REFUSING TO CHANGE

“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.”
- Oprah Winfrey

Refusing to change can have dire consequences, especially when it's in direct opposition of the will of God for your life. Stroll with me through the story of Zedekiah, as found in 2 Kings 25. The basic premise of the story is that Zedekiah was King of Judah for eleven years, and rebelled against God and Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon.

As I read this story I had a Selah moment and want to share my thoughts. As we read in 2 kings 24: 18-20, Zedekiah was twenty- years old when he began his reign. In the beginning of his reign he had a choice about how his kingdom would be run. He choose to rebel against God, and to rebel against the king who had put him in position. He had plenty of time to repent to God; but, instead Zedekiah squandered his time, he used it foolishly, he also mismanaged the wealth and resources of the nation. Is your choices making you an opponent of God? How much time have you wasted rebelling against the will of God for your life? How long have you refused to change? Even in matters of salvation...ever talk to someone about accepting Jesus as their savior and they come up with excuses as to why they can't commit. And years later you meet the same individual and they still have the same excuses. They had time and chance to change but refused it. As found in Deuteronomy 30:19, life and death are a choice, and we are admonished to choose life.  The Strong's Exhaustive Concordance defines the word rebelled- H6586- pasa- expansion; to break away from (not just authority); trespass, apostatize, quarrel- offend, rebel, revolt, transgress, transgression, transgressor. As a result of Zedekiah's pride and arrogance, and his continued refusal to worship God, and bring the nation out of apostasy, Nebuchadnezzar set up camp around the wall of Judah. But even this act of intimidation, and final warning did not deter this unwise King in changing his attitude.The funny thing is he had seven months grace to change before Nebuchadnezzar made a move against him.

The decision to continue in rebellion not only affected Zedekiah but his household and the nation. His refusal to acknowledge God, and his refusal to submit to the authority of Nebuchadnezzar caused the nation to go into a famine, brought division with the inhabitants of the city, and the cowardly men of war tried to flee. After seven months of  grace, which is the number for completion, Zedekiah's reign ended as the armies of Babylon over took Jerusalem. Zedekiah's rebellion resulted in all his sons being killed, and his eyes being put out. It resulted in the Lord's house being burnt down, as well as the king's house, and the houses of the nobles. Read the chapter because there is more...but for our purpose today we will stop here. The point is sometimes we are warned, we have dreams, the prophetic word may even come and confirm what we know to be true and yet we refuse to change. Then when things fall apart in our life or we find our situations in shambles we want to blame someone else. We are accountable for our decisions, especially when we refuse to change. I will be the first to admit change can sometimes be hard, and is often hard work. But once the process begins and we see the good result of our efforts, all quarrels are "out the window".

Sometimes the change can be to lose weight, or to make adjustments to your eating habits, because years of over eating and the constant intake of sugar has caused you to have dire health issues. Why not make the changes to your diet if it will bring the weight down, and improve the condition of your health.  Recently a former co-worker died at 43-years old because she refused to take her blood pressure medicine. Her refusal to take her medicine caused her to die prematurely. She didn't think she would die, didn't think about the consequences of her decision, or how it would affect her children. Our attitude is often, "well I've done it this way for so long and nothing has happened". As Christians we often go through many life challenges that are meant to bring adjustments to wrong attitudes, and behaviors. Change is a necessary component of our Christian walk as we are constantly being conformed to the image of God to become the best person possible. Romans 12:2 tells us that we need to be transformed and this comes from renewing the mind. When the mind changes, the behavior will follow. 1 Peter 2:5 (Amplified) says, [Come] and, like living stones, be yourselves built [into] a spiritual house, for a holy (dedicated, consecrated) priesthood, to offer up [those] spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ. This happens when we allow the old man, or old nature to be pulled away from us- wrong attitudes, anger, hatred, bitterness, jealousy, back-biting, timidity, negative thinking and actions, etc. Why? So that the new man, or new nature can be seen- love, joy, peace, gentleness, patience, etc. (Galatians 5:18-23; Colossians 3:12-13).  I encourage you who are reading to be the best you can possibly be, and take every opportunity to make the changes to your life that will bring you to better. Selah.

Shalom!

Pastor Tracy

Selah means pause, think about it, and give God praise.

Anointed Fire

My Selah moment...I know that I'm in a new season, because something has truly changed in me. I have a fire that has been rekindled on the inside. I haven't been this excited about life in a long time. I had been praying for the Holy Ghost with fire would fall on me and Christians everywhere. Well, the Holy Ghost's anointed fire is here! Thing have shifted fast and is accelerating. Quite a few things have taken place in this season for me as I have allowed God to lead me into purpose.

 There are things I wanted to do throughout my life that I'm now doing or about to do. Dreams and visions I had for my life, and business ideas I had written down over twenty-years ago, are now becoming a reality. Some of us are a little slower at grabbing hold of dreams then others, but the point is to grab it and go for it. And that's what I'm doing! I want to encourage others...no matter what your age; you are not to old to make your dream happen. I'm walking in a new season of entrepreneurship. I've always had side businesses- various streams of income; i.e. Mary Kay cosmetics, selling jewelry, designing/sewing, and babysitting. But this is different. I struggled with some decisions in September I needed to make for my life. I was working three part-time jobs and in college full time. I had absolutely no peace, none. So after much prayer, and tears I withdrew from school for the semester, that was hard because I love going to college and have been doing well. But, I'm hoping to go back in the spring. I then resigned from two of my part-time jobs, and the other one stopped putting me on the schedule.

A few days after I had stopped working, a friend calls and asked if I would be interested in going into business with her, and every since we have been working it out. No money, but faith in God! He has been opening doors and connecting us with those whom we need to be with.  I recently went to an expo that the Kingdom Chamber of Commerce gives each year in New Jersey. It was perhaps one of the most inspiring events that I have been to in a long time. I was in awe to hear the stories of other Christian Entrepreneurs that started with nothing but a God-given idea, and are now multi-millionaires. Three things were emphasized by each one: 1. You must obey God, 2. write the vision- Habakkuk. 2:3; 3. you must be a giver (tither) no matter what your circumstance. I want to encourage you to write-the-vision. Write the vision for your life, ministry, vision and business. Watch it "get legs" and go!

Every since the expo I have been on FIRE! I feel that the Holy Ghost has renewed a passion for life, ministry and my entrepreneurial spirit once again. Stay tuned for what's next.

Shalom!

Pastor Tracy Gittens

Selah- means to pause, think about it, and give God praise!