 Hey Church Family!
Character is the will to do what God says is right, regardless of the cost. Character is what we want everyone around us to have—the people we live with, the folks we do business with, the individuals we do life with. We're all for character. But we struggle with our own character flaws. Character is an inside-out work that God wants to produce in our lives. In fact, many of us have tried really hard to produce character, only to fail over and over again. That's why God tells us in Romans 12:2 that transformation only takes place by renewing our minds. Renewing our minds results in character transformation. We've also said that renewal is a two step process: Taking off the old, and putting on the new. God wants us to take off the old ways of thinking, old thoughts, old attitudes, and old patterns. And he wants to replace them with His truth, His promises, and His thoughts. God knows that if we can see this world as He sees it, we wouldn't resist His rule and reign in our lives. If we could see ourselves, relationships, sex, marriage, finances, our jobs, and all of life the way He sees it, we would understand that He has our best in mind. We need to saturate our minds with His truth. We need to memorize His truth so that at the moment of temptation, we can declare—as Jesus did—"It is written." It's replacing the lie with the truth. So let me ask you: have you been filling your mind with God's truth? Or have you been filling it with social media? Are you memorizing God's Word? What makes memorizing God's Word difficult? What specific truth from God’s Word do you need to lean on and memorize this week? We memorize what's important to us. Make it a priority to memorize God's truth this week. Here's a prayer for this week: Lord, give me the wisdom to know what's right and the courage to do what's right, no matter what. Have a blessed week! Pastor Michael
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Hey Church Family!
We've been talking about character. We've said that character is the will to do what God says is right, regardless of the cost. We've also said that, when it comes to our character, God's desire is for each us to look like Jesus. Our model is Christ. He wants us to act like, look like, love like, have self-control like, be patient and gentle like Jesus. Jesus is the model. And the method for character transformation is renewal of our mind. In Romans 12, Paul lays it out: Do not conform 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) Renewing the mind results in character transformation. Renewal is a two step process: Taking off the old, and putting on the new. If you've ever refurbished old furniture, it is the same process. You take off the old paint, ripped upholstery, and broken pieces. Then you put on new paint, new upholstery, and replace the broken pieces. The same is true for our minds. God wants us to take off the old ways of thinking, old thoughts, old attitudes, and old patterns. And he wants to replace them with His truth, His promises, and His thoughts. God knows that if we can see this world as He sees it, we wouldn't resist His rule and reign in our lives. If we could see ourselves, relationships, sex, marriage, finances, our jobs, and all of life the way He sees it, we would understand that He has our best in mind. Renewal breaks down our resistance to His will in our lives. The problem is we often settle for lies and live those lies as if they were true. Lies about ourselves, relationships, sex, marriage, finances, our jobs. God wants to remove every lie we've held to and replace it with his truth. So let me ask you: what lies are you tempted to believe? What lies do you use to justify your behavior? What lies have shaped your reactions to people or situations? And what lies have fueled your temptations? As God begins to reveal lies that have become strongholds in your life, the lie will begin to crumble and lose its power over you. Jesus said that truth will set us free. Here's a prayer for this week: Lord, give me the wisdom to know what's right and the courage to do what's right, no matter what. Have a blessed week! Pastor Michael  Hey Church Family!
We've been talking about character. Everyone values character. No body ever says that our problem is we have too much character. And since people's lack of character bothers us, I think it's safe to say we all need to pursue character and develop it. When it comes to our character, God's desire is for each us to look like Jesus. Our model is Christ. He wants us to act like, look like, love like, have self-control like, be patient and gentle like Jesus. If you want to know what our character ought to look like, look no further than the one God sent. The problem is, if Jesus is our standard, that's overwhelming. Even with all the time and commitment in the world, we still could never manufacture the character of Jesus in our lives. It's impossible. But what's impossible for us, is possible with our Heavenly Father. While we cannot manufacture the character of Jesus in our lives, God can produce it through us. God doesn't wave his fingers and instantly give us the character of Jesus. Rather, his method for us to gain the very life of Christ is simple, yet difficult for us to do. It's simple, in that, anyone can do it. Yet it's challenging because we want to try to manufacture it on our own. In John 15, Jesus paints a wonderful picture of God's method for who Christ's character is to be produced in our lives. He uses the metaphor of a vine and branch. For any branch to produce fruit, it must remain connected or grafted into the vine. Life will only flow through the vine into the branch if it remains connected. Apart from the vine, the branch dies. No fruit is produced. The same is true for you and me. Christ's life and character will only be produced in us as we remain in constant contact with him. It's uninterrupted fellowship. Uninterrupted relationship. Staying close. As we stay close to Christ, we'll begin to see the very character of Christ appear in our lives. We aren't capable of manufacturing it—God produces it through us. We'll talk more about our participation in the process in the coming weeks. But for now, I want to leave you with this thought: How close are you to Christ? Have you been abiding with him? Or, have you drifted from him? Is your connection with him simply a religious practice? What would it look like for you to be remain connected to him? The invitation for you is for a daily relationship with Christ. One in which we recognize that we can't manufacture the character we need, but he can through Christ. Here's a prayer for this week: Lord, give me the wisdom to know what's right and the courage to do what's right, no matter what. Have a blessed week! Pastor Michael Hey Church Family!
How's your character? Have you ever sacrificed a bit of your character in order to achieve something, gain something, or fulfill a need? What would the people closest to you say about your character? I find it interesting that when I see a lack of character in the people around me, it bothers me more than my own lack of character. The struggle I have with character is in that moment of temptation, I don't always have the will power to do what is right. I often opt to sacrifice a bit of my character for something that has little or lesser value. My problem is that I'm just not consistent—some days I'm a man of great character. Other days, I feel like a man with no character at all. Would any of that be true for you too? We know that God delights in character. Throughout Scripture we see that he loves honesty, rewards humility, and guides us through integrity (Proverbs 11:1-13). He loves character because it is a reflection of his nature. We desperately need to be men and women of character. We need to have the will to do whatever God says is right, regardless of the cost. You know what? We love to bump into people like that. We love to do business with people of character. We love to interact with men and women with integrity, honest, and humility. Why? Because they're the most dependable people. They're incredibly trustworthy. They're committed and follow through. I don't know about you, but I want that for my kids. I want that for everyone around me. But I especially want that for me. Over the next few weeks, I'd like to explore character more with you. For now, I want us to pray this prayer together. I hope you will make it your prayer for the next several weeks. Who knows? Maybe God will will answer this prayer for you. Lord, give me the wisdom to know what's right and the courage to do what's right, no matter what. Have a blessed week! Pastor Michael |
AuthorNotes from the Staff @The Woods Archives
March 2023
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