Day 22: Created to Become Like Christ

God certainly must enjoy speaking to us, or He wouldn't use such creative ways. Twice today, music choices have directly related to what I was doing or feeling. It was raining earlier when I was planning on spending time outside, and the song that came on was "Praise You in This Storm." Just now, when I got home, the song "How Amazing is Your Love" came on as I was feeling a mixture of resolve and discouragement. That song has been a kind of anthem for me lately, and I was just thinking about it earlier today.

It's strange the ways He works in us. . . the sermon tonight, continuing in Nehemiah, was entitled "Sticktoitiveness" (it's on dictionary.com, which is one of my favorite sites, and therefore must be a real word). If I haven't mentioned this already, I have been applying this series of messages not only to what's going on at SBC, but also directly to my job. There have been many parallels (the need for vision, a negative historical precedent, and attacks/ridicule from the outside, just to name a few) and overall it has been an encouraging series to engage in. Tonight was a little different, though. The message still applied and in ways was encouraging, but it wasn't really. . . uplifting for me. I've been toying (only a little) with the notion of this other position that I know is opening up in my district. I wouldn't have to move, and in fact I wouldn't have a commute anymore. I would be stepping into a successful program and doing what I love. It wouldn't be all positives, but no job is perfect, right?

Well, I might be wrong there.

If I believe that God brought me down to Florida to live in this community and to do the work that needs to be done at my school to establish a music program, then it stands to reason that I need to do what He has given me. And deep down I truly believe that. So these other thoughts, this other job. . . it's a distraction. I need to put 100% focus on God's purpose for my life, and while I'm still discovering all the aspects that entails (and probably that is an ongoing process), I don't really have a question in this area of my life right now. I think the reason this sermon wasn't as uplifting (a lot of times, after the Nehemiah messages, I have left the church brandishing a sword and saying "Bring it on!") (figuratively of course, though it'd be pretty awesome if I had a sword. I don't know why I would be bringing it to church though. . .) was because it reminded me that while I have a lot of support, I also have a lot of opposition. The past is against me. I've got to be wary of the criticisms and attacks of the Sanballats, Tobiahs, and Geshem the Arabs in my life. I have to continue the work, and sometimes that means working while carrying a spear. I also have to be aware of the opposition from within myself. Enemies are on all sides. This is not going to happen in a day. It won't be easy, and it will (and does) get harder before it gets easier. And sticking with this job means that I will have to face these obstacles.
But there's more.
Where I am in life is not a mistake. I need to stop living by land and start living by sea. Who am I to put limits on God? I need to realize all the amazing things He is doing for me and through me, and not get bogged down by the little things that don't matter in the end. I need to chase after what can be in my life (not just the job) and know that, if I let Him, He will do great things through me. I need not be afraid (if God gave me the job, then He wants me to succeed) nor give up, but stick to it and trust that this is my calling. God has a direction for me; am I committed to following it?

I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down.

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Romans 8:29 is so awesome in many ways and also a little scary. I have it in NIV and The Message because the language of The Message sounds less scary but still keeps the same idea. I'm not going to open up the whole "predestination" thing, because God does not make us do anything. But, He sets us up to find Him, and allows us to change His plans through prayer (Abraham- Sodom and Gomorrah (though it didn't work out), Moses- all sorts of things throughout his life, Elijah- kept it from raining). Anyway, I'm getting off track. He made us not only like Him (with spirits, intellect, love, and moral consciousness) but also to BE like Him. And guess who we have to look for to find the blueprint for how our lives were supposed to be (if Adam and Eve hadn't messed up): Jesus! It's so simple.

An important point the book makes is that it is a change of character, not personality. These verses outline those character traits; they apply to ANY personality. Also, God never told us that life will always be great down here. It won't be great until we're in Heaven, so why are we trying to achieve "heaven on earth"? WE exist for HIM (and because of Him), NOT the other way around. He's not an all powerful butler, taking our orders; HE CREATED US. That alone, at least for me, always reminds me that it is not about me, and makes me thankful for the opportunity to live and serve Him.

