Encounter the Word:
It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It's a wonder God didn't lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah. –Ephesians 2:1-6 [Message]
Change. The very word brings up feelings of fear, fight or
flight. When we first came to GOD,
we were “of the world,” filled with worldly ways, words, and selfishness. All a
negative downward spiral—hell bound traffic. Death the destination.
Christ offers to come in and clean us out, replacing the negative with Himself,
replacing the hate and jealousy with love and respect. Change.
When you need your car fixed, you take it to a mechanic. You hand over your
keys trusting that they'll find the root cause of the problem, fix it, and
return it to you in better condition. Change with GOD has many similarities.
You hand over the keys to your heart to Him, willing to let Him remedy the aspects
that are holding you back, fixing what is keeping you broken.
Hopefully you don't stand over the back of the mechanic directing them on what to ignore and what to look at. So too with GOD, He knows what He's doing and only He can make the changes. The unwilling heart tries to hide things, conceal defects, but GOD needs complete access for He alone knows your potential when you place Him first in your life. Your attempting to make changes on your own is as useful as flooring the gas pedal when your car is on a sheet of ice. True transformational change comes from GOD, all you're capable of doing is permit Him to work.
When you hand over the keys, change begins. You’ve joined GOD’s caravan, a convoy of believers traveling together. You are now part of the Kingdom of GOD, made up of people from all aspects of life, different classes, different family lifestyles, different upbringings and opportunities—diverse yet one. We all have our story, but we are now part of GOD’s story--A glorious journey where this world will end and a new one will begin, lasting forever. Praise GOD for His mercy and passion for wanting to bring us into His glorious kingdom! Changed.
Hopefully you don't stand over the back of the mechanic directing them on what to ignore and what to look at. So too with GOD, He knows what He's doing and only He can make the changes. The unwilling heart tries to hide things, conceal defects, but GOD needs complete access for He alone knows your potential when you place Him first in your life. Your attempting to make changes on your own is as useful as flooring the gas pedal when your car is on a sheet of ice. True transformational change comes from GOD, all you're capable of doing is permit Him to work.
When you hand over the keys, change begins. You’ve joined GOD’s caravan, a convoy of believers traveling together. You are now part of the Kingdom of GOD, made up of people from all aspects of life, different classes, different family lifestyles, different upbringings and opportunities—diverse yet one. We all have our story, but we are now part of GOD’s story--A glorious journey where this world will end and a new one will begin, lasting forever. Praise GOD for His mercy and passion for wanting to bring us into His glorious kingdom! Changed.
Encounter Prayer:
Great blessings belong to those who depend on you for strength!
Their heart’s desire is to make the trip to your Temple.
They travel through Baca Valley,
which God has made into a place of springs.
Autumn rains form pools of water there.
The people travel from town to town
on their way to Zion, where they will meet with God.LORD God All-Powerful, listen to my prayer.
God of Jacob, listen to me. Amen. –Psalm 84:5-8 [ERV]
Encounter:
- Read chapter 2 of Ephesians. What ideas grabbed your attention?
- What are you wanting GOD to change in you? What is GOD wanting to change?
- What prevents you from "handing over the the keys" to your heart?
- What would it mean for you to truly belong?
