Usually change doesn’t come naturally. It can come with kicking and screaming, hesitation, or just flat out rebellion. But change doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Yes, change often comes with uncertainty… but it can also come with growth, opportunity, and adventure. Look at change with a new hope. See that change can be good, and trust God with the process. Don’t be afraid of what may be around the corner of a new opportunity.  Be open. Be willing. Embrace change.

Ephesians 4:21-22 says “when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

The Lord wants to continually refine us, mold us, and break us so that we can become more like Him.  But that doesn’t come without change. Our human nature is broken, selfish, and immature.  Christ calls us to throw off our old self and daily strive to live in the abundance and the blessing that Christ has for us in a life with Him. A life of hope, forgiveness, love, and purpose. And a life with Christ compels us to live differently. We don’t have to live stuck in our brokenness or shame. Christ has redeemed us. He has set us free. And we have power in His transforming work in us. We live out the characteristics of Christ as we get to know him more.  We grow and begin to bear the fruit of the spirit.

Change also takes work. Sometimes hard work. …

How do you “see” things? Do you really see them? Do you have a certain perspective? Do you have a tainted lens through which you look? Do you look past the way things appear? Or do you have an opinion before you even really look?

I ask myself these things because I want to see things differently. I want to have the eyes of Christ as I see the world. This doesn’t mean that I walk around blinded by a “Christian bias”. It means I see things in a way that I want more of the world. I want to see things in a way where I can be the hands and feet of Christ. I want to see people with love. I want to see situations with truth. I want to see things for the purpose of Christ.

The world has tainted our perspectives. The world has a lens that is always pushing us to want more, get more, and have more. But it is filled with emptiness, void, and lack of real reason. I don’t want to see with my eyes. My eyes don’t see the potential that Christ sees. He sees fullness and hope and abundance. I get blinded by doubt and skepticism and criticism. I want to see truth. I want to see love. And I want to see Christ. He is there. He is all around me. He is living in the creation around me, he is speaking in relationships I have, he is touching my heart through blessings, he is showing me provision through trials, and He is holding my hand every step of the way. I just have to open my eyes and walk in faith so I can really see.

Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great …

Is your day so scheduled that you have no room for anything else? Do you run from one thing to the next? Is your vision so focused just so you can get through your day? Is there room for spontaneity? Where’s the space for anything else that may come your way? What if we were open to having our world interrupted. What if we weren’t so set on our own schedule that we could “interrupt” someone else’s world (in a good way)?

Let’s look at Acts chapter 8. The church was growing. The gospel was spreading. The apostles were journeying to new places. They were willing to leave their comfortable place. They were obedient to go without knowing the exact destination or the future. They were determined. They knew their purpose. They were set in their obedience and their journey, but not set in their schedule. They were willing to listen to the Holy Spirit’s promptings. They were willing to step out in faith. They were looking to see God in the unique things that happened on the journey. They were open to opportunity.

The Ethiopian in Acts chapter 8 was not someone that Philip would ordinary seek out. But Philip heard him reading and went to him. Philip was not preoccupied with what he wanted for himself or what his own plan held. Philip was willing to listen to the Lord. Philip got the opportunity to help the Ethiopian. He got to help him not only understand the gospel, but baptize him in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As soon as the Ethiopian understood the good news of Jesus and wanted to instantly take action in his own life. He didn’t see any reason why he wouldn’t be baptized. Now that he understood …

When we are spending time with people, I think most of us want those relationships to look a certain way.  We want the friendship or relationship to go both ways, be reciprocal, have a give and take, or be somewhere close to “50/50”. It’s pretty normal to have that perspective about most things. With friends, family, coworkers, classmates, whoever it is, there is a certain level of expectation that relationships go two ways. It’s an investment. And with investments there is usually something received in return.

But here’s my dilemma… what if Christ loved us under those conditions? What if Christ only loved us if we loved him first.  What if he loved us the more we did for him? It’s a good thing that this is so far from how to characterize Christ’s love. Christ’s love is unconditional. He doesn’t ask us to come half way. He comes all the way, no matter how far into the depths that all the way is. He doesn’t ask anything of us, except for us to let Him in. There is no formula, no agenda, no guideline. Just LOVE. It reaches beyond anything we can even imagine. We can’t even picture how much He loves us because it is just too big.  Nothing we ever do will earn more love or take away His love. We don’t deserve it. We don’t even know how to fully understand it.  But we can receive it.

So we say we love as Christ loves, but do we really?  Don’t we usually have some sort of agenda lurking in the background? We say we are giving and loving people and don’t expect anything from them but I am not sure if that is always the truth. Maybe you are struggling today with your expectations of people …

Yesterday I was able to spend a few hours by myself in a new environment on a little vacation.  Usually in these situations I get really distracted by my phone, something back at home, or flooded with the list of to do’s… I can never fully enjoy where I am because my mind is in a completely different place. Which is a little selfish.  If I am so stuck in my own world that I can’t see beyond my own two feet, where is that going to get me. But yesterday I feel like I was able to take it all in. Just be. Be present. Be engaged. And don’t just coast, but live.

If I had been distracted by my own life yesterday I may have missed out on the interesting and unique culture I was visiting.  The people, the restaurants, the sights, the architecture, and the history.  People didn’t all just arrive and become who they are in their own worlds.  There is a history, a story, and a personality to each culture. It is an amazing experience to open your eyes and take it all in.

I could focus on the idea that rushes into my brain that I accomplished nothing at all yesterday.  Which may be partly true, but in that moment, it doesn’t have to matter. I was able to be me.  I was able to enjoy some time alone. I am the kind of person that doesn’t do nothing often. And I for sure do not do it well. When I have those few hours, I feel a little guilty. But I am not being useless. I need to be thankful for those moments and be refreshed. Life isn’t about just rushing around doing as much as possible in a short amount of time. …

Do you ever feel bored? Do you feel like you are going through the motions? Do you feel stuck? Sometimes life can get very mundane or very routine. With these moments come feelings of monotony or lack of excitement. But what causes that emotion? I have a feeling we really aren’t bored… There is probably a number of things that you could spend your time doing. I am not sure what bored actually means. I think we just fall into a mode of not taking advantage of living in the moment. There’s plenty to do if you actually think about it. (Or we can give you some ideas, look to previous posts from this week) It is just the mindset and perspective about being right where you are.

So my encouragement for all of us this week is to be present. Be here and now to take advantage of this moment. Be present physically. Be present emotionally. Be present spiritually. Open your eyes to see bigger and see broader. Open your mind to think beyond. Open your heart to love a little deeper.

Put away the distractions that so easily take away from the ability to be present. Whether it is the phone, tv, a to do list, or an agenda, put it to the side for a little bit. Allow yourself to be.

Live for today. Don’t live in the past or the future. Don’t be held back by something in your past. Don’t only look forward to tomorrow because you think it may be better than today. For today, you have today, so make the most of it.

Be blessed by what you have. Don’t focus on the things you don’t have. Be content right where you are. Be blessed in the task at hand and make the …