Blog Archives - Collaborative Transformation

1 Corinthians 1

11/29/2012

1 Corinthians 1:18-19 “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scripture say, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”

This really struck me today as I read it, mainly because as we do open our heart and accept Jesus we must remember that everyone won’t. I think that is important to remember because then we know that we can approach people with love and not a demanding (I am right you’re wrong) attitude. It is our love and our changed lives that will help people see Christ in us. This love is what we show to all people as we live our lives focused on glorifying the Father. I saw an interview with Rick Warren on CNN and he did a great job explaining his belief in Christ and God’s word even when the interviewer didn’t agree. How he answered the questions made me think of these verses because people are going to believe what they want and until they are opened to seek the Good News they won’t believe the Good News.

When we purposely argue with them we make a stronger barrier for them to work through. Verse 20 says, “So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.” If we are like the Pharisees and just know what we’re supposed to do then people of this world will not see a difference and they will fall back on the world’s wisdom. But when we live out our beliefs as new creations and we mature to live like Christ (who loved and taught and then challenged) we won’t always be confrontational. We need to learn God’s word so much that we know it and we have to believe God’s word so much that we live it out in love. We have all heard this phrase, “love the sinner, but hate the sin.” This is important because until we are trusted and our character and integrity are sound people won’t listen to us.

God will make people grow but He has put us here to plant and water. Think about verses 30-31 and see how important it is that we show people our faith and how Jesus can change us. “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; He made us pure and holy, and He freed us from sin. Therefore, as Scripture say; ‘If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” Amen

Romans 14

11/28/2012

Romans chapters 14-15 have so many things that remind us to be outward in our focus and not fixed on what can help us alone. I wrote a few months ago that our walk is not for us it’s for others and these two chapters really give great lessons to help us focus on what is true and important. In chapter 14 verses 7-8 they say, “For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”

This should keep us focused on learning with purpose. We have a job to do when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives and that is to shine like Christ so others are impacted. We are reminded of this in verse 13 which says, “So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.” As we mature we should be growing and learning what gives glory to God and we should be thinking before we say something. I truly believe the slower we are to speak the more we are letting the Spirit lead us and the better decisions we will make.

We are called to live like and in Christ, well He has sent us the Spirit to lead us and lead us to do right. So we must be ready to listen and follow what He shows us. Verse 17 goes on to say, “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Our lives are not supposed to be trial free but the Spirit fills us with goodness and peace and joy when we listen and live it out.

At the end of verse 23 it says something I think we all should put to memory as we focus on living a life that glorifies God. “…For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.” Opening God’s word and listening to the Spirit are two major guides God has given us to be fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ who is the only way to the Father. We have an obligation to help others find the amazing gift that we receive when we believe and accept Jesus.

I want to end with Romans chapter 15 verses 1-2 to help remind us of our outward focus. They say, “We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.” Amen

Romans 13

11/26/2012

Romans 13:13-14 “Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.”

As we understand this and continue to focus on Christ our hearts and minds change and we see the importance of our living out what we believe. We can’t just say we are Christians; we must live as Christ did and that takes knowing everything we can about how He lived. Warren Wiersbe shares this about mind transformation, “God transforms our minds and makes us spiritually minded by using His word. As we spend time meditating on God’s word, memorizing it, and making it a part of our inner selves, God will gradually make our minds more spiritual.” Without knowing what God desires it is hard to live in His will.

Paul shares this in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 18, “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.” We have to seek growth and ask for wisdom because as we desire change the world will continue to tempt us and our need for instant gratification will entice our fleshly desires. The reason it is important for us to know Jesus Christ is because we need to be like Jesus Christ. We can’t imitate someone we don’t know and it is hard to die to self if we aren’t willing to change.

Romans chapter 12 verses 1-2 say, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” We see what we need to do, so let’s not let anything get in the way of our transformation and live to be like Christ and glorify the Father in how we live. Amen

Romans 11

11/23/2012

Romans 11:36 “For everything comes from Him and exists by His power and is intended for His glory. All glory to Him forever! Amen.”

What an amazing thing to learn and remember as we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. We must remember this as we live our lives and continue to mature in our walk with the Lord. It’s not that we have to understand everything it’s that we understand that all is intended for His glory. Look at what is says in verse 39, “Oh. How great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand His decisions and His ways!”

We need to grow and be faithful and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and what He did. He looked at the Father and did nothing else but what the Father showed Him. We don’t have to earn anything, salvation was already there for everyone as soon as Jesus died and rose again. We need to choose Him and accept that free gift so our heart starts to change and we are filled with the Holy Spirit. That change in us is very important because God will never change He is the same yesterday, today and forever but we are moved by the world we live in when we don’t ground ourselves in Christ.

Romans chapter 11 is one of my favorite chapters to help keep me focused on what is important. Verses 19-22 says, “Well, you may say, ‘those branches were broken off to make room for me! Yes, but remember –those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. For if God did not spare the original branches, He won’t spare you either. Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in His kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off.”

