MORPH | the art of change
the middle voice
9 Comments
What would you change about your life? Let’s face it. We all have things about ourselves we want to change, whether they are big or small. Some people dread, even avoid change, while others seek it out like the next big thing, latest fad or adrenaline rush. But change isn’t always what we think it is. When it comes to morphing our lives, we think it only takes a certain amount of determination, drive and discipline. But there is a certain art to change. And in this series, Pastor Steve paints a picture of divine transformation that can only come from God. And when we learn to partner and cooperate with him, we tap into the creative forces that radically alter everything about our lives, forever.
DISCUSSION
If you could change one thing about your life what would it be? What does it really take to make a change and to make change last? In your experience what are the most difficult pieces of life to change?
Reader Comments (9)
JESUS, THE DIVINE ARTIST, CAN ONLY REPAINT MY ETERNAL CANVAS WHEN I ADMIST THAT I AM POWERLESS TO AFFECT REAL AND LASTING CHANGE. Yet most of us live our lives with a SYNTHETIC RELIGIOSITY. We spend a lot of time rewriting and recomposing our own RELIGIOUS RESUME; we try cleaning things up, we try painting on a plastic smile, we pretend like everything is ok. We pretend like we can handle life on our own. We act like we have no problems, no issues, NO DARKNESS. WE TRY BEING MORAL, BUT FIND THAT WE STILL CAN'T LIVE UP TO GOD'S PERFECT WAYS. WE TRY ATTENDING RELGIOUS ACTIVITIES, BUT FIND THAT WE AREN'T ANY CLOSER TO THE DIVINE, WE JUST FEEL GUILTY. WE TRY HARDER NEXT TIME, BUT FIND THAT SOMETHING IS STILL MISSING. SO, WE GIVE UP ON GOD AND WE GIVE UP ON CHANGE.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8 NIV)
WHEN WE SAY WE HAVE NO STRUGGLE WITH DARKNESS, NO DISGUSTING HABITS, NO REPUSLIVE ACTIONS, NO DESTRUCTIVE THOUGHTS, WE ARE LYING AND THE TRUTH IS NOT IN US. GOD IS LOOKING FOR AN AUTHENTIC SPIRITUALITY; AND THAT COMES ONLY AS WE CONFESS OUR OWN INCOMPLETENESS, OUR OWN INABILITY TO CHANGE, OUR OWN FAULTS, FAILURES, AND WEAKNESSES. GOD IS WAITING FOR US TO DECLARE TOTAL DEFEAT TO DARKNESS.
I had my own BODY MODIFICATION MELTDOWN. I was in a WEIRD PLACE AT THE TIME. Mostly because I was really high for great lengths of time, but I went through a phase when I wanted to CHANGE SOMETHING ABOUT ME, SOMETHING THAT OTHERS WOULD NOTICE, SOMETHING THAT WOULD SET ME APART. I spent a lot of time thinking through this and how it might be possible. I WANTED A TAIL. That is right, like an animal but a bit more mechanical. I thought I could create a sort of mechanical, possibly robotic tail that was surgically implanted into my spine. Maybe I wanted more balance or maybe I want to be able to grab things and still have my hands free. THAT IS WEIRD I KNOW (KIDS SAY NOT TO DRUGS). BUT IS IT MUCH WEIRDER THAN ENLARGING CERTAIN BODY PARTS OR STRETCHING OTHER BODY PARTS. TODAY, WE GET IMPLANTS ALL THE TIME. THESE ARE ARTIFICIAL ATTACHMENTS IF YOU WILL. THEY AREN'T REAL; THEY ARE FAKE. THEY MIGHT GIVE AN AESTHETIC ENHANCEMENT, BUT THEY ARE STILL FAKE.
We have found a way to create FAKE FLESH. In our daily lives, we can struggle with this. We can RUN AFTER RELIGIOUS IMPLANTS. We can focus on the things that only OTHERS WILL SEE, the things that LOOK GOOD ON THE OUTSIDE, REGARDLESS OF THEIR INTERNAL INTEGRITY AND SPIRITUAL AUTHENTICITY. We can get caught up in shoving SILICONE SECRETS DEEP INSIDE, WE CAN FIND A WAY TO HIDE THESE SILICONE SECRETS IN SUCH A WAY THAT THEY ACTUALLY LOOK GOOD ON THE OUTSIDE.
