than mine.  When I submit to His authority and begin to live a life of obedience to His Word, then change is inevitable.  As I acquire more knowledge about the Lord and surrender to Him, I begin to look more and more like His Son.  

Now He brings about the change, by sometimes, allowing the ‘bad’ into our lives. He knows that through this change we learn to lean on Him for strength.  We learn to trust Him and rely on His judgement.  We learn to surrender our will. We learn to serve others.  Change is good; it brings growth to us, just as it does in creation during the springtime.  It keeps us close to other Christians, because they speak our language.  We motivate and encourage each other to keep our eyes on the Savior.  

May I look forward to the changes that are evolving in my life; may I learn to trust the Lord as change unfolds and allow it to grow me and draw me closer to our Savior.  

Will you join me on this journey of becoming? How do you respond to change?

45 responses to “ON THE WAY TO BECOMING…”

  1. Hi Brenda,

    Even I have been going through a similar process.

    Born into a Christian family and having known and accepted our Lord Jesus Christ when I was a child, I used to think that I was good. Then as years went by, I kept noticing areas that needed correction. I have seen my self righteous nature. Now I humbly struggle to right the many wrongs that I have, mostly emotional and mental thoughts and attitudes.

    Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Wow!!!! Beautifully written Brenda, so honest and encouraging and full of hope!!! I love that while we at times need to change our God never changes and He’s always faithfully there for us while we go through experiences, changes, and life lessons…we must include Him in our changes so we can better navigate ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Spring is my favorite season. As the leaves begin to come out on the trees and the flowers begin peeking through the ground, I am reminded of the resurrection! Winter/cold may come – but new life and warmth always follows.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Hi there!

    Thank you so much for this wonderful message! I love what you have to say about God bringing ‘bad’ to us. God does not bring us suffering just to be mean, but instead to bring us closer to Him. So many Christians forget this message! I will be praying for you and your continued message. Remember to live en via Christum!

    God bless!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I love the fact that you ask us how were doing. I’m doing great! Thanks for asking! I LOVE the change from winter to spring….warmer temperatures, returning leaves, more time outdoors. My husband and I are taking the kids on a field trip to Kentucky to visit the replica of Noah’s arc this Spring. Being in God’s presence definitely brings about change in our lives. I’m in a spiritual season of change right now; and I’m enjoying it. The previous season was not so enjoyable; but I thank God for the grace to move in stride with Him.

    Liked by 2 people

  6. Great post. Change is inevitable and definitely unavoidable. I love spring. I love the blooming of the flowers also. I especially love when this Red Robin comes to my backyard and sits for a minute. I always notices when it flies in. And I think it is my loved ones (particularity my baby brother) that is stopping by to say hello. God is good. All the time.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Thanks Brenda! This was timely and encouraging. You’re so right! We change by spending time with the One who can bring change to our hearts and lives. He is our standard for righteousness. 🙏🏿

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Life changes have gotten a lot harder for me as I’ve gotten older. (I’m 37.) When I was younger change didn’t bother me much, in fact I thrived on it. But, now things are different. Except for spiritual change- I like it when the Holy Spirit changes things in my life!! On another note, my testimony is similar to yours. I grew up in church, but it wasn’t until I was 23 that I saw the ugliness of my sin and deep need for the Savior! Oh, and he was there with open arms when I finally stopped trying to do good and be good and I just finally let him do the work! And now, I’m a new creature- old things passed away- all things new! Thanks for the post. It was right on time! 💖

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Excellent 🙏🏻💚❤️💕 I’m good~how are you, friend? If there’s one thing constant in life~it’s change. God grows us through the changes. I know that! So I embrace uncertainty because of the faith I have in him 💚

    Liked by 2 people

  10. Hello, ma’am! Thank you for the encouragement, and reminding me what Jesus did for me and for everyone else. God definitely has me in a period of life change. I’ve gone from graduate school, having a steady girlfriend, and secure structure in how my life is going, to being single, in a new apartment, and left to rely on God. I’m still learning how to trust Him. But hopefully I get there more and more each day. Thank you again for encouraging me and others through your writing.

    And also thank you for liking my most recent post! If you want to, feel free to follow me at http://www.lukesthoughts.com. Below my introduction on the homepage is a place where you can put your email address to subscribe. My blog deals with my faith like yours, but it’s also about politics and current events, sports, and history. It’s like a life journal. There’s a little bit of everything in there 🙂

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  11. Thank you for this post, Brenda! I use to not like change but as I grow in my relationship with God I welcome change. I love the picture of new life Spring brings.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. I hope I am responding better to change…I am trying anyways! 🙂 I don’t like change on the whole, but I am working on it. I too grew up in church and it took me a while to figure out some of the same things. I am so glad spring is on the way…I know we might have some more snow storms before we get there though, so today, I am focusing on enjoying the fact that the sun is out! God Bless my friend!

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Yep: God is the plumb line, not anything that we set up, ourselves.
    I love that, in your talks with God, you say, “He tells me about Himself and He also tells me about me.” May I become a good listener to Him, listening even to His thoughts about me, and changes I must make.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Hate change but I do love th Lord changes He brings…always a refreshing n renewal…His ways most definitely are higher than ours…thankfully so…

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Excellent post, Brenda, with a lot of truth and good Scriptural reminders. Like you, I don’t enjoy change, so I have to deliberately open myself up to the changes that God wants me to embrace.

    Liked by 3 people

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