What does it take to really be changed?

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Comment by MYu on March 14, 2011 at 11:11pm

 

Interesting question... I've often wondered myself. I realized... the more I get conscious of wanting to change... to obsess about controlling my life out of my own accord to suit the standard of other people about what being a Christian is... the more emphasized the struggle becomes. And the more frustrated of myself I get. Until one time... I was told to pray for grace. Just pray for grace and when He grants you that... He will be the one to change you. Bottomline... I just needed to open up to God's grace and surrender my will to His Will and slowly but surely... I will be molded according to the kind of person that will please and delight Him. Surrendering to His will is still not easy for me, there's still a struggle there... but I just focus on that and rely on His strength and wisdom needed, for me to change. I know I'm still God's work in progress. I just keep the faith that I'll get there... where He intends me to be. True change is never  skin deep... it is what shows when you act on gut feel. I will know that I am fully changed when I show and uphold real Christian values naturally, without effort, during unguarded moments...in crises,  in tight situations, even when no one is looking. 

Comment by maggie hancox on December 27, 2009 at 9:22pm

Ok for starters, the real mess starts when trying to measure yourself..it is like telling the potter how to mould you the clay.
Doing this is a fast track to condemnation that is not of our Father.
Sin deminishes with true relationship with Father.
It is not by might, or power, but by his spirit, and he will be faithful to complete his work in us until the comming of our Jesus again.
We have to believe that his word is true, that we are constantly being transformed by the renewing of our mind.
Transformed from glory to glory.
If you want to pray a really dangerous prayer brother, ask Father to give you a holy reverential fear of him.
Or if you dont like the word fear, try awe, it means the same thing in this context.

Ask him to break you that he will build you up again in the way in which he desires.
Ask him to give you his heart.

And then when he does, recognize it and thank him, and listen to his prompting.
This is not a prayer for the faint hearted.

Comment by Mahe G. on September 4, 2009 at 12:31am

Althought I am struggling to recover my own faith, I do believe that we need to feel deep love in our hearts in order to truly find God. I work with foster children who suffer on a daily basis. Sometimes, feeling their pain and joy draw me closely to God. Sometimes we have to experience pain in order to truly feel joy like some poets have referred to in their poems. Everytime I experience love in my heart, I feel truly close to God. Anyway, I just wanted to post this thought for you...Scribe. It's almost hard to believe that you are struggling to be totally holy...You write and talk about God more than anybody on this site. So, I am sure you are in the right path, but maybe one of these days if you go and visit less fortunate people in remote places you will truly find what you are looking for. I am originally from Cuba where there are so many political and economic problems, but yet people manage to smile and find love in the beautiful relationships with friends and families...Anyway, just a thought...I just joined this site a few days ago and I am loving it! God bless!! and please keep writing....

Comment by ScribeD on March 21, 2008 at 4:17pm

Wei Jing, that is excellent. Thank you.

Comment by Harrin on March 21, 2008 at 7:38am

Dear Bro,
I, too, have experienced the "quickly and miraculously" part and the regression because the temtations were too much to bear. And yet, once God is working and making my heart tender, everything changed. He made a way and broke my heart and brought revealations that His love is unconditional. It's God who grows us. One can speak beautiful languages but if God does not bring understanding, no one is able to grasp it. God works in the heart.
But believing in the lie that something else, besides thirsting God, can bring us joy and comfort us prevents us from knowing the truth. Indeed, knowing the truth breaks the lies that bind us. (That's why evil always works to take people's faith. They will not disturb you if you had little faith in God,because you would be on their side already.)The truth is, God's love is unconditional. Read CORINTHIANS 1 Chap 13:4~7 to check out what kind of love God has towards you.I pray that the Father will ready your heart to have faith in His fairy love towards you.
Only God can provide the true joy and comfort, which is not a feeling. My joy and security lie in having firm faith that God is mighty to save. Everytime evil tries to drag me down and my heart feels weary, I call the name, Jesus and ask Him to help, then those lies flee.

Again, the spring of courage to change is provided by God only, if you need it, just ask.
I pray that God will open your eyes to see His presence and love and I pray that you will have a tender heart to accept His love.

All my love,
Wei Jing

Comment by Harrin on March 21, 2008 at 7:09am

I am amazed to see how honest and thirst Scribe is, and how caring and blessed Phabs is. Give the glory to the Lord! You are so beautiful in God's eyes.I have already see miracles in you!
Big Bro, Well,if you fear and doubt, just tell Him and ask for faith. He will give us, for He has promised. It's true that God always let us bear more than we can in order to help us learn to rely all of ourselves on Him. You will see why if you check Proverbs Chap 3:5.
I pray to inviet the Holy Spirit to come to make your heart tender, so that there may be more room for Holy Spirit to work in you and bring more revealation in your life.

Wei Jing

Comment by ScribeD on March 18, 2008 at 9:53pm

Phabs, thanks. I appreciate the encouragement. I have been contemplating doing impossible things and praying that He gives me the faith to believe it is really true and not just my own vanity.

