Sunday 05:27:12

Have you ever been really tired of who you are? Have you ever really wanted to change? Have you ever tried to change yourself, but been unsuccessful? The deck is stacked against us. How can we know our desires, when our hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9) “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Sin deceives us too (Hebrews 3:13) “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” 2 Samuel 12:1-10 How can we change when we cannot see the problem? Have you tried, but been unable to change? How can we change when we cannot see the depth of the problem? Hebrews 4:12-13 We can know ourselves by being in the word of God. It is a terrifying thought that my motives and thoughts can be discovered and laid bare before a Holy God. “I have never seen anyone of whom I dared to believe that he had the honesty and courage to be alone with God’s word.” Soren Kierkegaard "It is human for a person to shrink from letting the Word really gain power over him. If no one else will admit it, I admit that I do." Soren Kierkegaard James 1:22-25 When we can truly see ourselves, we have real hope that God will bring change. You must see yourself, not just the mirror. Because of our sinful nature, because we have a natural bent away from God, it is easy for us to be in the word of God and avoid being convicted by it. It is fair easier to make reading the Bible an academic affair. This was the problem the Pharisees had. They knew the Scriptures inside and out, but could not see their own self-righteousness and arrogance. Reading the Bible is not academic time, it is transformation time for your mind. It is time to apply the truths of the gospel to the brokenness in your life. You must recognize yourself in the mirror. When we read of the priest who ignored the wounded man in the story of the Good Samaritan, we are to see the priest with familiarity, "it is I." We must not allow ourselves to read the Word impersonally and objectively. We must recognize ourselves in the pages. You must not forget how you looked. Knowing full well your own limitations, have a healthy suspicion about yourself. Recognize your own unreliableness and attempt to remember what we have learned about ourselves for an hour or a day. We all have a tendency to want to avoid God’s word. But it is one of our main hopes for real change in our minds and character. Looking into it like a mirror, we can see our deep need of change. God uses the truth of his word to transform us. His word gives the Holy Spirit a tool to work on our souls. How can you have courage to be alone with the word of God? Remember that everything you God uncovers that Jesus forgiveness goes ahead of you. “I didn’t know that was there.” That’s already been forgiven. “I thought I was over that, it goes deeper?” Jesus blood has covered the depth of all your sin. You and I have real hope for change. Looking intently in the word of God, we have real hope of transformation of our mind and souls.