Scripture
So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
~2 Corinthians 3:18, NLT
Quote
Anyone can improve as long as they take responsibility for their errors and constructive criticism from mentors and friends.
~Ya’akov
When a person is born again, they are an infant in Christ but it is not God’s design that they remain in the infant stage. We are to grow up, to mature in our faith. We are not to get stuck in a childish and immature state. Everyone grows old but not everyone grows up. What are you now and what do you need to become? What is your potential? Where are you now, and where do you need to be a year from now or ten years from now? God has a purpose and plan for your life and it is to change you, to transform you into the likeness of His Son. God is not into cloning: none of us will ever be exactly like Jesus but God wants us to take on His characteristics. Jesus was humble, meek, kind, gracious, obedient, fearless and He had a passionate love for the Heavenly Father and for people. In this regard, God wills that we become like Jesus. This process is called sanctification. It is an incremental step-by-step process where we change daily and become more and more like Jesus.
When you look at the Christian church, you see some that are changing and some who are not, so what is the problem? The basic problem is humility. We don’t see the need for change and we resent anyone who infers that we do. We are deaf to instruction and we get angry when corrected. We hate criticism in any form. This attitude produces irresponsible people and we have them by the millions. I was watching Landon play basketball at Priceville a couple of weeks back: Hootie Mac and a little boy, whom I did not know, were sitting next to me. Hootie was playing with an I-pad and the little boy grabbed for it; when he jerked it out of Hootie’s hand, he dropped it on the hard gym floor. Immediately, he blamed Hootie. I turned and gave him a firm eye, “You are the one who dropped the I-pad, don’t blame it on Hootie.” He looked stunned and said again, “No, I didn’t, it was his fault.” I said, “No, you dropped it and it was your fault. I want you to repeat after me…I dropped the I-pad and it’s my fault.” Then I was stunned; surprisingly he did as I ask and said aloud, “It was my fault.” I gave him a high five and told him, “Now we were making progress.” If you want this story verified, Lance was sitting next to me.
People who go through life blaming their mistakes on someone else will never grow up and we all know grown people who are not grown up; they are still blaming others. My brother John use to play golf and he was pretty good. He told me once, “I don’t like to play with preachers.” This peeked my curiosity and I asked him to explain. He said, “Because they don’t count all their shots {in other words, they cheat}.“ He went on to say, “If you don’t follow the rules strictly, you can never improve.” You give what he said a little thought and I think you will agree. June showed me a cartoon off of FaceBook where a woman had learned how to deceive her fit-bit. She discovered a way to make it count steps that she wasn’t actually walking. My point is: what is the purpose of a fit-bit? Who was she cheating? This woman is not going to burn extra calories or lose weight until she get’s honest and acts more responsibly. She may view herself as a victim, doing 20,000 steps a day and losing no weight, but others see her differently. She is a LOSER and will always be so until she corrects her faulty thinking and behavior.
- Sorry about being late. I had some urgent business early this morning and so the post is late.
- I can’t praise the LORD enough for the rain. I think my round up ready grew 6 inches in one night. We should have corn by the 4th of July.
- Have a great day and thanks for reading.