What Colors Do You Show the World?

The Message tells us in Matthew 5:14, "You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world." This image I have here is that our appearance is to be that of a colorful rainbow. It's pretty hard to hide a rainbow. Rainbows are way up there in the sky for the whole world to see. We can expose the world to the Light of the World. When His Light is shining in us it definitely attracts attention! Everyone is drawn to this wonder. God as Light and Jesus, the Light of the World and dispenser of living water provide the necessary elements for our rainbow. In the next post we'll discover more about Jesus in those roles.

God-Color Moment
We are to be a delight to the senses. Colors evoke so many emotions and remind us of so many things. How do your feel when you're sitting in a gray room? What do its colors d to your senses when you view a spectacular sunset? Roses of all colors send different messages to their recipients. Red ones are said to mean love, yellow friendship, and so on. Colors are such an important part of our lives. Think about them. Pray about them. Decide at this moment in time what colors you personally display to the world. Are they God colors? Do you lack color? What do you think those colors are saying to those you meet every day as you go about your business? What color does the checker at the grocery store see in you? What color are you when provoked by your unbelieving coworker? Do you show your God colors all day and save the yucky colors for your family? Spend some time deciding exactly what colors you are and what each of your colors represents to you.

This assignment is rather abstract. That is intentional! Each one will have his/her own unique interpretation. (Please don't let this be based on your fashion "season" or the colors you like to wear.) I hope each of you has a very different take on this, because it will be so interesting to share how you see yourselves and learn what different colors mean to others. Some may see you differently than you see yourself. That's okay. You may discover that you are displaying more God colors than you know.


Just look at the colors these parrots have on display! :o) Wondering what they might have to say to the world? They certainly are creations of God and incredible displays of the colors of the Light of the World!

I'm praying that there will be lots of comments on this post as you each consider your colors. It may also be helpful to have a friend or two or more sharing this whole adventure with you. Will you invite them? I'm counting on it!

You'll want to look back at this later in the study to see where your colors have intensified, what new colors you've added to your palette, and what new revelation you've received from the precious Spirit of God in this area of your life. 

This was mentioned in the previous post. I would like to take the time now to ask that any of you who have been reading this blog and would like to become a Christ follower, that you will take the time right now to pray. Acknowledge your sinfulness and need for a Savior. Ask God, because of the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus, to cleanse your heart. Know that for the asking, you are forgiven. Then prayerfully purpose to live your life acknowledging Jesus as the Son of the Living God & the Lord & Savior of your life. Become connected with a local body of Bible believing Christ followers. Know that your life will still have many challenges, you will still stumble, and that Christ is there for you to walk with you, pick you up, and carry you through the journey. If you need encouragement and assistance in finding a church home please contact me. Also, please let me know of your decision that I may be praying for you as you begin this new life in Christ.

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All other content Copyright Lynn U. Watson 2004, 2011

Rainbows!

In the verses in the last post from Ezekiel we read: "As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance;" and from Revelation: "there was a rainbow around the throne like an emerald in appearance." A rainbow surround the throne in both of these accounts. Rainbows evoke much intrigue in our culture. Little leprechauns are said to be able to find the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Those of a certain lifestyle persuasion in our culture have chosen the rainbow as their symbol. The popular Rainbow Brite and friends of the 1980's made a come back. Popular musical artists looking for something better out there use the rainbow metaphor in their lyrics. In all of these instances and many more, we see the world duplicating what God created and using it as its own.

A quick review from your elementary school science class: the basic elements that are needed for a rainbow to form are a source of light and water, a prism or similar item, which will both reflect and refract the rays of the light. Light itself is pure white and represents all colors combined. When the light hits the "liquid" medium it is refracted and reflected and breaks into all or some of the colors of the rainbow. The exact result is dependent on the angle at which the light strikes. It can be done in a laboratory, of course. Rainbows can be created by holding prisms, holograms and similar items up to a light source. Those are duplications of the real thing -- the "bow" in the sky.

Satan, himself, masquerades at an Angel of Light (2 Corinthians 11:14). The creative dynamic of this masterpiece of nature, however, belongs to God alone. Rainbows are such a vibrant display of His glory. It seems that if the world would place so much emphasis on light and rainbows, then God must have some intense purpose for them in the life of the believer.

