Jul
24
2009
0

I Am OK And I Am On My Way!

I have nt arrived and neither has anyone else. We are all in the proces of becoming. For much of my life I felt that I would never be OK until I arrived, but I have learned that is not the truth. My heart desires to be all God wants me to be and I want to be like Jesus.

In Romans 7, Paul said the good things he wanted to do, he could not do; and the evil things he did not wanted to do, he always found himself doing. He said he felt wretched. I can relate to that, what about you?

ok-okYou know, we all have a way to go. I was worried about how far I had to go and it seemed satan reminded me of it daily. I carried a constant sense of failure, a feeling that I just was not what I needed to be, that I was doing good enough, that I should try harder and yet when I did try harder, I only failed more.

So, I heard somebody this  slogan and adopted it for myself as a new attitude: “I am not where I need to be, but thank God I am not where I used to be; I am OK and I am on my way!”

Then we know with all our heart that God is not angry with us because we haven’t arrived. He is pleased that we are pressing on, that we stay on the path. I you and I will just “keep on keeping on,” God will be pleased with our progress. Keep walking the walk. A walk is something taken one step at a time. This is an important thing to remember.

We have been considering how to have a good self-image. One way we do that is by realizing that we have not arrived at perfection, that we have some growing to do, bu that in the meantime we are OK. It is true that we have to keep pressing on, but thank God we don’t have to hate and reject ourselves while we are trying to get to our destination.

What is a normal, healthy Christian attitude toward self? here are a few thoughts that reflect that kind of wholesome, God-centered self-image:

  1. I know God created me andI know He loves me.
  2. I have faults and weaknesses and I want to change. I believe God is working in my life. He is changing me bit by bit, day by day. While He is doing so, I can still enjoy myself and my life.
  3. Everyone has faults, so I am not a complete failure just because I am not perfect.
  4. I am going to work with God to overcome my weaknesses, but I realize that I will always have something to deal with; therefore, I will not become discouraged when God convicts me of areas in my life that need improvement.
  5. I want to make people happy and have them like me, but my sense of worth is not dependent on what others think of me. Jesus has already affirmed my value by His willingness to die for me.
  6. I will not be controlled by what people think, say or do. Even if they totally reject me, I will survive. God has  promised never to reject me or condemn me as long as I keep believing.
  7. No matter how often I fail, I will not give up, because God is with me to strengthen and sustain me. He has promised never to leave me or forsake me.
  8. I like myself. I don’t like everything I do and I want to change, but I refuse to reject myself.
  9. I am right with God through Jesus Christ.
  10. God has a ood plan for my life. I am going to fulfill my destiny and be all I can be for His glory. I have God-given gifts and talents and I intend to use them to help others.
  11. I am nothing and yet I am everything! In myself I am nothing and yet in Jesus I am everything I need to be.
  12. I can do all things I need to do, everything that God calls me to do, through His Son Jesus Christ.
Jul
10
2009
0

Your Self-Image Affects Your Future.

When you have a poor self-image; you feel very insecure and it certainly affects all your relationships. It even affects your future. If you have a poor self-image, it has already adversely affected your past, but you can be healed and not allow the past to repeat itself. Let go of all what lies behind, including any negative ways you have felt about yourself and press on toward the good things God has in store ofr you.

sunflowersmileGod has a plan for each of us, but not all of us experience it. many times we live far below the standard that God intends for us to enjoy. Most Christians don’t exercise their own rights and privileges as a child of God. This is because most of them don’t even know they have rights and privileges. Although they are Christians and they believe they are going to heaven  when they die, they don’t know that anything could be done about their past, present or future.

Then as second reason they live far below the level of life God intended for them was simply the wrong way they perceive and feel about themselves. They have a poor self-image  and it is affected by day-to-day living, as well as their outlook for the future.

God has plans for you!
God does not have a bad attitude towards you and you should not have one toward yourself! Shake of the past and set your sights on the future. The apostle Paul wanted to do things right and yet realized that he was growing and learning and would not always manifest 100 percent perfection.

Press on!
Philippians 3:1 says: “Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (The Messiah) has laid hold of me and made His own.

In the next verse, Paul went on to say that he forgot what lay behind and strained forward to what lay ahead.
We see this principle in many places in Gods Holy Word. The prophet Isiah had the same revelation when he brought forth the message of the Lord: Do not [earnestly] remember the former things; neither consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing! (Isaiah 43:18,19)

Almost everyone of us could use some improvement in our self-image. It takes time to grasp the hope for ourselves that God has for us. To realize how much hope God has for us, all we need to do is remember what we were like when God called us into His family. It is so wonderful and comforting to know that when everyone else only sees our faults, God sees our possibilities.

The Lord doesn’t wait for us to get all fixed up before He got involved with us. He starts with where we are and takes the responsibility for getting us to where we need to be. He does this everybody, so laso for you!

God chooses the Unlikely like you and me!
God purposely chooses those who are the most unlikely candidates for things He needs done. By doing so, He has a wide open door to show His grace, mercy and power to change human lives. When God is using ethe unwise and the less educated, we realize that our source is not in ourselves but in Him alone.

Each of us has a destiny and there is absolutely no excuse not to fulfill it. We cannot use our weakness as an excuse, because God says that His strength is made perfect in weakness. We can not use the past as an excuse because God tells us through the apostle Paul that if person is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away and all things have become new. (2Cor.5:17)

How God sees us is not the problem, it is how we see ourselves that keeps us from succeeding. each of us can succeed at being everything God intends us to be.

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