Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Handling the New Man in Christ


Over the past few years, I have had the pleasure of learning more about God and the Christian walk. This journey has taught me many things that are good and bad. From the beginning I knew that if I overloaded myself with information, I would not get anything accomplished or stick to anything. I knew that in order to become a better man, I had to break my old habits.

 The breaking of my old habits was the beginning of my journey with Christ. Where did you start out with Christ? From there it went to desire and influence. A new follower in Christ must break from their old, worldly ways and follow Him. Here are a few tips and ideas that I have learned over the years to make the process go easier. You can share yours in the comments section below.

A) Don't Overload!
  • I'm going to buy a devotional, a Bible and a study guide. I'm going to stop listening to all secular music and go to Church three times a week (all of this, all at once!). Now, don't get me wrong, if you can pull all of this off; more power to you. In my experience though, it is best to start with a couple items and move your way up.
  • For me, it was reading a chapter of Proverbs and praying for 15 minutes in the morning. The afternoon would require a shorter prayer and quality time with my wife and/ or kids. I also read the book "Wild at Heart" on my lunch breaks. The idea is to not overload yourself or overwhelm yourself; but to form new habits as you break your old ones. Do one page of your devotional a day. Say a prayer in the morning and at night. Be intentional about whatever it is.

B) Stay Organized!

  • Once you have chosen a couple things to start doing in your new walk. Stay organized and stay with it. Wake up one hour early every morning. Set aside thirty minutes for prayer every night. Turn off the TV on two specific nights a week or do a devotional with yourself or with your wife. You can make this change easier by setting reminders on your smart phone or hanging notes by your bed or around the house. There are many ways to do it, as long as you're doing it! Pick that one book and finish it before you start another one. Stay organized!

C) Set Goals!

  • Now that you know what your going to do and you have an organized plan to attack it, be ready for whats next. By the time I'm getting to the end of a book, I am figuring out what I want to do next. Do I plan to read it again? Is there a second book in the series? Pray and have God help you figure out what to do next, because He will help! After about 30 days, the new habits will be well into your system. You can increase your work load or keep it consistent with your current level. The goal is to just keep going!

D) Let's keep the list going! What has worked for you?

5 comments:

  1. Bryan, I know when you say it like that, it sounds like a lot, even hard to do for some. The thing is God is the one who will help you do these things. The more you learn, read, and talk to Him the easier it gets, because you enjoy doing it. God took me from being what I call a "liberal Christian" (my own words, no offense meant to anyone) such as pretty much doing what I wanted to do as long as it didn't hurt anyone, dressing the way I wanted to and thinking as long as I go to church on Sundays I'll get to heaven because I'm a good person, to... that person to which you are referring to. I DO NOT wear pants because God's Word tells women not to dress as men and men not to dress as women, my skirts and dresses are mid knee length because God tells us to be modest, I have LONG hair because God says that a Woman's long hair is her glory, I read my Bible at least once a day and sometimes more when I'm doing my blog, I am in a constant attitude of prayer (not praying constantly, but trying to keep God's will in mind of everything I do), and many other things. I DID NOT COME TO THIS ALL AT ONCE. God did the changing because I asked Him to have HIS WAY in my life. I have not missed any of the "stuff" I have mentioned. I have enjoyed the changes which He has made in me.

    That being said, just because these are my feelings about this subject, does not mean everyone has to agree or be condemned. Humans were not put on this earth to judge. That is God's job. Whatever God puts on your heart is the right thing for you. The only thing you have to do is listen to Him.

    Thank you for following me on Bloggers. I am reciprocating. I really and truly enjoy your blog.

    God Bless!
    PJ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great comment and thanks for sharing. It's great to hear what God has done in your life!
      I agree that the more you do for Christ, the more you enjoy. The goal of this post was just from recent experiences with new people following Christ. Whether they go all out or just do a couple things a day, the goal is to stay consistent. Your story is a great example of that working in your life.

      Thank you for the kind words as well!

      Delete
  2. Great comment Ryan! I appreciate your input and definitely agree that sometimes we just need to stick to the basics and not make things so complicated.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Get connected to a group of Christian men.

    ReplyDelete