The first mention of a rainbow in Scripture is in Genesis 9:12-13. According to this passage, what importance does the rainbow have for Noah and his family?
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As Christ followers, when we observe the rainbow in the sky, it is not only a delight for our senses, but also a beautiful reminder that God does indeed keep His promises. Find one of His promises to His children in 1 John 1:5-7. What is the promise we have according to these verses?
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God is Light! He is all the colors of the rainbow! Therefore, even the unbelievers unknowingly desire their share in the true God. The promise is that if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS CLEANSES US FROM ALL SIN. Our Ultimate Pardon purchased with the blood of God's Son, Jesus Christ, is the only source of true peace. How sad for the unbeliever chasing after any other rainbow than the One that lives within the heart of every believer. Jesus lives within each believer's heart, and by His own Words in John 8:12 (NASB) we hear, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." The world will chase it forever and never attain the pot of gold at the end of their rainbows unless they walk in the true Light. To choose to walk in that true Light they must, of course, be exposed to that Light.

I'm praying right now that as we proceed with this study, those who are not following Christ will see more and more of the true Light of the World and choose to follow Him. I'm also praying that for those who have already made the decision to follow the Light will allow It to shine with more and more God-Color glory.


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All other content, Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011 

Rainbow, Radiance, Glory of the LORD

As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. . .   Ezekiel 1:28 (NASB)

Today we observe descriptions of the throne found in God's Word. In the next post we will look specifically at our reflection of Christ to those around us. What do they see when they look at our lives?
     Please begin by reading the following Scriptures:
     Ezekiel 1:26-38 and Revelation 4:1-3
Record all the facts about the throne that you discover in these two passages.
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What stood out most to you?
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Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011

Your History of His Faithfulness

The children of Israel were familiar with the trials of life. Life certainly wasn't all peachy keen for them. They wandered in the desert for 40 years and grumbled a lot. Later, they reminisced, recalling how God had taken care of every detail of their lives. Exodus 15 is a written record of those memories. Read it now, and list the provisions of God's faithfulness to Israel during the wilderness years. Which ones speak to your heart at this particular time? Do you see those as glimpses of God's glory?
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God-Color Moment
Before continuing with this assignment read Psalms 66, 105, and 136. No matter what our circumstances we can always see glimpses of God's glory by rehearsing the history of His faithfulness thourghout our lives. If you examine your life closely you will see that He was faithful to you even before you knew Him and during those times you wandered in the wilderness. Spend some time now asking God to reveal to you the history of His faithfulness in your life. Write your own personal psalm of praise to Him for all those glimpses of His glory you have witnessed.

What Glory Fills Your Temple?

As a temple of God we should have as much of the glory of Christ surrounding us and in us as the temple in Jerusalem was filled with the glory of God in Isaiah's vision. What observations are you seeing of Christ's glory in your life right now? How does He reveal Himself to you through His Word? In prayer do you ask Him to show Himself instead of asking for the "stuff"? How awed are you at the magnitude of the universe? Have you looked for Him in the small stuff? What is stirred within you when you consider the complexity of nature over which we are powerless?

In the Memphis, Tennessee area where my family makes its home, we had the opportunity to experience that last one up close and personal. It was a few years back, July 22, 2003, to be exact. As the city awoke for the day, some thunderstorms crossed the Mississippi River from Arkansas into downtown Memphis. They were no longer just thunderstorms. As the storms crossed the river something happened and these became straight line winds, which blew at hurricane force. I believe the technical weather term is a derecho.

Within twenty minutes the entire city and county were totally crippled. A full seventy-five percent of the utility company's customers were left without power, an outage which for some lasted nearly two weeks in the heat of a humid Memphis summer. An area which boasts of its many, many old and, therefore, enormous trees found many of them uprooted and lying flat on the ground. On almost every block there was at least one home damaged if not destroyed by these uprooted trees or falling limbs. Grocery stores had to discard much of their perishable food. It took several days for them to restock, and that was after their power was restored.

