Change
It hurts my heart to see people who know the right thing to do, but they simply won’t change. There are times that there is a chemical addition hindering change. There are other times where pride and position hinder change. I believe that people can change. I believe I can change. I have made changes over the years in response to a prompting that I believe is from the Lord.
Jesus was being challenged by the religious leaders of His day. His authority was being questioned. He answered them with a story. Check this out….
33 “Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 34 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. 35 But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.
37 “Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
38 “But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’39 So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.
40 “When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”
41 The religious leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”
42 Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.’
43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.
45 When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet. (Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46 NLT)
I have convictions in my heart that are not changeable. I want to study the Word of God carefully and listen to the Spirit of God speak to me. I want my heart to be shapable like His. I don’t want to be stubborn and hard-headed.
I have habits that are changeable, but some of them I’ve been stuck on for years.
I have changes that I could make that would improve my body and my mind. I’m a bit stubborn regarding changes that I’m not excited about.
I don’t want to become so heavenly bound that I’m no good to anyone here on earth. The religious leaders of Jesus day had a “colossal case of missing the point”. The Messiah that they had heard about since they were children was in their midst and they didn’t see Him because their hearts were hard. I’m listening and looking for God to direct my path and help me change in the areas where I need His help the most.
Pressing On!
Dwayne