MAKE THE CHANGE

STUCK!

The vast majority of us quit our resolutions by the second Friday of January. 

Romans 7:15, 19, 24 NLT

7I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. …19I don’t want to do what is wrong,but I do it anyway. … 24Oh, what a miserable person I am! … 

Real change isn’t behavior modification. 

Real change is spiritual transformation. 

Romans 7:24-25 NLT

… Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. … 

The Way to Real Change 

• Not “God, then me.”• Not “God, not me.”• But “God through me.” 

1 Corinthians 15:9-10 NIV 

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of GodI am what I am, andhis graceto me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

The grace that saves you is also the grace that changes you. 

• Your spiritual “why” is God’s purpose for you.• Your spiritual “how” is God’s power through you. 

Zechariah 4:6 NIV

“…‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”

I am disciplined. Christ in me is stronger than the wrong desires in me. 

If you change your behavior but don’t change your heart, the behavior will come back. 

You’re trying to meet a need or relieve a hurt with something besides God’s grace. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT 

… [God] said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

Additional Thoughts

Read Zechariah 4:6. What are some specific areas in your life where you need God’s power? 

Journal about a time when you made a lasting change in your life. What role did God have in that decision? 

Are you trying to meet a need or relieve a hurt without God’s grace? What would taking a step toward His grace this week look like?