How can I become more like the person God wants me to be? ANSWER: Change Yourself. . . Have you ever had difficulty trying to change a habit? Human beings are creatures of habit. We tend to continue acting as we have acted in the past. Like a river flowing through a canyon, the longer a habit continues, the more deeply it becomes ingrained, and the harder it is to change. This is true of all habits, good or bad. Ephesians 4:22-24 shows that major changes must occur when we are born again. Old practices and attitudes must be replaced by new ones. Christians must learn good habits like Bible study, prayer, love, faith, patience, attending church meetings, giving, teaching others, etc. We must also eliminate bad habits like  uncontrolled temper, gambling, drugs, smoking, drinking, gossip, lying, pornography, sexual promiscuity, etc. Knowing what changes to make is not enough. We also need to know how to make them. Change does not come easily. God's word is the best source of guidance for self-help and motivation for self-improvement. Let's study 12 specific, practical steps the Bible gives to show us how to become more like the person God wants us to be?

On a Limb too Slight . . . Be like a bird, who, halting in her flight On a limb too slight, feels it give way beneath her; Yet sings, sings, knowing she has wings; Yet sings, sings, knowing she has wings.   This is a wonderful metaphor for a life that is full of Grace. There are difficult times, but a person who feels upheld and supported by the Divine Presence of God need never be afraid. Click here for more "On a Limb too Slight".

Finding Healing After Betrayal I was desperate, dissatisfied and in great despair that Saturday night I ran with Debra to the church for help. For 12 years, my wife and I had been hiding our broken and dishonest marriage beneath the veneer of the happy and “normal” couple. We had to break the cycle of deceit and conflict before it affected our daughter, so we finally went to the nearby church. A cheating past I was unfaithful to Debra, and after this was revealed to her, we had to face the possibility of divorce and a family breakup. As we began the painful and ugly process of ending our marriage, we tried to seek counselors and therapists for hope, but no matter where we turned, people told us there was no saving the marriage. But something inside me told me there was hope. I wanted to mend this relationship so badly and I was willing to do anything, even go to a church where I didn’t know anybody. There, we met a man who later became a good friend of ours. He was the only person who told us there was indeed hope but we needed God’s help. That night, Debra and I realized and came to believe that Jesus is the son of God and that we needed him. He died on the cross for our sins—past, present and future—and I realized I was forgiven by God for my actions in the past. Proving hopelessness wrong In the weeks that followed, Debra and I spent time with the friend we met at the church and we began reading the Bible together. As we better understood God and his love for us, we began to see that our marriage may not be hopeless after all. It might seem impossible to fix our marriage from a human perspective, but with God and his love for us, anything is possible. Shortly after, Debra told me that she had forgiven me, but she didn’t know how that could be possible. She repeatedly asked God in prayer how she could have forgiven me for hurting her. Even more confusing to her was the realization that she was feeling genuine love for me. We quickly came to recognize that this was the grace of God—a gift we do not deserve, especially me. God was giving us hope; his grace and forgiveness was healing our marriage and bringing restoration to our lives. We decided to take time off work and focus on each other and our relationship. At that time, our backyard was a complete disaster because of a major renovation project. Like our lives, it looked like a bomb had hit it. Each day we would get up and work on the yard together. Shovel by shovel, stone by stone, tree by tree, our yard was transformed from a disaster to a thing of beauty. As the yard changed, we too were changed. Through this project, we began to know each other better and fall in love with each other again. There was hope after all. . .click here for entire story by Will and Danielle Ludy* with Laurie Wang Got something to say? Express it "In your own words"! Click Here and send us your thoughts, your story, your testimony, your poetry etc.
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