This weekend I had the opportunity to make startling discovery about “change”, the new spiritual regime that is coming forth; the new shift in the Spirit; new ways of looking and perceiving in the Spirit; the new mandate in the Body of Christ. Yes! It is inevitable that change must come. And we need change; change that has integrity; unity, worth and divine purpose in the Church. I am just wondering, however, if it is also true that change for change’s sake is truly legitimate? Is the “change” being made truly mandated by the HOLY SPIRIT or is it the to the fancy of man that some of these changes are being instituted or established in the church?. In the Book of Acts which we have been studying under Gary, the Holy Spirit administered and executed the swift changes and innovations in the early BODY OF CHRIST that were of gargantuan proportion. Through His administration and the obedience of the first disciples of Christ, the Church grew by leaps and bounds in a relatively short period of time. The Holy Spirit was the executive, the CEO so to speak, of the Church. He oversaw the unfolding of the Church. HE IS STILL IN CHARGE.
HOWEVER, when change is established by imitating or at the pressure or dictates of worldly values, a mixture is introduced into the purity of Christ’s teachings and the teachings of the GOSPELS and especially, the Epistles which demonstrate and instruct on how to live out the Word of God, then no matter how “cool” it looks or how “in sync” it appears or how “with it” it looks the change becomes a distraction and a diversion and eventually a corruption to the MESSAGE of the Gospels.
Proverbs 22:28 and 23: 10 both say not to remove the OLD LANDMARKS which the FATHERS have set.” Does God care only about property or can we extend these words of wisdom to the Landmarks of “decency, order, integrity, purity, chastity, modesty? These OLD LANDMARKS, these virtues, are the LANDMARKS that NEVER CHANGE. No matter how the fashions change. No matter what political regime is in; no matter what the latest designers dictate…the church, women and men both, must maintain godly virtue, and reflect the Glory of their God and King.
We must have the COURAGE to pull ourselves out of the RUT. But true. But we must not go from RUTS to GUTTERS for the sake of change!
Consider the lilies of the field… Matt 6:28
thedailylily.com 
MG as I read this I kept hearing the scripture…”Be not conformed to this world….” (Rom 12:2) And it goes on to say “….but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
A teacher friend of mine who mentored me when I first started teaching high school horticulture often says to me something like this:(and I paraphrase): when a child (or anyone)wants something that is not in their best interests and pressures you to give in to their demands and conform to their standards, it’s much easier to compromise than to say no and see that positive change eventually produced in them because you stood your ground. Sounds like we better not jump in the ruts with them.
Your comment made me think of this idea; trying to transform ( or FLAW) a perfect stone like a Zirconiam so that it will LOOK authentic,(like a diamond) sort of like what Sara said about “looking into the PERFECT, PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY IN CHRIST”. And then our trying to ADAPT it to our convenience or how WE’D like it to function because of compromise. And so we corrupt or flaw the perfect Law. We know that diamonds are precious and although flawed, are truly AUTHENTIC. SIN is truly authentic, too; PERFECT, AUTHENTIC, REAL EVIL. Is that what we want to aim for? The authentic flaws? Diamonds, though flawed are Gorgeous. But why would we go for the FLAW in the Diamond. We need to go for the SHINE!!
Amen, let’s go for the shine. Let’s aim higher. May we be on that ladder to heaven going up one rung at a time. May we emulate Jesus and not the things of this world. When God planned the temple, He was very precise about every detail. There was nothing that He did not consider. Everything was very specific and very beautiful. May we be as concerned with our beauty (inside and out) as He was the temple. In other words, may we shine before men. May we stand out and be the light in the crowd who makes a difference. This reminds me of the song, “Shine Jesus Shine”. The last two verses are:
Lord, I come to your awesome presence
From the shadows into your radiance
By the blood I may enter your brightness
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness
Shine on me, shine on me
As we gaze on your kingly brightness
So our faces display your likeness
Ever changing from glory to glory
Mirrored here may our lives tell your story
Shine on me, shine on me
As the song states, may we mirror his likeness and SHINE.
Without a doubt changes are inevitable. Growth is a choice. I think if one had read and understood my blog on “Compulsion” and looked into the perfect law of liberty we would not be on this conversation.
If we are not careful we find ‘judgmental’ on our growth charter. Fear of the unknown or our lack of making a difference puts us on the offensive and stumps our growth. Many times when we are teaching or speaking our words do not line up with our actions. (My growth chart is flawed in this area but hopefully will start the growth cycle again.)
My thoughts are always what and how can I grow from this? What have I learned and put into my growth profile and how long will it take before I see growth and others to enjoy the benefit of my growth. Ephesians 4:11-16 makes it clear we have to have one another. Let’s get in the room with Wendy and her candle in the room of darkness.