Introduction
This article is an excerpt from a booklet called Spending Time With God, written by Pastor Danny Hodges of Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg in Florida. His down-to-earth style and practical, every day applications are sure to encourage you in your Christian walk, especially in developing a devotional life. Pastor Danny's humor will disarm and captivate you.Read Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI or Part VII.
Forward
If you have truly been born again, you will have a desire to grow and to mature in the Lord. A few years ago our kids had this toy called "Stretch Armstrong," a rubberized doll which stretches about three or four times its original size. I used "Stretch" as an illustration in one of my messages. The point was that "Stretch" cannot stretch himself. The stretching requires an outside source. It's like when you first became a Christian. What did you do to become a Christian? You simply said, "God save me." He did the work. He changed you.- And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)
He Will Change Us
In the progression of the Christian life that's the way it is. We are transformed into the likeness of Jesus by the Spirit of God. Sometimes we fall back into the rut of trying to change ourselves, and we end up frustrated. We forget that we can't change ourselves. You see, in the same way we submitted to the Lord in our initial salvation experience, we must daily submit to God. He will change us, and He will stretch us. Interestingly enough, we never get to the point where God isn't stretching us. In this life we'll never get to the place where we have finally arrived, where we can "retire" as a Christian and just kick back. The only true retirement plan God has for us is heaven!
So we'll never be perfect until we get to heaven. But that's still our goal. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:10-14:
- I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death...Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (NIV)
Continuing Change
So then, we must be changed on a daily basis. It may sound overly simplistic, but continuing change in the Christian life comes from spending time with God. Maybe you've heard this truth a hundred times, and you agree that a devotional time with the Lord is vital. But perhaps no one has ever told you HOW to do it. That's what these next few pages are all about. May the Lord stretch us as we apply ourselves to following these simple, practical guidelines.