Did we see the extreme power of God in all of this? You better believe we did. At first look that might seem more like His vengeance, and perhaps it was. But yet in His mercy, only a few lives were lost, most of which were from careless use of candles and generators after the fact. Only one lost life was a direct result of the storm itself. People worked together to clean up the mess. There may have been grumbling about the length of time the power was out, but utility crews were cheered and applauded by residents as block by block they brought the city back to life. We are privileged to see glimpses of God's glory in so many ways; and, YES, I believe we can even see glimpses of His glory in the devastating effects of nature.

Comparing that storm to the storms of life, there are some striking similarities. They usually come unexpectedly. They knock us down hard. We have the choice of throwing a temper tantrum, acting childish, and allowing the storm to keep us in a crippled state. Or we can look to God's faithfulness in the past and trust Him as slowly but surely, "block by block" with His guidance we put the pieces back together, and we walk into the future knowing He is there and He knows what we are going through -- He's even walking right there with us!

A Picture of God-Color Glory

One of the more beautiful things about sharing this Bible study as a blog is the opportunity to add little tidbits as we go along. Today is VALENTINES DAY. Found this gorgeous heart that I believe just radiates God-Color Glory! Hope it brightens your day today, and enhances your experience with the study. :o)




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What's In Your Temple?

Do you not know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16 (NIV)

In the last post we pondered and imagined what the train of His robe might have looked like. Today's focus will shift from the train to the temple that it fills. In the introductory material we discussed the size of the temple and how much fabric it would have taken to fill the temple in Jerusalem. We considered that it would take us a life time and then some to truly examine every inch of that garment.

We are ready to consider another temple and what fills it. Read 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 6:19. How is the temple identified in these Scriptures, and how is it filled?
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Now read Isaiah 6:1-4. What else do these verses say about the temple?
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Did you catch that?! Our bodies are the temple! OKAY! So, with that in mind, and looking back at Isaiah 6:1-4 , if each of our bodies is a temple and the Spirit of God occupies it, then are flaming creatures with six wings flying over us? Do we fill the earth with His glory? Does the shouting of the angels shake our foundation? Does smoke (burning incense  = prayers of the saints -- Revelation 5:8) fill us up? Does the train of His robe fill our bodies?


That is all pretty mind boggling, don't you think? :o) Do we allow enough of Jesus in our lives for us to reflect that kind of glory to the world around us? What does the world see when it observes our lives? Does it catch little glimpses of that glory? Or does it see a jewel encrusted train filling our lives? Do you see His glory when you look in the mirror? I desire to see His glory in my life, and I desperately desire for others to see Him in me. Do you desire the same?


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All other content Copyright Lynn U Watson, 2004, 2011


(For answering questions such as those in this post, to make notes and add your own thoughts, and to be able to look back later, you might consider writing them out in a journal, keeping a Word file or a notepad on your desktop computer, or making notes about the material right on your Kindle.)

Engaging Your Imagination

In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the LORD sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Isaiah 6:1 (NASB)

Isaiah's vision of the throne and the One seated upon it has totally captivated my imagination. (Can you tell?) In previous posts I shared about the amount of fabric it would take just to fill the temple and examining every detail of the fabric.

But the wonder of the train of His robe filling the temple wasn't enough. I began to wonder how the fabric was embellished. Was it woven around the edge in golden threads and inlaid with precious jewels? Was the entire piece of fabric encrusted in treasures of all kinds? Was the lining of spun silk? Were tapestries a part of this ornate garment? How many colors were incorporated into it? How long would it have taken for artisans and seamstresses to have completed this incredible piece? Do angels have a sewing guild to craft such priceless works? Scripture doesn't tell us these things, of course. It all had to do with my imagination, and filled with limitless possibilities.

God-Color Moment
My imagination has truly run wild with this. How about yours? Take some time right now to imagine this work of art that filled the entire temple. What do you see?   Spend some additional time today describing what you are envisioning. A masterpiece in prose, perhaps a crayon rendering, a pencil sketch, an embellished piece of fine fabric, maybe there's a song in your heart . . . not all are writers, artists, musicians, or stitchers, but please try to express what you are seeing . . . let this be an act of worship to the Creator of the universe.

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All other content Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011 

Isaiah "Saw" with Absolute Clarity

My morning devotion this morning happened to focus on the Radiance of God's Glory. Unintentional from my perspective, but oh so awesome when God chooses to bless in this way! :o) I feel compelled to share this quote.