The ideas of Jesus actually hint to this life-approach:
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2 NIV)
God is not TALKING ABOUT AESTHETIC MAKEOVERS - HE DIGS AUTHENTIC MORPHING. WE ARE TRANSFORMED THROUGH THE RENEWING OF OUR MINDS – WHEN OUR THINKING IS CHANGED OUR HABITS, BEHAVIORS, AND ACTIONS WILL PLAY CHASE.
After talking about this on Sunday, I had an interesting conversation with someone about BODY MODIFICATIONS. I personally dig really cool tattoos and body piercings; the kind of body modification I am talking about has to do with mere external changes trumping true internal transformation. Such as when a person changes their outward behaviors in an attempt to win a girl over, only to reveal later that he was just playing her. There was no real change on the inside, just an external modification to impress people on the outside. I call that rewriting our religious resume. Everybody practices religion when they attempt to make themselves appear to be more perfect or desirable than they really are; when they wear a mask and work hard to make it believable.
It is true that some people might need plastic surgery or implants for medical reconstruction of the face after an accident or something like that; but a good rule of thumb is to start with the internal changes and then see how the outsides look after that.
Thanks for the response. In what ways do you feel God calling us back to Him? How does that work in your life or in other people's lives? How does something like that play out in everyday reality?
I know that divine transformation can only come from You. I pray that I learn to partner and cooperate with Jesus so I can tap into the creative forces that radically alter everything about my life forever.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Jim is a hard-working, middle-class, blue collar, American 9 to 5er. He works within walking distance of his home and takes the same route to his office job every day. He lives in a small house by himself. As a bachelor, his house naturally looks like 10 tornadoes came crashing through.
Jim walks by a Best Buy on his daily venture to work. One day, Jim’s eye was caught by a beautiful 52” HD Plasma TV in the window. He was so captivated by this TV the first time he saw it that he stood gazing at it for 10 consecutive minutes. He almost began drooling. He lusted after this technologically advanced device day after day on his way to work. Unfortunately for Jim, the TV was out of his price range, selling for $1,500.
After about three weeks of hardcore daily coveting, this beauty box’s price was split in half to $750. Jim was euphoric. Immediately, he skipped like a little school girl into the Best Buy that very moment, threw his credit card on the counter and simply pointed to the 52” Plasma TV. The day he set it up in his trash laden living room was like Jim’s wedding date. Jim had met his match made in heaven.
As Jim elatedly enjoyed his new wife, he was suddenly struck with discontent. “With such a beautiful TV like this one,” he strongly contemplated, “how can this TV hang on a wall coated with such old, hideous paint?” The next day, Jim headed to Home Depot and purchased the finest paint in the warehouse and all the needed supplies. He carefully painted the living room so that it would be suitable to share space with his beautiful bride.
After Jim was done painting, he looked around the room and thought, “Wow, those curtains are repulsive! I need to replace them in order to match my new TV and paint job!” After replacing the curtains, the deteriorating window sills could no longer remain. Jim was then disgusted by the stain infested rug and replaced it. The couch was next. On and on, Jim replaced every item until his living room and finally his entire house was a completely new place.
This one 52” Plasma TV caused Jim to replace everything in his entire house so that everything would be comparable to his new, beloved bride.
Jesus Changes Everything
Jesus does the same thing to us that the Plasma TV did to Jim. Once we encounter Jesus and let Him into our lives is when we see that some things in our life just got to go. We see that all the other pieces of furniture in our life are just disgusting and unworthy of being with Jesus. We can no longer stand the couch of carelessness, the dresser of despair, or our house of hopelessness. Jesus causes a total renovation, a renovation of our entire beings.
"If anyone wants to come after me he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me." (Luke 9:23 NLT)
Christ has called us as a community of faith dwellers to daily surrender ourselves to Him. This means that we must put aside selfish ambitions and devote OUR EVERYTHING TO HIS DREAM & WAY OF LIVING. Here are three DIVINE INJECTIONS that will help you follow Jesus and find freedom from the "quick fix syndrome":
SPEND EVERYDAY IN DIVINE PURSUIT
Every day we must be pursuing Christ above all else. This starts by spending time with Jesus. If we are not spending time with Jesus then we are not going to have the power to fulfill the mission of Jesus. It should be evident in our lives that we are spending time with the GOD-MAN on a daily basis.
Here are some simple steps to connect with God everyday:
Set aside a WINDOW OF TIME each day to be alone with God. Start with 15 minutes and see where it takes you.
