Hosanna Restoration Church

There are changes that take place whether we like them or not. Most of us notice that we are gaining a year at each birthday! Along with those years, changes take place. There are physical, mental, and emotional changes that just seem to happen. Some take place suddenly and some over a longer period of time. We see changes all around us and all of these changes do affect us in one way or another. Some people hope to avoid changes and generally do not like change while others change with the wind and jump from one thing to the next.

Today I want us all to consider what, if anything, is changing in our lives with God. This translation of the bible tells us to let the Spirit change our way of thinking and make us into new people. Another translation tells us to be renewed in the spirit of our minds and put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. Yet another translation simply says, “Put on your new nature created to be like God–“truly righteous and holy.”

There are changes that take place that we can do nothing about. There are some we can take advantage of and some we need to avoid. We can extend good health by eating right and exercising or we can rush the aging process by abusing our bodies with wrong things and staying away from exercise. In the end we will all die one way or the other. Some people put enormous effort into keeping themselves fit, which is good, and others put a lot of time and effort into getting old fast, which is not so good.

The change that God has offered us is the one thing that will improve every other part of our lives if we will put the effort required into being transformed into what God has planned for us. He has created us to be like Him. Jesus said that He came so we could be made whole. Before He came, there was always something missing but in Him we have that missing part.It is our responsibility to desire what God has planned and when we do, it His responsibility to do what He has planned. It is like having clothes in the closet; they are there but we put them on. We are to put on this new man. We are to let the Spirit change us. We are in control of the changes. What do we desire?

For a long time I desired not to enter into the world of computers, but that changed. I did my best to live without a cell phone, but that changed. I also had no desire to use my phone to text, but that changed. The list of things that I tried to avoid is a long one. I will be honest and say that I have dragged my feet on almost every technological change that has come along and there are still some I have not jumped into. Recently however, I have been very aware that I may be guilty of dragging my feet on some changes that God has planned for me.

I do not want to miss any part of what He wants so I am asking to God to change me. His changes are what make everything else work the way it should. He changes our health, our wisdom, our hope, our strength. His presence positively affects every aspect of life. This is where we should put our greatest effort. Are we changing according to His plan?