The full meaning of the Hebrew word ra-ah, translated "saw" in this verse (Isaiah 6:1), is significant. It means to see something with absolute clarity. To worship God effectively we must have a proper view of Him, not allowing anything to obstruct our vision. That divinely focused view only comes to those who study God's nature and character as revealed in His Word. Anyone who plunges deeply into God's Word rises highest in their praises of His glory.

From "31 Days Meditating on the Majesty of Jesus"

by Jack Hayford & Dick Eastman

Blueprints for Our Construction Project

In the weeks and months ahead on this blog here is a map of where we are going... the blueprints for our construction project:

Chapter 1: Open House at Solomon's Temple

Chapter 2: Your Master's Plan -- Checking Out His Teaching Seminar

Chapter 3: De-Junking! Ridding Your Heart of Clutter

Chapter 4: The Truth About Walls -- Embellished Pillars as an Alternative

Chapter 5: Heirlooms, Keepsakes, & Treasures -- Expecting the Rare Find

Chapter 6: Installing a Spiritual Security System

Chapter 7: Color and Accessorize! -- Reveling in the Details

Praying at least a few of these have caught your attention! We are going to be having a great time with this and learning to be in closer fellowship with Jesus all at the same time! It will be awesome.

How Large Is Your God?

Humor me today please. I'm taking this whole "the train of His robe filled the temple" image just one step further. Remember I mentioned the seamstress in me, and I'll be taking this opportunity to expand on the a bit further. :o)

When our children were growing up, to supplement our family income, I spent many hours at the sewing machine creating custom garments for the public. Rachel, our first born, did not entertain herself well for very long. (How many of you have had one of those children?) This meant often times holding her in my lap while I sewed, or snatching moments to sew late at night or during her very short naps -- she didn't like those either. When she was old enough to sit up and get into things, her curiosity and investigative skills happened onto a new "toy" --  grocery sacks full of fabric scraps! Rachel would sit on the floor where I was working and carefully dump those sacks. She would slowly inspect every single piece of fabric in those sacks as though she were looking for a rare treasure. When she finished with those two sacks, I could fill them up and she would repeat the entire search all over again. She was thrilled with this little game, and it won me 45 minutes every afternoon of uninterrupted sewing time.

You guessed it! I decided to estimate just how many grocery sacks of fabric it would have taken to fill the temple . . . . my calculation: 151,875 or so . . . That's a whole lot of grocery sacks. Now Rachel had two sacks, and she went through each of them twice in 45 minutes. So, if she had 151,875 sacks, and was willing to go through each of them twice for 45 minutes, she would spend 56,953 hours or 2,373 days, or 339 weeks or 6.5 years of her life 24/7 at this. I'm sure she would discover some pretty cool things about the fabrics a she examined their intricate patterns and textures. If you will further consider that she could go through the same two sacks of scraps for a month or more before we changed out the mix -- well you get the picture -- this could be a life long, 24-hour-a-day activity and the discoveries would not be made this side of eternity.

In future posts we will learn about our bodies being the very temple of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus lives within each believer's heart. Like He did with Isaiah, God wants us to see our own personal sin/idol (that which puts distance between us and God), so that He can come in with His powerful cleansing and help us to rebuild those places in our temples so that we will reflect His gory in a powerful and colorful way to the world around us.

As I prepared to share all of this with you, God grew mighty large in my eyes!!! As you visualized the pictures I was expressing, did your understanding of His proportions take on a new meaning?

Like Rachel with the sacks of fabric, we could spend a life time examining the wonders of our God, and continuously be amazed at what we see revealed. If you can look at your life in light of the goodness and majesty of a magnificent God, then you can see the imprint of His faithfulness on every minute of it -- 24/7/365. Do you think this ENORMOUS GOD has some big plans for your life and mine? Are you ready to allow Him to prepare you to be used for His purposes?

Look at Isaiah 6:8 (NASB) again:
Then I heard the voice of the LORD saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Do you desire to be better prepared to boldly answer when the Lord calls on you? Preparation, restoration, and renovation of our temples as God's throne is the journey we are on -- a journey that I pray will increase your heart to serve Him only and to do it with certainty and joy!

