[What would you like to change about your spiritual man? We are approaching the time when many people make “New Year’s Resolutions”. A 2007 study by Richard Wiseman from the University of Bristol involving 3,000 people showed that 88% of those who set New Year resolutions fail, despite the fact that 52% of the study’s participants were confident of success at the beginning. Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, (a system where small measurable goals are being set; such as, a pound a week, instead of saying “lose weight”), while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends. CHRISTIANS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH KEEPING THEIR RESOLUTIONS! Billy Graham said: If I could make only one resolution it would be this: THAT I MIGHT BECOME MORE AND MORE LIKE CHRIST DURING THE COMING YEAR. This, after all, is God’s will for every one of His children. The Bible says,]
“Do not conform any longer to the PATTERN OF THIS WORLD, but BE TRANSFORMED by the renewing of your mind…” (Rom. 12:2).
[Each day we are tempted to forget God and live for ourselves, but God’s will is for us to become more and more like His Son. And this happens as we stay close to Christ and allow His Spirit TO CHANGE (transform) US AND RENEW US FROM WITHIN. When we submit our heart’s, and lives to Christ, the Bible says we will be…]
“transformed into his likeness … WHICH COMES FROM THE LORD, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corin. 3:18).
[What does it mean to be like Christ? First, IT MEANS TO BE LIKE HIM IN HIS BEHAVIOR–REJECTING SIN, LIVING PURE AND GODLY LIVES, AND SHARING HIS LOVE WITH OTHERS. Second, it also means to be LIKE HIM IN OUR CHARACTER–in love and peace and patience, and in all the other fruit of the Spirit:]
“But THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Gal. 5:22-23)
[Listen to this great promise!]
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that WE SHOULD BE CALLED CHILDREN OF GOD! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM, for WE SHALL SEE HIM AS HE IS.” (1 John 3:1-2)
♫To be like Jesus
To be like Jesus
All I ask- to be like Him
All through life’s journey
From earth to glory
All I ask- to be like Him.
Be blessed as you praise The Lord, knowing that we should:
BE LIKE OUR JESUS IN OUR BEHAVIOR AND OUR ATTITUDE!
–Bill Stockham