The theme of this week, if you missed the title of the chapter, is in a word, "sanctification." There are two parts to sanctification: we "work out" our salvation as the Holy Spirit "works in us." Check this out if you don't believe me. My LASB has a good point: Often it is in doing God's will that we gain the desire to do it. We are asked not just to pray, but to act on our prayers and concerns. It means that we need to not only read the Bible, but to put what we learn from it into practice. And, to throw a small yet related caveat in here from this morning's sermon, in order to worship we need to have both spirit and truth. To me, that means that we have to be talking to God and searching His word (to find truth), and we also have to be open to listening and feeling what the Holy Spirit leads us to and act on it! That doesn't nearly cover everything, but that's more than enough to chew for now.

Whoa. . . a Z-Radio ad on the verses from Philippians. God doesn't tell us to work FOR our salvation, but to work OUT our salvation. We have to do what He has already started for us, and go for it, knowing that His grace will come. Thanks for the back-up again, God.

Anyway.

God wants us to make choices in every situation that follow His will, even when we feel weak or uncertain. We have to have to HAVE to be willing to take that step of faith. We know that He can and will give us the strength and confidence to tackle whatever it is we are facing because He has given us the Holy Spirit. We have to choose to let go of our old ways of acting. This is something I'm working on, and finally finding success because I am giving it over to God. I can't do it with my own strength. We also have to choose to change our way of thinking. When our insides start changing, the outside will too, and it usually doesn't work the other way around (I think that's one of the problems when people go cold turkey on something; they try to fix the problem through action only, rather than thinking). Finally, we have to choose to develop godly habits. Simply put (by the book, not by me), character is the sum of our habits.

Another thing we need to keep in mind is that God uses not only the Bible, but the people and circumstances of our lives to shape our character development. As I said above, we are not where we are in life by accident. The book mentions the isolated spiritualists who "discover God and the meaning of life" by spending their lives alone on a mountain. What??? Hello! God created a world full of people; how can we experience the love of God if we don't interact with other people? Besides, it's the second greatest commandment: love your neighbor as yourselves. Feel free to insert your own "By moving to the top of a mountain, I am treating my (annoying) neighbor the way I want them to treat me" joke here.

Finally, and again this is a tough thing for me often, we have to know that sanctification is a life-long process. It's not instant, nor is it automatic. Just as our bodies develop and grow with age, so does our spirit. One thing we have to remember is that "God is far more interested in what you are than in what you do." That goes back to that whole idea of what worship really is. It's meant to be not just a "church thing" but a lifestyle; it is how we feel than where we are doing whatever it is. I love this: "we are human beings, not human doings."

So, for me, it means that it's more about how I approach the work to be done at Taylor, and not just that I am doing it. . . I think if I keep in mind that this is what God set me up to do, I will end up approaching it in a worshipful fashion.

Point to Ponder: I was created to become like Christ.
AND when I get to Heaven, I WILL be like Christ! Go back to the Romans verse above. What could be more exciting than that???

Verse to Remember: 2 Corinthians 3:18b- "As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more." New Living Translation
I was reminded of a song I learned as a young child. I've thought about the lyrics again, and I'm pretty sure they are Biblically sound (this idea also came up in today's sermon).

Question to Consider: In what area of my life do I need to ask for the Spirit's power to be like Christ today?
I shouldn't be surprised to come to this conclusion, but right now I think I need to trust God and give my job over to Him. Again, this doesn't mean that I just sit back and expect Him to do everything, but I need to use Him as my Consultant, my Comforter, my Strength and Firm Foundation, and ultimately my goal has to be that I am pleasing Him in my actions.

PS- From yesterday's entry: "Ph" is the "New Testament in Modern English" translation by J. B Phillips. I stumbled upon a reference at the end of the book.