Copyright, Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011

In the next post I'll be sharing the "chapters" that lie ahead so you will have a bit of a map. I will be spreading these over the months ahead. Remember that the entire blog is always here. You may come on board anytime. There's no time table except as you and God choose.

The Train of His Robe Filled the Temple

Read Isaiah 6:1-8 again, either from your own Bible or you will find it in the very first post in this blog. In the next two posts (and before we go on) I would like to focus on God's enormous proportions -- the picture that Isaiah is poetically creating for us here.

The Scripture says God was seated on a throne above the temple -- high and exalted. It then tells us that just the train of His robe -- just the train -- filled the entire temple. That amount of fabric totally mesmerized me. The seamstress (one of several hats I wear from time to time) in me felt compelled to figure this out.

A little research uncovered this fact: Queen Elizabeth II of England donned a train made of purple velvet for her coronation. The train measured 6.5 meters (about 21 feet) from her shoulder to the tip of the train. The train had been constructed from 22 meters (about 24.5 yards) of fabric. Supposing that they used three lengths of 60 inch wide fabric -- that would come out just about right -- the train would have been 15 feet wide and 21 feet long. That's 315 square feet. How does that compare with the amount of fabric needed for the train of God's robe to fill the entire temple? Before we even start doing the math, let me add that most velvet fabrics are loomed much narrower than 60 inches, which may make the figures we will be using on the conservative side.

Looking at Solomon's blueprints (see 2 Chronicles 3) for the temple, the measurements show that the inside of the temple was 90 feet long by 30 feet wide by 45 feet high. Multiplying that out, just the square feet of fabric to cover the floor would have had to be 2700 square feet. There are 15 square feet in each yard of 60 inch wide fabric. That's 180 yards of fabric to cover the floor. Now the temple is 45 feet high, and the train of His robe filled  the temple.

Must next calculation was how many layers of fabric it would take to get a stack 45 feet high. Velvet is pretty thick, and not accounting for the weight of it mashing the layers dow, I conservatively estimated six layers per inch. Forty-five feet equals 540 inches. Five hundred forty inches times six layrs to the inch is 3,240 layers of fabric.

Since each layer is 180 yards of fabric, we now need 583,200 yards of fabric to fill the temple. One mile is 1,760 yards long. That means we are talking about 331 miles of fabric. Consider, too, that He is seated high above the temple -- the train had to reach the temple before it could fill it up. We can only imagine how much more fabric that would require.

There is no conclusive evidence of what fabric this train would have been constructed, but hair of goats, sheep and camels as well as linen, flax, hem and silk were the common fibers of the day. Since Jesus is the King, and He is also the Lamb of God, I chose to learn a little about wool production. Soft fleece from the smaller sheep is produced at a rate of 2-6 pounds per sheep per year. There are two shearings each year. Since the average amount here is 4 pounds per sheep per year, if follows that for one shearing the average is 2 pounds. Are you still with me here?

Now I don't presume to know if 2 pounds of wool makes 2 pounds of yarn or not -- I'd guess it takes more ounces of the wool make the same measure of yarn, but for our purposes today, we're just going to say that the two measurements are equal. Just using an afghan pattern and dimensions and yarn weight to get an idea of how much wool it would take to create 583,200 yards of fabric, my calculations indicate that 4,665,600 sheep would need to be sheared. I can't even begin to imagine how many angels would have been employed to do the shearing, much less spin that wool and weave it! Again, this is all hypothetical, but allow it to paint you a picture of just how incredible Isaiah's vision really was, and why he saw his own shortcomings so intensely magnified.

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All other content, Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011

Obedience of Faith

This quote came across my desktop this morning, and I believe it merits a brief field trip.

The really important thing in life is not the avoidance of mistakes, but the obedience of faith.  By obedience, the man is led step by step to correct his errors, whereas nothing will ever happen to him if he doesn't get going.  ~~Paul Tournier

As I've been presenting this Bible Study to you, there has been a recurring thought. The words sin and idol are heavy words. They make us uncomfortable. The discomfort, I believe, is because our sins and the idols we hold in our hearts create separation from God. When we stop to observe the true state of our heart and our relationship with our Creator and our Savior we choose whether or not to take steps of obedience in a new direction. The quote above summed all these feelings up so well, and it came at the perfect time!

