Change

Romans 12:1, 2 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

There is a lot of talk about change in today's church world. Change is important and it helps us to know how we should alter the way we do things in our personal lives in order to be more effective. Sometimes we even hear how it is essential to change even if just for change's sake, because we have developed bad habits along life's way. 

Yet, we exist within contradiction.

-On the one hand, we need stability and perform well when we feel secure and established in our working and home lives.

-On the other hand we can become stagnant, complacent and uncreative when we shy away from change or when we find we simply cannot cope with it.

How can we bring these two ideas together so that we can rest easier and deal better with change?

Here are some things to remember:

(1) We cannot usually predict when change will happen, but we can be better equipped to deal with it when it does if our attitude is right with God. 

(2) We can look at the limitations we all put on ourselves and how they hold us back from being open to change especially when God is leading us into a territory that is foreign to us.

(3) We can begin to understand how patterns occur and what we can do to alter and limit those habits and patterns from developing into negative situations.

(4) We can look at the various kinds of changes there are and some effective ways of approaching them with the help of the Holy Spirit.