Can You Spare Some Change?
Posted on April 14th, 2010.
by Pastor James Bell
It’s that time of year when everything is changing. New life is springing up everywhere! How about you? Can you spare some change?
“Moses, you have had an exciting life. Hidden as an infant, raised by the Pharaoh, exiled to another country, and now raising sheep. Ever think of writing a book?”
“Hey, I’m only eighty. I sense a major change coming in my life. In fact, I heard God speak from a flaming bush in the desert yesterday. The book might have to wait.”
Five books, in fact. We call them the Pentateuch. Starting at age eighty, Moses radically changed his lifestyle by following God’s leading. Feeling absolutely unqualified, he led God’s people from slavery to freedom.
There is never a convenient season for change. It often comes as an uninvited guest, forcing us out of our comfort zones. Preferably, It comes as the result of an intentional act, rooted in a passion for things to be different. But, one way or another, change will come. It will leave you breathless and full of faith, or it will see you disappointed, and clinging to the safety of a compromised life.
“Saul, you have always been an over-achiever. Gamaliel found you to be a brilliant student. The Pharisees recognize you as a scholar. Will you gather young men around you and share your wealth of knowledge?”
“My life is a pile of crap. That is, compared to what I have just discovered. I am completely changing my perspective on the scripture. I am being filled with the Spirit. I am set on disappearing as Saul, and letting Jesus be huge in my life. Might even change my name…”
The world would never be the same. Some said of this Saul of Tarsus, who changed to become the Apostle Paul, that he and his associates “turned the world upside down!”
It is both exciting and frustrating to know that we have people like Moses, Paul, Ruth, Gideon, Esther, and Peter sitting in our congregation. We see insecurity, pride, fear, misguided ambition, and low expectations. God sees powerful ministry impacting lives. The difference is change.
Good change is a result of revelation. It comes to us when we “get it” about life. Our role in personal change is simply to come to Jesus with a wide-open heart. He takes over from there. Positive change always begins at the cross. We leave everything. Then we receive God’s best.
There are leaders in men’s ministry, intercessory prayer warriors, teachers of children, missionaries and pastors in our midst. Gifted musicians and singers are all around us. Gifts of prophecy, healing and discerning of spirits are waiting to be unwrapped and used. Gender and generational bias is giving way to the will of God, as religiosity is exposed and dealt with. Spiritual sensitivity is fueling a change. Do you feel it coming?
Hearts are hungry for truth. Lives are in a state of confusion. The world is waiting for some answers, looking frantically, one last time, at the church.
Can you spare some change?
Tags: Calling, Change, Sensitivity
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