“This will continue until we are . . . mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him.”
Ephesians 4:13 (CEV) Becoming like Christ is a long, slow process of growth. Spiritual maturity is neither instant nor automatic. It’s gradual and progressive. Paul said, “This will continue until we are . . . mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him” (Ephesians 4:13 CEV). You are a work in progress. Your spiritual transformation—developing the character of Jesus—will take the rest of your life. And even then it won’t be completed here on Earth. It will only be finished when you get to heaven or when Jesus returns. At that point, any unfinished work on your character will be wrapped up. The Bible says that when you’re finally able to see Jesus perfectly, you will become perfectly like him: “We are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (1 John 3:2 NLT). Many Christians become confused because they ignore this simple truth: God is far more interested in building your character than he is in anything else. People worry when God seems silent on specific issues, such as “What career should I choose?” The truth is, there are many different careers that could be in God’s will for your life. What God cares about most is that whatever you do, you do in a Christlike manner. God is far more interested in who you are than in what you do. We are human beings, not human doings. God is much more concerned about your character than your career—because you will take your character into eternity, not your career. God’s purpose is to make you like him before he takes you to heaven. Becoming like Jesus is your greatest privilege, your immediate responsibility, and your ultimate destiny.
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“For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”
James 1:3-4 (NLT) We know the end of the story: Jesus is coming back! When he does, he will make all things right and just. And if you are his follower, you will spend eternity with him. Knowing how the story ends should change everything. One of the biggest ways it affects your life is that it should motivate you to use adversity to become stronger spiritually. That’s what James says you should do while you’re on earth waiting for Jesus’ second coming: “For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:3-4 NLT). You will undoubtedly face stress, problems, difficulties, and trouble in this life. In the time between now and when you die or Christ comes back, you should use those trials to develop endurance and become more like Christ in character. Does becoming like Christ sound impossible? The Bible says God can do that work in us: “May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole” (1 Thessalonians 5:23 The Message). Are you whole—like these verses say you can be—or are you fragmented? Are you put together, or are you falling apart? These days, we all feel like we’re falling apart a little—and that’s okay. You’re not supposed to have it all together. You’re not perfect, and you won’t be while you’re here on earth. You can’t change that. What you can do is work on getting spiritually fit in preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ. It’s important to stay physically fit and take care of your mental health. But you cannot neglect your spiritual fitness. You don’t have to be the strongest, fastest, or healthiest when it comes to being spiritually fit. You just need to keep working on it and recognize that the trouble you face is often an opportunity to grow in faith. If you’re out of work, if you’re sick, if you’re feeling the weight of prejudice, turn to God’s Word and his promises. When it feels like you’re falling apart, remember that God is still working to make you more like him, and he can use even the most difficult circumstances in your life to do it. “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.”
Ephesians 4:22 (NLT) Change requires making choices. It’s not enough to dream of changing. It’s not enough to desire change. In order for you to change, you will need to make a decision. You must choose to change. Change is intentional: Are you going to be any different in six months? Are you going to be better a year from now? Are you going to be healthier, stronger, and more mature? Are you going to be happier? Are you going to be in less debt? Are you going to be more like God wants you to be? It can be said right now: It will only happen if you choose to change, because it isn’t going to happen accidentally. You need to think ahead to where you need to be at the end of this year and where you need to be in three years, six years, and a decade from now. You can be better in 10 years than you are today, but you won’t be unless you choose to be. Change requires a choice. A lot of times we think we’re waiting on God to change us. No, you are not waiting on God. God is waiting on you! He’s waiting on you to say, “Yes, Lord, I’m willing to make these changes.” We have to make intentional choices in order to grow. There is no growth without change, there is no change without loss, and there is no loss without pain. If you are going to grow, you will have to change, and change means you let go of some old things and grab hold of some new things. It’s like swinging on a trapeze: The trapeze artist swings out on one bar, and then she has to reach out and grab the other bar. At some point, she’s got to let go of one to grab the other, or she’s not going to make it to the other side. If she thinks she can hold on to both, what happens? She gets stuck in the middle, and she’s going down. Perhaps you’re stuck in the middle, and you’re going down because you haven’t let go of old patterns, old habits, and old ways of thinking. You have to let go of your old ways. The Bible says, “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life” (Ephesians 4:22 NLT). In other words, let it go. Those old habits, those old hurts, those old patterns, those old sins in your life—let them go. The Bible says to throw them off and trust that God is working in you “to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13 NIV). “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. . . . Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.”
