Do you think it’s possible to find real changein your life? Are you wondering if true transformation is only a myth? Our culture seems to have this insatiable appetite for self-help and improvement. Unfortunately, it’s left us with too many quick substitutes that rarely deliver genuine change.

Real change is possible. But you won’t find it on the shelves of the bookstore or in the check-out line at the grocery store. Rather, we must open the Bible and see what it has to say. Paul writes it this way:

…put off your old self,which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds,and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24

To find real change we must:

1. Put Off the Old

What area do you want to see change in? Where are you struggling? What hurt, habit or hang-up is it that you want to shed? Let it go! You’ve got to drop it like a hot potato. Imagine you go to a department store to buy a new coat. You find one and you take it into one of those little changing rooms. You don’t go in there and put on the new coat over the old one. It will never fit that way. You’ve got to take the old one off first.  If you want to see the new in your life you’ve got to be willing to part ways with the old. If you are determined to drop 20 pounds but you have a friend that keeps bringing you Blue Bell, change the locks on your doors. If you are striving to honor God with your body but you’re dating someone who keeps pushing you to do things you know you shouldn’t do, throw that fish back in the sea.

2. Change the Way You Think

You just bought a new coat! You’re no longer thinking about the old one. You only have thoughts about how good you are going to look in the new one. If you want to find real change in your life, stop thinking about the old and begin reflecting on the new. Mediate on what God says about you rather than what the world wants you to believe. Don’t live into that lie that was said over you years ago. Stop living in the addictive or victim mentality that you are living in. Accentuate the positive. Eliminate the negative. Latch on to the affirmative. Paul says in another place that we keep from conforming to the ways of this world by changing the way we think (Romans 12:1-2).

3. Put On the New

Wear your new coat and wear it proudly! It may take some getting used to. It probably doesn’t fit exactly like your old one did. The pockets are in different places. But it has some things that are newer and better than your old coat. That’s why you bought it! So wear it. Live into your new.

Do you want to see real change in your life?

• What old things do you need to let go of?
• Where do you need to change the way you think?
• What new things do you need to begin wearing?

 

 

Teddy Roosevelt was right. Comparison is the thief of joy.

Yet many of us will live our lives trying to pretend that’s not true. As a result, we will wear the labels the world sticks on us as we incessantly look at other people to see how we stack up. There are two inherent dangers in comparison:

1. It makes us undervalue ourselves

Comparing ourselves to others perpetually makes us think we are never good enough. We are not certain enough, not smart enough, not thin enough, not successful enough, our work isn’t good enough, and our kids don’t behave well enough. It leads us to think we won’t be worthy until we lose weight, get a diploma, get that job, get that promotion, get married, get pregnant, drive a nicer car, or live in a bigger house.

But our value doesn’t depend on what anyone else thinks we’re worth. It depends on what God thinks we’re worth. God says we are enough, because He is enough.

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming

from us, but our sufficiency is from God… 2 Corinthians 3:5

2. It makes us overvalue ourselves

Much like the Pharisee in Luke 18, we can get caught up in comparing ourselves to others to make us look better. If we get to feeling that we are not worthy, we can always find someone with less worth. If we think we are being a bad spouse, flawed parent, unruly boss or shoddy worker, we can always find someone who is a worse spouse, faultier parent, crueler boss or more unmanageable worker. We then live into a label of putting others down to make ourselves look better. We ascribe less worth to others to give us a false sense of more worth.

But our worth as a person is not established in comparison to anyone else. It was established on a cross on a hillside outside of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; 

it is the gift of God… Ephesians 2:8

 

Perhaps Teddy Roosevelt stole his saying from God. Comparison is indeed the thief of joy.

 

To see this message in Aldersgate’s “Tattooed” series, click here

We just kicked off our “Tattooed” message series at Aldersgate and we are having so much fun with it! Here’s an excerpt from the first week’s message. You can catch the whole thing here.

The world wants to label us in so many different ways – damaged, ashamed, worthless. But God gives us a new name and a new identity – innocent, glorious and beloved. The question is, “Who are we listening to?” Here’s who God says you are:

But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. (1 Peter 2:9 – The Message)

GOD SAYS YOU ARE CHOSEN!

• The world may ignore you, neglect you, or reject you but God chooses you!
• You may be picked last on the playground, but God has no favorites!
• You may have been abandoned by your parents, spouse, or best friendbut God says you are His!
• You may have been rejectedby the worldbut God says you are acceptedby Him!

GOD SAYS YOU ARE ROYAL!

• The world may push you to the bottom of the totem pole, step all over you, or make you feel worthless, but God says you are royalty!
• You may think you are ordinary, but God says you are priestly!
• You may belabeled as low class, bad class, or no class,but God says you have a high calling!
• You may have been called abum, hood rat, or white trash, but God says youwear a crown!

GOD SAYS YOU ARE HOLY

• The world says you’ll never measure up, never be good enough, or never have it all together, but God says you are holy!
• You may think your past determines who you are, but God says He defines you!
• You make think you’ll never be worthy enough, but God says He set you apart!
• You may think future is bleak,but God says He has big plans for you!

GOD’S SAYS YOU AREHIS SPECIAL INSTRUMENT

• The world says you’ll never be pretty enough, skinny enough, smart enough, or rich enough but God says you are His special instrument.
• You may think you will never be seen or noticed but God says he even keeps his eyes on the sparrow!
• You may think you will never be heard and understood but God says call to me and I will answer you!
• You may have been told that you will never amount to anything but God says You are God’s masterpiece!

So, who are you listening to?