Don’t let this world control what you do and remember what it says in Proverbs chapter 3 verses 5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” We need to remember where everything comes from and that we need to keep our eyes on Christ as we grow each day to be like Him. Amen

Romans 6:15-16

11/20/2012

Romans 6:15-16 “Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become a slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to right living.”

We do play a part in our relationship with God. Just because we say we accept Jesus as Lord doesn’t mean we have chosen to follow Him. Satan is always working on us especially after we confess that we believe in Jesus. What we do next is very important because God has given us free will to choose, He is not lording over us making us love Him. True love is us seeking, believing and choosing Jesus because our hearts have changed.

We are a slave to whatever we choose. God has given us the word, then He made the word human to show us how to live and then finally He sent us the Spirit to guide us. What we do is so important because it leads to life or death. We can focus on our worldly desires which give us instant gratification, but never fills the void in our heart or we can choose eternal gratification (eternal life). When we die to self and choose Jesus Christ we can start the transformation in our heart that will free us from ourselves.

Remember what we read in Romans chapter 6 verse 11, “So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ.” When we let all that Jesus did sink in to our hearts we can see how amazing life is when we don’t focus on the world. Developing our relationship is the key to understanding how we should live and why choosing Christ is the only way to life.

Chapter 7 verse 6 says, “But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.” Living in the Spirit will always give us the right way out of a situation. We need to pray that we continue to develop and grow our faith so we choose Jesus every time. The world will not stop and either can we, we must ask, seek and knock everyday so we can grow and our hearts can change to choose life.

I want to share part of a devotion from Moody Bible Institute, “The Holy Spirit’s role in enabling us to live the Christian life does not mean that our obedience is automatic. We must choose the way of life marked out for us by God’s word on a daily basis.” We need to keep the fire lit and the passion alive so we can make a difference in all that we do. Amen

Romans 6

11/18/2012

Romans 6:10-11 “When He died, He died once to break the power of sin. But now that He lives, He lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.”

We must remember that sin is not our master and we don’t have to do the things we feel give us satisfaction for our flesh. We have the Spirit in us because of what Jesus did so we can listen to the Spirit who is our guide and comforter. Warren Wiersbe shares this in his commentary on chapter 6, “Sin is a terrible master, and it finds a willing servant in the human body. The body is not sinful; the body is neutral. It can be controlled either by sin or by God.”

Look at what Paul says in Romans chapter 6 verse 12, “Do not let sin control the way you live, do not give in to sinful desires.” God has given us free will to choose Him and we need to remember this as we live in Christ. Verse 13 goes on to say, “Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.”

We as believers no longer live for ourselves we live for the glory of God so we need to continually pray and work on listening to the Spirit, who will always lead us to do right, and choose to follow not lead. Verse 6 says, “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.” We are not bound to good deeds or earning salvation, we should be thankful it is a free gift that we can accept and choose life in Christ. Think of the beginning of chapter 6 verses 1-2 which say, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?”

Our acceptance has given us the power to choose what is right and the more we study and grow the more we choose right and our faith has a chance to develop. I love what Paul says in Philippians chapter 2 verses 12-13, “Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and power to do what pleases Him.”

We are new creations and should act like it so the light of Christ shines through us and makes a difference. We can’t just live like we did and say we are good because we know Christ, we must continue to transform and mature so our work keeps us from choosing our sinful desires. Amen

Romans 4

11/16/2012

Romans 4:13 “Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith.”

As I read this it occurred to me that Abraham didn’t even have any law from God yet, through his relationship he decided to believe and have faith. He needed to believe that what God said was true and he did it. It was all on his relationship with God and his time he spent listening and believing. If we would forget all the laws and just dive into God’s word and pray our relationship would fill us and we would never need to worry about the law.

Verse 16 says, “So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.” We shouldn’t think of things we can’t do but focus on who God is and that Jesus has given us eternal life through Him. When we truly believe that faith will be seen by our actions then we will desire to live like Christ. Can we say, we believe we have eternal life? Then death shouldn’t scare us. Can we say we believe God loves us? Then we need to believe it and live in love. Can we say we believe that Jesus said “come to me all who are weary?” Then we need to open our bibles and our hearts and come to Him. Faith is seen by us doing what pleases God not just doing things to check off a box. It also isn’t something that we have when life is good but we struggle with when life is bad.

Verse 20 says, “Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.” Can we mature in faith? Yes it just said Abraham’s faith grew stronger, so the more we pour into God and learn the more our faith has a chance to grow. A fellow employee at Christ Church of the Valley, Cheryl Ley, shared this in a meeting and it really fits with what Abraham showed with his faith. “It’s not knowledge that is power, its applied knowledge because if you do nothing with your knowledge you are no better off.” (Author paraphrase) It’s not the knowledge that Abraham had, it’s the belief he had that what God said was true.

I love verse 18 which says, “Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping – believing that he would become the father of many nations…” As followers of Christ we need to always turn to God and cultivate our faith by learning and living like Christ. In Christ we have so much and when we take the time to understand all that God has shown us we can live fully by faith just as Abraham has shown us. Amen

Romans 2

11/14/2012

Romans 2:6-7 “He will judge everyone according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers.”

