People Change…

The desperation in this song is a painful reminder of a conversation I had with a dear friend out West. When “D” first shared what was happening in his marriage, we talked almost every night for several months. I remember asking him one night, “how are you doing, man?” He stopped for a second and came back with, “I’m not ok, Matt. Not ok.”

When I heard this song the other day, those words grabbed me by the throat. Word for word almost, these lyrics mirrored that conversation.

My heart hurts for them, their kids, and several other families I deeply care about who are dealing with great pain at the moment. It hurts for my own family.

But I want to encourage all of us with a reminder to take heart. To not believe the lie that there’s no hope, no point, no chance. That it’s over.

No matter how big a miracle you think it would take, do you honestly believe that God can’t? We serve the God of the impossible. There are no limits.

Don’t believe the enemy’s lies that people don’t change. Or that God can’t move in an instant, no matter how improbable.

Take what happened to Saul. Nobody believed that guy was gonna change. But God…

Acts 9:1 Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers.

Look how things changed just a few verses later.

Acts 9:18, 20-22 Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God! All who heard him were amazed. “Isn’t this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem?” they asked. “And didn’t he come here to arrest them and take them in chains…?” Saul’s preaching became more and more powerful, and the Jews in Damascus couldn’t refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.

People change.

In fact, we should all be changing. Daily. Renewing our minds, moving closer to Christ, growing in grace.

If there’s something that you know needs to change, I encourage you to start today. Talk to your pastor, or a trusted friend who’s truly following Jesus, and figure out what your next step should be and begin!

And don’t miss the change in people around you. Skepticism really is an unwillingness to believe. Cynicism at it’s core is doubt.

God specializes in changing people. Drastically. Suddenly. It shouldn’t surprise us. And when they don’t change on our timetable, sometimes God’s trying to change US!

God’s plan is ALWAYS for restoration. The entire Bible is a story of restoring what’s broken and bringing what’s dead back to life.

Things don’t have to stay as they are. Take a step of faith. Yes, following God requires risk, but it’s always the safest thing we can do. (Take a minute to read the intervening verses in the above chapter and I’ll share some thoughts on that soon.)

Trust God. Press on.

_____________________

God Can

It’s easy to forget just how powerful our God is. There are no limits to what He can do, but we often look at our circumstances as if they’re as hopeless as they would be without Him.

Here’s a word of encouragement to those waiting for God to move in the heart of someone they love.

Whether it’s a friend, a spouse, a parent, a prodigal child, a relative, neighbor or coworker, don’t give up on God. Or them.

No matter how far from God they may appear to be right now.

No matter how impossible it may seem.

Even if they look you in the eye and tell you there’s NO WAY they’ll ever change their mind.

When every sign points towards there being no hope.

Don’t give up on God!

Don’t look at someone in your life and think, “well, there’s no way they’d ever follow God,” or “they’re never gonna change.”

Don’t ever view a situation as beyond hope, or circumstances as beyond repair.

Our God is a God who SPECIALIZES in the impossible.

He loves to do things that blow our minds.

Think about this. Saul of Tarsus was on his way to kill Christians when he, literally, saw the light. He had papers in hand, to extradite Christ followers and bring them back with him to be killed.

Saul was as far from Jesus as he could possibly be. Actively working in direct opposition to everything Jesus had lived for.

But God…

[Read the amazing story of Saul’s conversion in Acts 9:1-19.]

Jesus stopped Saul in his tracks, changed his heart and turned it all around.

If you had asked Saul if he was going to join the apostles and follow Christ that day, he would’ve scoffed. But that’s exactly what happened.

Saul became Paul that day. He went all in with Jesus, planting churches and leading people to Christ everywhere he went. He wrote much of the New Testament–words that encourage, instruct, edify, and evangelize to this day.

Russell Moore put it this way:
“Who knew that God would raise up a C.S. Lewis, a Charles Colson? They were unbelievers who, once saved by the grace of God, were mighty warriors for the faith.
The next Jonathan Edwards might be the man driving in front of you with the Darwin Fish bumper decal. The next Charles Wesley might be a misogynist, profanity-spewing hip-hop artist right now. The next Billy Graham might be passed out drunk in a fraternity house right now.”

Lee Strobel, the Chicago journalist who famously set out to prove Christianity untrue and ended up writing The Case For Christ, one of the seminal books of the faith from the past 50 years, tweeted this earlier this week:

The atheist who just shot you an obscene gesture might evangelize your grandchildren for Christ. #GodCanChangeLives http://t.co/uzyGWI0XFE

— Lee Strobel (@LeeStrobel) February 5, 2014

In Ephesians 3:20, it is Paul who reminds us that God is …”able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

So, when things seem impossible, unfixable, or hopeless–don’t forget that GOD CAN. And does…

No one would’ve predicted Saul’s transformation. Nobody woke up that morning with any kind of hope that anything would change in his heart, or in the direction of his life.

But God…

Don’t stop praying.

Don’t stop believing.

It’s never too late.

Nothing is impossible with God.

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You can never fall too hard,
So fast, so far
That you can’t get back
When you’re lost

Where you are is never too late,
So bad, so much
That you can’t change
At the foot of the cross
– from Who You Are by Unspoken

More: Russell Moore blog

Love > Bitterness, Resentment + Revenge [Z-Verse: 1 Samuel 9:11]

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. ~ 1 Corinthians 3:13

If you want an amazing case study in LOVE beating out bitterness and resentment check out 1 Samuel 9. These twelve verses tell a remarkable story of choosing love and kindness over hate and revenge.

King David was thinking about his friend Jonathan one day, and likely re-living some of the pain Jonathan’s father, King Saul, had caused him. Saul spent years trying to hunt David down, desperately wanting to kill him.

So, David asks one of his men if King Saul has any living relatives. They track down the last of his descendants, a grandson named Mephibosheth, who was actually disabled (lame in both legs.)

The king’s men find Mephibosheth and haul him in to the court at David’s request.

You know this guy had to be FREAKING OUT. He had, no doubt, heard the stories over the years. He knew what his grandfather had done to David. It was pretty obvious what David’s intentions were here, he’d use his power and absolute authority to finally exact his revenge, right?

Instead, David turns to the guy and says, “Everything that once belonged to Saul is now YOURS!” David invites him to move into the palace and offers him a seat at his table. David even assigned about 30-35 people to take care of him.

Verse 11 says, “And from that time on, Mephibosheth, ate regularly at David’s table, just like one of his own sons.”

David could’ve easily chosen a different course of action. From a human standpoint, he had every reason to take out his hurts and anger on this man. Remarkably, he chose to show love, kindness and generosity instead.

Sounds like someone else I know…

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. ~ Romans 5:8

How incredible!

Restoration begins when we give up our right to be bitter and choose to stop punishing those who’ve hurt us and start loving them. (Even if they don’t respond in kind.)

It’s not always easier to love, but it’s always better.