Showing posts with label Shift. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shift. Show all posts

Sunday, 24 March 2013

Transition Takes You Higher

JOY STRANG

tornado
(Justin Hobson)
Nothing in life is certain except for death, taxes—and change. God never changes, but we do. Through sanctification we are transformed from sinful, carnal creatures into the image of God’s Son.
Becoming like Jesus requires a lot of change—and often involves difficult periods of transition.
Transition can take many forms. It can be like the transition during labor—intense pain followed by a clear reward. Or it can be like the momentary transition that takes place when you switch gears in a car to face the challenge of the road ahead.
For an instant you are between gears and though the engine is roaring, you have no control. You may not know what the road ahead is like or whether you even want to move to a higher level. But when the shift occurs, you are connected once again with the power of the engine and are translated into a higher level of operation—the next gear.
Transition can also be a time that seems as if it will never end—a long, dark night of the soul when all around you seems dim and you lose sight of God’s promises to you. In this season, you may lose your sense of God’s presence and feel that He has abandoned you.

Sunday, 3 February 2013

Shift Your Perspective

Written by Leonard Buhler

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:1-2

Do you feel pressured to do more for God? Many of us do. Deep-down we know that our lives should be about serving God – that they should matter in an eternally significant way. But our days are so full. Work, school, family, sports, errands, gardening – we look at everything we have going on and even though it seems impossible to fit more in, we feel like we should. We should be doing more for God. We should be volunteering at a soup kitchen, or helping out with the Alpha Course at church, or leading a mens’ group.


I need to shift my perspective more than I need to shift my schedule. “Set your hearts on things above… Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” Paul is encouraging the believers in Colosse to see the world in a new way, to look at everything from the vantage point of heaven. Yes, I could try to cram more into my insanely busy life. Or, I could take Paul’s advice and shift my perspective.