Romans 6:12-13 (NLT) Every day you are controlled by something. You may be controlled by your ego or by the expectations of other people. You may be controlled by fear, guilt, resentment, or bitterness. You may be controlled by a substance or a habit. But you are controlled by something every day. Freedom comes when you choose what’s going to control you. If God is not number one in your life, something else is, and it will control you to a negative degree. When Christ is in control of your life, he always moves you in the right direction. Romans 6:12-13 says, “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. . . . Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God” (NLT). What are the steps in this choice to let Christ have control?
Do you really want to change? You may say, “I’m so tired of trying and failing.” Stop trying. Instead, start trusting. God gives you the option to either depend on him or depend on yourself. The result is either freedom or frustration. Why not give it all to Christ? What do you have to lose? “For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.”
Matthew 12:34 (NLT) There is no real secret to changing from an angry person into a peaceful person. In order to get the power you need to go from anger to peace, you need to be filled with God’s love. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:5, “[Love] is not easily angered” (NIV). In other words, if you’re filled with anger, then almost everything can upset you. But when you’re filled with God’s love your perspective changes. Being filled with God’s love requires that you have a relationship with him. Your relationship with Jesus Christ will determine how patient you are and how well you master anger. This means you can change. You can do it through the Holy Spirit! When you become a Christian, you have God’s power living in you. Even in a crisis—when people are out of work, kids are at home, and people are in isolation—you have all the power you need to make the hard changes in your life. And it starts by looking at your heart. Matthew 12:34 says, “For whatever is in your heart determines what you say” (NLT). Here are some things the tongue can reveal:
If your tongue reveals an angry heart, then ask God to heal your hurting heart with his love. The anger in your heart may come from feeling rejected, abused, or unloved in the past. You need to know that Jesus cares about your pain. He can replace the hurt in your heart with his peace and replace your insecurity with his power. As you begin to feel accepted in God’s love, your heart will change and produce the fruit of patience and kindness. God promises, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you” (Ezekiel 36:26 ESV). “Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, and you must put on the new self, which is created in God's likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy.” Ephesians 4:23-24 (GNT)
From the beginning, God’s plan has been to make you like his Son, Jesus. This is your destiny. God announced this intention at Creation: “Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image and likeness’” (Genesis 1:26 NCV). In all of creation, only human beings are made “in God’s image.” But the image is incomplete and has been damaged and distorted by sin. So God sent Jesus on a mission to restore the full image that we have lost. What does the full “image and likeness” of God look like? It looks like Jesus Christ! The Bible says Jesus is “the exact likeness of God,” “the visible image of the invisible God,” and “the exact representation of his being” (2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT, Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3 NIV). People often use the phrase “like father, like son” to refer to family resemblance. God wants his children to bear his image and likeness, too. The Bible says, “You were . . . created to be like God, with a life that truly has God’s approval and is holy” (Ephesians 4:24 GW). To be clear: You will never become God, or even a god. That prideful lie is Satan’s oldest temptation. Satan promised Adam and Eve that if they followed his advice, “you shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5 KJV). Many religions and New Age philosophies still promote this old lie that we are divine or can become gods. This desire to be a god shows up every time we try to control our circumstances, our future, and the people around us. But as creatures, we will never be the Creator. God doesn’t want you to become a god. He wants you to become godly—taking on his values, attitudes, and character. As you work to fulfill your calling, remember that God’s ultimate goal for your life on Earth is not comfort but character development. He wants you to grow up spiritually and become like Christ. You are meant to “take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you” (Ephesians 4:22 The Message). “Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge.”