Temple Under Construction

We are about to finally embark on this journey of discovery as we cooperate with God in a  temple remodeling project preparing ourselves to more closely resemble the temple that He desires to fill with His glory. We will dig deep into our past, way past our failures and shortcomings and straight to the heart of God, to discover His marvelous faithfulness in our own lives up to this very moment. As we intentionally picture His hand on our entire life, the glimpses we see of His glory in our lives will grow. We will be asking some serious questions about a specific sin in our own lives that is keeping us from being the person He has created us to be and from reflecting His glory in the tasks for which He has chosen us. And finally we will look at how He is preparing us to deal with specific sin in our lives.

Another reminder -- We can't change anything by our own power, and God won't ask us to change it all at once. We will be spending our time uncovering truths about God and about ourselves, allowing Him to prepare us for the construction work He desires to do in our lives. Prayerfully, we will be allowing Him to release His grace within us to transform our lives. Our obedience to His Word is rewarded when we reflect His glory for others to see.

To find Scriptural examples we will be looking at the preparations for the building of Solomon's temple. We will look further to see how those same principles aply as God prepared some Bible characters to serve Him is such a way that His glory was magnificently displayed through their lives. We will apply God's blueprints for construction work on our own temples, and learn to recognize and follow His call to serve Him with our lives.

We will consider the lives of Bible characters, just as human as ourselves, who sinned just as we do. Yet, God in His wisdom, offered His great mercy, love, and forgiveness to each of them. Through them He revealed His glory in some marvelous ways. Rahab, a harlot, observed God's faithfulness to His people. She made preparations that helped the Israelites, saved her family, and reflected God's glory as she took her place in history in the direct line of decent to Jesus. The Shepherds tending their flocks in Bethlehem, David and his son Solomon, Job, the woman at the well and others -- they all have stories to share that will enhance our remodeling work. We will be participating in some fun, creative projects and exercises during our time together that will hopefully help us to remember and apply the truths we learn.

Let's get started. I'm excited about the possibilities and all God has in store for all of us. I wish I could be at every construction site to see you and God working on this project together, growing more intemate with each other each day. I'll be praying for you for magnificent results in each timple. They will all be so different, and so beautiful, and all a part of the body of Christ -- what an incredible thought!

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All other content, Copyright, Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011

What Change Will God Make in Your Heart?

What does God have His finger on in your life? In what area is He calling for change? Where is your Christian walk being challenged? Does your temper control you? Are you engulfed in a sea of laziness? Is there a judgmental spirit keeping you from loving others? Are the monsters of addiction and indulgence holding you in their claws? Do you justify less than honest business dealings? You fill in the blank: ________________________  (Look at the list I've included at the end of this post. Some of those may trigger some thoughts on this for you. I suggest you really focus on one thing at a time. This study will be here for you to do again if you have other things in your life you would like to deal with, too. Pick the place to begin today.)*

You claim you've tried a hundred thousand times to change, and nothing happen. In your own power, of course not! Failure comes because the focus is on us and on our problems. What we focus on, we give power to control us. In other words, we are just plain powerless to change anything. If we want to see a real difference we will need to allow God to redirect our thinking.

All the power to change rests in the hands of the Holy Spirit living in us. We can do nothing by our own power. By learning to cooperate with the Holy Spirit, we will see the metamorphosis in our lives. He will teach us to make the choices (by His power) that will make us look different. Our focs will shift to others. We will make less destructive choices. We will be seeing God's plan for our lives.

Ephesians 2:10 (NASB) says, "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." When we recognize and internalize this truth, and seek Him with all of our heart, soul, and mind, the power of Christ's resurrection will work in us to make a difference in the lives of others. Jesus would increase and we would truly decrese along with our interest in the many areas of self-indulgence that are a such a part of our lives. Others will see more of Jesus, and a little less of "Queen I" or "King I" on the thrones of our hearts.

*Here are some of the things that may be consuming more of your heart than is spiritually healthy: TV, internet, facebook, electronic connectivity of all kinds, food, clothes, cars, shopping, hanging out, sports, drink, drugs, easy credit, money, relationships, career, laziness, anger, judgmental attitude. There may be something else that God is bringing to mind for you. Prayer is a powerful tool. Please seek God to show you specifically where He would like to change your heart right now.

Copyright, Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011