- Scribe

Comment by Phabs on March 17, 2008 at 11:29pm

I read your reply at work this morning; (well yesterday morning now) I was moved. I’ve been thinking about this all day. All that keeps coming to mind is Romans 12:1 “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” If the bible offers a step by step transformation, or how to change guide, I plead ignorance. We are told to “be transformed.” It’s interesting that this command is in the passive voice, I don’t think we are to transform ourselves, I don’t know that we can. The Spirit transforms.

Perhaps that is the most difficult aspect of our faith, as much as are instructed/commanded to do, it is always God who brings about the real changes in us. Though we are to work, it is always Him who works everything out in us. We are commanded to bear fruits, but at the same time, Christ says “ 5"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15: 4-5

It would be fair to say that more than bearing fruits, our focus should really be in abiding in Christ wouldn’t it? He who abides: bears. Bearing is a given for those who abide in Him. Perhaps we could apply the same principle to our transformation, let us not conform as the text says, let us renew* our minds and God will take care of the transformation.

You sound so much like Saint Paul in Romans 7, you know. You’re in great company

I agree with you that God does give us more than we can bear even though I believe He will never give us more than we can bear. I think we believe the same thing deep down. If His intention is that we rely on Him to help us bear our crosses, then He would absolutely gives us more so that we may seek Him and depend on Him, but if He intends for us to actually bear those crosses, then I doubt He would never give us more, His yoke is easy and His burden light.


I will pray for miracles in your life, God works in mighty ways, if He spared nothing, not even His Son, to save us, He will work out any miracles necessary to keep us on the straight path. You’ve given me much to think about and pray for; it’s so easy for our hearts to become hardened against Him and for the callousness to start building up. Be blessed abundantly in every spiritual aspect dear brother.

Comment by ScribeD on March 16, 2008 at 10:15pm

Phabs, thank you for commenting.

Well, I have no intention of stoning anyone. And your comments are valid. Let me ponder the discussion with you, without any condemnation:

Did Jesus just suck it up? When he prayed and sweat drops of blood and told Peter that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak... I think that means that he definitely didn't "want" to do it. He begged the Father to make another way.

It's interesting that you reference this. Because this is exactly what I was contemplating today. It's not as though I have any great stressful thing that I "don't want" to do. Quite contrary, I have a lot of things that I am struggling to live out that I most definitely "want" to do.

My problem isn't the grin and bear it routine. I do that okay. My question is how to actually become changed? What is it that really transforms? That is my heart's desire - to see this stubborn man actually become changed. I don't want to pretend. I want to produce. Jesus said we will bear fruit, he said we will be transformed. That's what I want.

I'm capable of pretending. I want to overcome my pretending and experience new transformation. I did in the past. I want to do so again in the future.

My conviction is that God wants this as well, that he is working to perfect us. How do I stop resisting his work, and start cooperating more? I know that many times we have to "just do it" when we don't want. But, what I want to learn is how to begin WANTING more transformation and consistently cooperating with the Spirit of God.

I actually believe that we are always given crosses too heavy to bear. Nothing else is really from God. If we are carrying an easy cross, it is probably of our own making. Jesus himself could not carry his own cross.

If "just do it" were enough, we'd probably be doing something of little consequence. God calls us to a radical dependancy; he requires us to shake off a simple human centered life. If we aren't living a life that is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE, then I'm convinced we have settled for a false faith.

Lot's of us do that. It's very tempting. Many very religious people are very good at looking good on the surface, while having hearts hardened against God.

I want to live a miracle. My flesh wants to "have" a miracle, without "living" it. Living a miracle means that I take Jesus words to heart when He said "Father, not my will, but your will be done".

So, I am pressing forward when I want to give up. I am looking at many areas where I may fail, but praying for miracles. I am walking forward, however timidly, knowing that I MUST have God to help me carry the load, or it will not be carried. I want so much to see God bring fruit and bring empowerment in my life.

Phabs, will you pray for miracles in my life? I need them. The biggest one is I need to stop living in fear and fully embrace and savor the crosses God has given me to bear.

My savior did it for me. I can live it out by His grace, if he now does it with me. How great a God we serve? No? My soul will rejoice and trust in Him.

Comment by Phabs on March 16, 2008 at 5:31pm

The "suck it up" or "Nike" approach works for me. just do it, make up your mind and do. Of course that's easier said then done.

But haven't you found that that a lot of things that we have not changed about ourselves is truly because deep down inside we do not want to change them, we still enjoy whatever fleshly gratification they bring.

for me it starts with praying that I would really hate whatever I need to change, sometimes it's when I attempt to pray those "make me hate..." prayers that I realize how much I truly don't want to, or my flesh does not want to change.

Promise you won't stone me! ok? sometimes I cannot help but to think that maybe Christ didn't really want to sacrifice Himself, (although He laid down His life of His own acord) but He just sucked it up because it was our Father's will.

I think that's what we oughta do, just suck it up and change whatever we need to.

We just have to believe that He would never give us a cross that is to heavy to bear.