Changes

As we press on, let's rest for a moment on the third stage of change Believe You Can Change with God's Help. Proverbs 4:23 - Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. The way you act is determined by your attitudes and intentions. People and circumstances may influence you, but you do not have to give in. You do what you decide to do. 1 Corinthians 10:13 - God will not allow temptations that are beyond our ability to bear. He will always make a way of escape. "God is faithful." He will always keep this promise. It makes sense that you can break any bad habit and develop any good habit according to God's will. Philippians 4:13 - We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. This includes changing to please Him. If we trust our own strength, we will fail. Satan can defeat us. If we use Christ's strength we will succeed, because Satan can never defeat Him. Perhaps we have failed in the past because we have trusted our own power instead of using Christ's. People sometimes convince themselves, "I just can't change. It's too late. Besides, I'm only human." They they are denying God's word. They will fail simply because they will give up instead of persisting to use God's power. Psalm 37:5 - If you commit yourself to the Lord and trust Him, He will accomplish His will for you. No matter how strong a temptation you face, no matter how long you have practiced a sin, if God says to change, you can change. (See also Eph. 6:10-18; 3:20,21; 2 Cor. 9:8; Josh. 1:5-9.) What are your thoughts friends and what truths do you find in these verses?