{"id":2520,"date":"2012-02-14T09:45:23","date_gmt":"2012-02-14T14:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=2520"},"modified":"2012-02-14T09:59:53","modified_gmt":"2012-02-14T14:59:53","slug":"salvation-brings-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/02\/salvation-brings-changes.html","title":{"rendered":"Salvation brings changes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I often think about the positive changes that have happened in the lives of the people I know–especially the members of Special Gathering, which is ministry within the mentally challenged community.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Shelley has become a young woman who is caring and compassionate to others. \u00a0In the past, John used his leadership skill to bully people attempting to get his way. \u00a0Now, his spirit has become tender and pliable. His one desire is to please the Lord. \u00a0Richard was in the hospital for two months and missed getting his offering envelops that are handed out at the beginning of the year. \u00a0He obsessed that he could not give his offering to the Lord because he had run out of envelops.<\/p>\n

It is a fact. \u00a0When we have Jesus, he helps us to change in good ways. \u00a0In\u00a0Matthew 5:16, <\/strong>\u00a0Jesus tells us, “In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and will praise your Father in heaven.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We all know the story of Zacchaeus. \u00a0He a short man who wanted to see Jesus who was coming to his community. \u00a0Zacchaeus climbed into a tree to be able to see over the crowd. \u00a0When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and told Zacchaeus to come down because Jesus was going to his house to eat. \u00a0After that encounter, Zacchaeus became a follower of Jesus.<\/p>\n

We know that Zacchaeus became a follower because he changed. \u00a0Zacchaeus said that he would give half of what he had to the poor and pay back four times if he had cheated someone.<\/p>\n

When we repent of the bad things in our lives, God makes changes. \u00a0For many years, I would do all my laundry on Monday–an all day process. \u00a0 I would do my husband’s laundry last to insure that all the REST of the laundry would get done. \u00a0I felt putting his clothes last insured that I completed the laundry.<\/p>\n

However, every Tuesday, I would get up for my prayer time. \u00a0Sometime into my prayer I would remember that I had not put his laundry in the dryer. It was still wet in the machine.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I would rush to try to find him a clean underwear or frantically try to dry one pair. \u00a0One day, I was so frustrated with myself that I prayed, “Lord, I repent. \u00a0I can’t seem to do this task right. \u00a0Please, help me solved this problem.” \u00a0Immediately, the thought came into my mind to do Frank’s laundry first–not last.<\/p>\n

That day I repented and changed my behavior. \u00a0Frank always had underwear after that. \u00a0I call this example of drastic change, Underwear Repentance.<\/p>\n

I also learned that when I burning the peas (or the beans or an entire meal) I should not make excuses. \u00a0When I faced my responsibility and took the blame for my mistake, something wonderful happened. \u00a0I quit burning the peas so often.<\/p>\n

Gossip was a problem in my life. \u00a0I hated to admit it but when I did, Jesus started changing my talk.<\/p>\n

I had to confess that I loved gossip. But I knew \u00a0God hates it. \u00a0Through some hurting times and through the positive example of others, I came to see\u00a0how it looks to God and why He hates it.<\/p>\n

Zacchaeus gives us an important principle to live by.\u00a0 He wanted God to be in his life; and he changed.\u00a0 Change shows people that we are God\u2018s children.\u00a0 As Christians, we must act differently from the rest of the world. \u00a0That can be almost impossible but God works with us to make those changes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I often think about the positive changes that have happened in the lives of the people I know–especially the members of Special Gathering, which is ministry within the mentally challenged community. \u00a0Shelley has become a young woman who is caring and compassionate to others. \u00a0In the past, John used his leadership skill to bully people…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,3,40,186,49,16,147,28,4],"tags":[690,21,688,699,701,694,689,368,6,700,367],"class_list":["post-2520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-leadership","category-mentally-challenged","category-simple-truths","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-faith","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-positive-changes","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-spirituality","tag-zacchaeus"],"yoast_head":"\nSalvation brings changes - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/02\/salvation-brings-changes.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Salvation brings changes - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I often think about the positive changes that have happened in the lives of the people I know–especially the members of Special Gathering, which is ministry within the mentally challenged community. \u00a0Shelley has become a young woman who is caring and compassionate to others. \u00a0In the past, John used his leadership skill to bully people…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/02\/salvation-brings-changes.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-02-14T14:45:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-02-14T14:59:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2012\/02\/adam-258x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Salvation brings changes - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/02\/salvation-brings-changes.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Salvation brings changes - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"I often think about the positive changes that have happened in the lives of the people I know–especially the members of Special Gathering, which is ministry within the mentally challenged community. \u00a0Shelley has become a young woman who is caring and compassionate to others. \u00a0In the past, John used his leadership skill to bully people…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/02\/salvation-brings-changes.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2012-02-14T14:45:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-02-14T14:59:53+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2012\/02\/adam-258x300.jpg"}],"author":"Linda G. 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