Lent: RADICAL CHANGE

Man what a week!  I had a great week away with Lisa and I was able to decompress as we lead up to Easter.  I also noticed that we had a TIME CHANGE and I honestly forgot all about it and then I thought that maybe you guys did too!  I hope not, because if you did then you walked into church to discover you missed it by an hour!  You might have done that…don’t worry many others did it too.

Changes can sneak up on us when we are not ready for them.  Whether it is the time, our economy, our bodies, our minds or anything change just happens.  You know what I am talking about.

How do you deal with change?  Some of us resist it.  Some of us fight it.  Now if you fought the aging of your bodies everyday wouldn’t that be exhausting?  Wouldn’t it be futile?  Change is always happening the question is, “Are you moving with it or fighting it?”

Some get into that place.  You know the one.  It sounds like this- “I am just not changing.  You can change, but not me.  I like things the way they are!”  Let me let you in on two secrets.

1) CHANGE IS RADICAL! Yep, you got it.  When you change the way Jesus wants you to change, you really change.  The irony about change for people is that they want a new life, want new birth, want a new direction, want a new outlook, but they don’t want TO CHANGE THEMSELVES in order to get there.  For Jesus change is radical.  For Jesus change is dying to the old and being born into the new.  For Jesus change is an absolute 180 degree shift in the way you were living to the way you are now going!  Get the picture?

2) CHANGE MEANS GROWTH! If you want to change it means you want to grow.  If we are not growing then we are what?  You got it…we are dying.  If we stop growing as Christians, maturing, stretching, expanding then we begin to die.  What happens to a muscle when we don’t use it…ATROPHY!  That means it becomes unusable.  That means it stops working.  That means it shrinks and weakens.  When we don’t want this change Christ has for our life, we just merely shrivel up.  Our spirit goes into atrophy.

So change might have snuck up on you Sunday, but it is offered to you again today.  Not just with the time, but with your ENTIRE LIFE!  If you are happy the way you are…I am sorry…I hope you will want something different soon.  If you want something more out of life, if you want to change…then I am thrilled…way to go!

But always let Christ guide you.  Let Christ lead you.  Amazing things will happen.  Most of all, I promise it will always be in the right direction.

Love and passion,

Rev. Jim