Create a SCRIPTURE MEMORIZATION PLAN: Try using the Scriptures from THE NOTES we provide each Sunday. Grab one Scripture a week to internalize and lock down in your mental vault. We can't live what we don't remember!
Recite the COMMUNAL PRAYER: During every Series of Talks we provide a prayer for The DC Faith Community to participate in. It is a prayerful reminder of what we are asking God to do in and through our lives during this season of life.
Develop a SCRIPTURE READING MAP: Try reading through the Bible in a Year. You can find these helpful guides online.
JOURNAL YOUR PRAYERS and spiritual conversations with The Divine: Grab a DC Journal and start recording your cosmic conversations with God. You will be amazed at how your intimacy with Christ expands as you begin to journal your time with Him everyday. Try writing ONE praise, ONE confession, and ONE request each day in your journal.
SEEK OUT FELLOW FAITH DWELLERS
Some people think that spirituality is a private thing; and although some things are deeply personal the Way of Jesus was never meant to be lived in isolation. If you are attempting to embrace the pathway of Christ without an authentic faith community integrated into your daily life-stream, then you are missing out on the greatest thing happening on planet earth - The Church of Jesus! Find a community of Christ-followers that you can do life with and jump in. We would love to have you check out a group or try a ministry team here at The Dialogue Church.
SERVE & SACRIFICE FOR THE DREAM
If it were not for the many volunteers and faithful contributors of The Dialogue Church we would not be seeing lives transformed, souls released from addiction, people freed from selfishness, marriages restored, and families pieced back together. It takes BIG MONEY TO DO BIG MINISTRY. It takes fuel to make ministry happen. That fuel takes shape in the form of human and financial resources. We need more people who are serious about their "God-Chasing" to take on the responsibility of this faith community and the vision that God has entrusted to us. We are looking for more "redemption-addicts" to climb on board the DC Train and help us alter people's forever! If you'd like to listen to a series of talks on the "spirituality of money" then check out "IN THE ZONE" available for download at The DC Media Place.
It's taking a whole lot of trust in the Lord to get me through my days right now. With the legal trouble that I have and the uncertainty that comes with it, I can't help but cling to the Lord. I am so afraid to let go of Him, that if I do...things will go terribly wrong. I am scared to go back to jail...not only because of my unborn child but because of the fact that I may not be able to handle being back there. I have prayed to the Lord over and over again not to let me go back there because of my baby. I would like to be around to raise him and teach him all about Jesus.
I have so many thoughts in my heart and head...sometimes it is hard to make sense out of it all. Daily I place myself, my unborn child, and all the feelings and thoughts I have in Jesus' hands. Yes others have seen how "together" I have been lately. I thank Jesus for that. However there are many times when others aren't around me that I fall apart and give in to what I am feeling and only Jesus sees that. He sees how scared I get. Yet He keeps me strong to go about the day and do what needs to be done. He provides me the courage to face what I need to face and to voice how I really feel. So I go about every day trusting in the Lord and not relying on myself...I look to Him for the strength, courage, and whatever else I need to get through each day. I know that I can't take anything for granted right now. I spend the time to thank God every day for what He has provided and continues to give to me.
All I can picture right now is how a young child grips tightly to his/her parent's leg. That is me...and right now I can't let go... God deals with my fears right now and He lets me know that is it okay to feel this way. So I cling to (very strongly) and trust in God.
This is a very profound reading in my life right now. It reminds me that I have a choice to make every day...do I or do I not trust God with my life and my unborn child? I make the choice to trust in God whether or not I am strong enough to do so. All I havee to give Him is me and that is all that He asks for.
I really loved that piece you just wrote. I admire the authenticity and honesty within it. Trusting in God with all of our hearts is a gripping exercise. I think one thing we must keep in mind comes in the second piece of that Scripture "acknowledge him in all of your ways". "To acknowledge God in all of our ways" is to place our lives underneath His Divine Authority; God's Divine Authority comes to us in the form of His Sacred Text, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. So, in order to "acknowledge Him in all of our ways" we must begin to live in alignment with His Recorded Voice - the Bible.
Trusting in God with all of our hearts means we are seeking His Way in every arena of life - and no matter what the cost we are not going to bail on His Pathway - even though the road will get rough.
You are a living example of this piece of Scripture and how rough it can be when we seek to inject our lives with the Way of God! In the end, God will smooth out the Trail of Transformation in front of us. Thanks for sharing that very revealing story from your life.