A DO OVER LIFE

Do you ever wish you could declare your life a "Do Over"? Probably everyone at one time or another has wanted to redo an event in their life. Maybe even a year. But how about your whole life? Think it would make any difference if you got a second chance at it? Would you really do things differently? Suppose you got to go back to a specific age in your life and start over from there. You might have good intentions and start different but before long you would probably be doing most things the way you did the first time. You might do them with different people but they would probably be the same types of people you were with before. The reason for that is because you would have the same heart, the same mindset. You would still be the same person. More than likely you would make the same mistakes as before. The great thing is you don't have to go back and try to change your past life. All you have to do is change your present. Of course we all know that we can't do it alone. Only Jesus can help us do that.

With God you don't need a "Do Over" life. He will make you a new person. He takes your life, as it is right when you give your heart to Him, and starts changing it. The way He does that is He starts changing you. I think with me He had to put in a lot of overtime before there was a lot of change. LOL But what's important is...if you don't give up, He doesn't give up. He keeps working on your heart and your mind. With me my heart was ready for a change, it was my mind that had the problem with it. With some of us our minds need to be renewed. They say your mind is a battlefield. I kind of look at it as satan's playground. It seems that once he gets his "claws" into our minds it is very hard to break away. I remember after being a Christian for a year I was still having a lot of problems with things from my past. I was at a revival service and went up to be prayed for...next thing I knew I was lying on the ground. I had been slain in the spirit. Someone that was praying with me just kept repeating over and over, "More healing, more healing." Whenever I started to get up she would start praying with me again and I would be back on the ground. I don't know how long I was there but that seems to be when things "really" started changing for me. I started noticing that everything just seemed clearer. My thoughts were a lot less negative than before. My mind seemed clearer. Even though at times, things that happened that week were a bit overwhelming, I believe that was when my mind really started to heal. I know now that was when I finally started to break loose from some of the things from my past. Sometimes you are bound to the patterns of your old life, and until you decide to let God really have control, to set you free, He won't. With a lot of people God immediately takes away any desire for the things they did in their old life. For other ones of us He lets us deal with it a little longer. I'm not sure why it's that way. It could be that we just haven't decided to really let them go yet. Or...maybe it's because He knows that if He completely took everything away at the start we wouldn't grow in Him the way He wants us to. And maybe...it's so we can just keep the pain there a little bit longer so we can help others more. I don't know. One thing I do know for sure is that I will never go back to the way I was before. I believe God has completely healed me from any desire to do the former things that had a hold on me.

Before I came to know the Lord I wanted to have a "Do Over" life. Even though I knew that wasn't possible, I thought it sounded like a good idea. But now...I don't need it. God has given me a new heart and mind. God is still working on me with a lot of it. But the good thing is...He doesn't give up on us. I know as long as I do my part, He'll continue to do His. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to the things of God.

This is just another part of my testimony. I know that God has me share these events in my life for a reason. I can only guess that someone reading this might have some things in their life they need to give up so that God can start the healing process. All I can say is, it's worth it, but it's not an overnight fix. I still have issues from my past that I need help with. Memories of things that happened to me and things that I did. I know that God has forgiven me but sometimes you still need healing in some of those areas so you can move on. If you have things like this, ask God to help you. Find someone that's a "good" Christian, that you can trust, and talk to them.
Get them to pray with you. Sometimes just talking about something and saying how you feel about it helps you.

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2)

Psalm 107:20 (New King James Version)

He sent His word and healed them,
And delivered them from their destructions.

Proverbs 4:20-22 (New Living Translation)

20 My child, pay attention to what I say.
Listen carefully to my words.
21 Don’t lose sight of them.
Let them penetrate deep into your heart,
22 for they bring life to those who find them,
and healing to their whole body.

Ephesians 2

We Now Have Life

1 In the past you were spiritually dead because of your sins and the things you did against God.2 Yes, in the past you lived the way the world lives, following the ruler of the evil powers that are above the earth. That same spirit is now working in those who refuse to obey God. 3 In the past all of us lived like them, trying to please our sinful selves and doing all the things our bodies and minds wanted. We should have suffered God's anger because we were sinful by nature. We were the same as all other people.

4 But God's mercy is great, and he loved us very much.5 Though we were spiritually dead because of the things we did against God, he gave us new life with Christ. You have been saved by God's grace.6 And he raised us up with Christ and gave us a seat with him in the heavens. He did this for those in Christ Jesus7 so that for all future time he could show the very great riches of his grace by being kind to us in Christ Jesus.8 I mean that you have been saved by grace through believing. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God.9 It was not the result of your own efforts, so you cannot brag about it.10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.

Ephesians 4:22-24 (New Living Translation)

22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.