Proverbs 23:12 (NLT) Your journey of lifelong learning starts with a choice. It’s a choice only you can make. It’s an incredibly important decision that’ll impact your entire life. The Bible says, “Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge” (Proverbs 23:12 NLT). I made this commitment to keep learning when I was 15 years old. I began saying that I would learn as much as I could. For many years I read at least a book a day. Books open the door to every subject imaginable! Your education doesn’t stop when you graduate. I’ve actually heard people say, “I’m glad I’ve finished my education so now I can start my career.” Tell that one to God, and he’ll laugh. God has so much more he wants to teach you. Your education should never end. Learning isn’t just a stage of life. It is your life! God wants you to learn something new every day. So don’t stop—ever. Start working on learning a new skill this year. God wants you to grow. You should be and can be different and better a year from now than you are today. It’s in your best interest to do so. Lifelong learning will make you a better leader, a better parent, a better spouse, and a better friend. It’ll make you more effective in your job. It brings both success and profit. The Bible says, “If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success” (Ecclesiastes 10:10 NIV). If you’ve got an ax with a dull blade and you’re chopping wood, it’ll take a lot more energy to do the job. If your ax is sharp (which represents skill in this verse), then it doesn’t take as much effort. The Bible is saying to work smarter, not necessarily harder. You’re never wasting time when you’re sharpening your ax. “I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.”
Isaiah 48:10 (NLT) What’s got you tied up? What’s limiting you from being all God meant for you to be? God can use the trials in your life to eliminate what’s holding you back. No one likes those times when things get stressful, deadlines are coming too fast, and expectations seem unreachable. But sometimes God uses heat in your life to burn off the stuff that’s tying you down. You just need to trust God through the pain. God says in Isaiah 48:10, “I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering” (NLT). It’s unlikely you’ll literally go through a fiery furnace in your life, but you’ll go through the furnace of suffering many, many times. God promises to refine you with that fire. It’s like silver and gold. When it’s heated up, all the impurities are burned off. Then, you’re left with 100 percent gold or silver. If you ask a silversmith how to know when silver is pure, he’ll tell you it happens when you can see your reflection while looking into the cauldron. God knows you’re purified when he can see his own reflection in you, because you look more like Jesus Christ. Only the fire can do that in your life. “‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say—but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’—but not everything is constructive.” 1 Corinthians 10:23 (NIV)
You make so many decisions every day. Most are ones you don’t even need to think about—like deciding to brush your teeth in the morning or to fill up your almost-empty gas tank. Others are matters of right or wrong, where you can rely on the wisdom of the Bible and your conscience. Sometimes, though, you have to decide between a good option and a best option. In situations like that, use the Improvement Test. The Improvement Test asks: Will this make me a better person? The Bible talks about this: “‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say—but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’—but not everything is constructive” (1 Corinthians 10:23 NIV). Notice in those verses the freedom you have. But as a Christian, even though you can do something, it may not be beneficial for you; not everything builds you up. Some things are not necessarily wrong—they’re just not necessary. They’re not the best. Most choices you make in life are not between good and evil. You don’t get up in the morning and ask, “Shall I read my Bible, or shall I commit a crime?” You need to have a higher standard than right and wrong. You need to use the Improvement Test and ask what will make you a better person. Do you know more about TV characters than about the people in the Bible—or the people in your own family? Maybe you spend hours reading books or magazines that fill your mind with things that don’t matter. Or you fill your weekends sitting on the couch watching sports. In today’s world, many people throw away countless hours staring at their phones. Are these things always bad? No. Are they mostly a waste of time? Absolutely! Will they make you a better person? Absolutely not! So, the reality is, many people are spending their lives on second-class causes. But you don’t have to. So as you make choices every day, don’t ask: Is there anything wrong with this? Instead, ask: Is this making me a better person? Don’t coast along, filling up your life with things that aren’t the best. Instead, take the things you spend your life on and hold them up against God’s Word to see if they’re the best. “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires . . . Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.”
Romans 6:12-13 (NLT) Every day you are controlled by something. You may be controlled by your own ego or by the expectations of other people. You may be controlled by fear, guilt, resentment, or bitterness. You may be controlled by a substance or a habit. The bottom line is you are controlled by something every day. Freedom comes when you choose what’s going to control you. When you choose Jesus Christ to be in control of your life, when you are mastered by the Master, you can master everything else. If God is not number one in your life, something else is, and it’ll control you to a negative degree. When Christ is in control of your life, he always moves you in the right direction. Romans 6:12-13 says, “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires . . . Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God” (NLT). Giving control over to Christ is a choice. Here are some steps to help you do this:
Do you really want to change? Are you willing to do these things? You say, “I’m so tired of trying and failing.” Stop trying. Instead, start trusting. God gives you the option to either depend on him or depend on yourself. The result is either freedom or frustration. Why not give it all to Christ? What do you have to lose? |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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