Change is Inevitable ... Growth is Optional

Somewhere I read the words found in the title of this article. "Change is inevitable ... growth is optional." When a person comes face to face with the claims of Jesus Christ, the options are limited. If Christ is Who He says He is, then the choice for me, though difficult, is essential.

Since God's purpose is to conform me to the image of His Son, I must be willing to surrender all of who I am to His sovereign will. There are parts of me that do not want to surrender and there is a part of me that cries out for Someone to be in control besides me. None of us would deny that we are changing every day. That is the reason for the phrase "Change is inevitable ..." The question is, in my change, am I growing?

As a believer, every day is an opportunity for me to be MORE like Christ, but the choice is mine. If I chose to be more like Christ, then change is not enough, there must be growth. Growth assumes purpose ... purpose must be defined ... and once purpose is defined, it must be demonstrated ... and that demonstration is the reflection of Christ in me.

So, in the final analysis, for the believer, "growth is NOT optional" ... it is essential. Growing, while painful, leads to a blessedness in life that can be attained no other way.

These are just my thoughts.

Jerry

Beauty Is Always from God

As Carol and I stood before these two beautiful pieces of God's handiwork, we were both amazed at what others might call "just something that happened." The mountains behind us and the rock formation just to the right in this picture are absolutely breathtaking. We are standing facing the Apple Dumpling Bed and Breakfast in South Fork, Colorado. James declares in the book that bears his name in the New Testament that "every good and perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." {James 1.17}
Let me ask you, dear reader, is your heart filled with the beauty which only God can supply? If you should have any questions about how to know God, I would be honored to tell you how.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

It seems to me that I read that line {the good, the bad, and the ugly} in some publication, but I can't remember where {I would give credit if I knew}. Life for me holds some very good happenings. God has blessed my life with a new wife and He brought her to me in a most unusual, God-like way. That is good. On the other hand, my new wife is now several thousand miles away and to me that seems bad. It is not bad that she is there. However it seems bad to me because I miss her so much. But in the overall scheme of life, there are others around me for whom life holds some ugly moments. Every day I have the choice of deciding what kind of day I want to have. I was in a public establishment one day and as I was leaving, the cashier said to me, as I am sure she did to everyone she checked out that day, "Have a great day!" I confess that my mind runs in some pretty comical areas and when I got outside I mumbled to myself, in a sort of humorous way, "Don't tell me what kind of day to have!" But it really is my choice what kind of day I have. Things may be good ... things may be bad ... and things may be really ugly. The choices I make in light of how things are will reflect my acceptance of who God is, who I am in His presence, and how I feel about how God is treating me. As for me, my choice is ... trust. After all, He does know what lies ahead ... and I surely don't. David said in Psalm 18.30: "As for God, His way is perfect." Come to think of it, I like His kind of "perfect." How about you?