This is not about being perfect and works, it’s about loving God and “seeking after the glory and honor and immorality that God offers.” And that is only through Jesus Christ. In Romans chapter 1 verse 17 it says, “This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scripture say, ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

When we understand the Good News that God sent His only Son to take our sins and we open our heart to learn we understand what faith is and how faith leads us to seek and live like Christ. Warren Wiersbe shares this statement on this topic by saying, “True saving faith results in obedience and godly living, even though a person may fall time to time.” It’s not about perfection it is about having your eyes fixed on the prize and growing each day to be like Christ. Look at this phrase that Warren Wiersbe shares about the end of Romans chapter 1, “They had begun knowing God but ended refusing to keep the knowledge of God in their minds and hearts.” As we continue our journey of following Christ we must remember that learning and doing are vital to our walk. This is because when we live out what we learn we cultivate our heart and mind, then our lives begin to change and we die to self and start living for God.

Paul challenges us again in chapter 2 verse 13 when he says, “For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in His sight.” I love this because it screams relationship not just learning rules. God wants us to seek and ask so we will go to our knees and talk to Him. That is what Jesus always did, talk to the Father, so we must also. When we can slow down and let the Spirit lead we will be able to transform our hearts and make a difference.

I want you to read chapter 2 verses 28-29 and really think about the meaning as I end this blog post. “For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.” Amen

Acts 24

11/9/2012

Acts 24:24-25 “A few days later Felix came back with his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish. Sending for Paul, they listened as he told them about faith in Christ Jesus. As he reasoned with them about righteousness and self-control and the coming Day of Judgment, Felix became frightened. ‘Go away for now,’ he replied. ‘When it is more convenient, I’ll call for you again.”

Felix was intrigued and wanted to learn but not to the point of change. He wanted to learn but he didn’t want to think of a life of righteousness and self-control. He knew about the movement the “Way” but he didn’t want to transform or learn too much because then his convictions might drive him to be different.

Can you relate to Felix or think of something that you just didn’t or don’t want to let go of? Felix says to Paul, “Go away for now, he replied. When it is more convenient, I’ll call for you again.” We must remember that it is not about our convenience and our timing, it is about God’s. What has been something that we have pushed God to the back for, thinking when it is more convenient we’ll seek Him again? I challenge everyone, this includes me, to step up and realize the most convenient time is now. Open God’s word and ask Him for understanding. It tells us to ‘seek first the Kingdom’ we need to desire to live a righteous life with self-control and realize that the right time is now and we need to be ready. We can’t wait until we are sick or it is more convenient, we must be ready for living a Christ-like life so people can see a difference in us and they want to ask us why. Then we will celebrate what we learn and we will do all we can to please God now and we won’t be consumed by the lies of this world that so easily keep us distracted.

This made me think of the story of the rich man in Matthew chapter 19 verses 16-22 which say, “Someone came to Jesus with this question: ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? Why ask me about what is good? Jesus replied. ‘There is only One who is good. But to answer your question – if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments. Which ones? The man asked. And Jesus replied: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love you neighbor as yourself.’ ‘I’ve obeyed all these commandments, the young man replied. What else must I do? Jesus told him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.” Notice the rich man was excited to hear what he thought was good enough but when Jesus upped the game and it became inconvenient to him he withdrew. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, we must believe that His way is always the convenient time and we should desire to learn from Him always. Amen

Acts 20

11/5/2012

Acts 20:21 “I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike- the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.”

This is the message we need to hold so dearly. Repentance is obedience and when we turn to God we surrender control and work on living for Christ. As we surrender and we trust in Jesus our heart opens and the Spirit fills us with understanding. The faith we have in Jesus grows as we accept and live out what we learn. Then we stop asking why and we allow the Spirit to lead.

Look what Paul says in verses 22-24, “And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus – the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” Paul is talking to the elders of the church in Ephesus but we need to listen and understand that we should be living and teaching the same Good News of the grace of God. And that grace is seen by God sending His only Son to die on the cross to take our sins from us “while we were yet sinners.” His grace cannot change just like His love, so we need to repent of our sins and turn to God, showing our faith in Jesus Christ by living in obedience to what we have learned.

When we truly believe that we are new creations and our new lives are not our own we can be a light that moves people to seek Jesus in their lives. Our lives should be built on the cornerstone which is solid and firm and our lives should be ones that are immoveable because we believe we have eternal life in Christ. Paul shows this in Acts chapter 21 verse 13, “But he said, ‘Why all the weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.”

Are we ready to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus? If not, what is holding us back? We talked about the blazing furnace in Daniel and how nothing should take our eyes off the prize. Faith is shown by action and action is living by obedience to the Father by surrendering our will for His. We are told in Proverbs chapter 3 verses 5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do and He will show you which path to take.” Die to self and focus on showing other the faith you have by your life lived. Amen