Changes

“repent and believe in the Gospel” – Mark 1:15

The most important ingredient for change is the desire to change.

The word of God bears more fruit in people who are more open to change.

The word ‘repentance’ that was used in this passage came from the Greek word ‘metanoia’, which literally means a change of mind.

Once the mind is changed, the entire life follows.

Whether it’s a change of mind, heart or life, Jesus calls us to change for the better.

Reflection: What is God asking you to change in your life today?

 

Prayer: Change how I think, Lord, that I may be like You.

 

Today’s reading is very timely as our SFC Chapter had just concluded our Covenant Orientation Weekend.

A year over after I attended my first COW what did it mean for me?

The Covenant Orientation Weekend reminds us of our calling to make changes in our life – to make good our promise to God, to leave our old negative habits behind and make room for Christ to move and manifest Himself in our lives.

Change does not happen overnight – It is not easy to be a part of the SFC community but by making small changes in our prayer habits, in the way we deal with people around us, in our outlook in life, these small adjustments has become our way of life J

I started making changes in my life because it was ‘required’ - we are always lovingly reminded of our prayer time, to pray not just for ourselves but to intercede for other people as well, to look at the positive side of every situation and understand the message that God wants us to receive, to learn how to be good stewards of God’s blessings, to participate in community service, to live simply, to always give thanks in even the smallest things, to tame our tongue and spread goodness instead of gossip…

And in the long run these ‘requirements’ became an integral part of us – over time we aren’t doing it because we are told to do so by the community but because we ourselves hunger for it. Without realizing it, we have imbibed and made these ‘routines’ a part of our daily lives – a part of us.

Now, our day isn’t complete if we were not able to stop for our prayer time – that now our prayers are of a different tone – when before we only pray for ourselves and just ask ask and ask, now we have learned to pray and intercede for others and have learned to give thanks more than we ask.

Now if we feel stressed and worn out – instead of bursting out in anger, we have learned to calm ourselves. If we are going through some problems – we now know to run first to God, ask for his help and ‘lean not on our own understanding’ but ask for Him to reveal his message and help us understand it.

We still are nowhere close to being angels, human as we are we still have lapses and still make errors in judgement – and in times like these we just always have to remind ourselves of our covenant – to never forget that desire that we have in our hearts to be better Christians and be follower of Christ and pray for strength to overcome the challenges and temptations that present themselves in our daily lives.

and for all of this May God Be Praised!!!