Mountaintop Musings: First Steps on the Self-Confrontation Journey

To change biblically and travel the “self-confrontation journey” one must be born-again, a Christian, a Christ-follower; the terms may vary but you must be a person who has sincerely asked Jesus Christ to be your Savior. This is the priority principle. However, even if you are not a Christian, but you recognize there is a need for change you can still gain tremendous benefits tby applying God’s Word to your life. Taking the life principles of the Bible and applying them works for believers and unbelievers. A good analogy is that if a person lifts weights and really gets after it they may gain 25 pounds of muscle, increase their bench press by 200 percent and really feel better. But take some protein, and other legal supplements, cut out the junk food and you may gain 40 pounds of muscle and increase your bench press by 400 percent! Both situations are good, but one is better!

As a real believer you will have the Holy Spirit of God in your life and he will illuminate the scriptures, and empower you to make changes that neither your friends, family or you thought possible.

One key is to faithfully read, study and obey God’s Word. This is principle 2: having a life pattern that follows the commands of God. Many people who are Christians struggle to be all they can be for Jesus because they have no idea what the Bible says about life! They live on spiritual baby-food and not prime-rib (Hebrews 5: 12-14)! Yes there is change and work to do if one wants different outcomes. A new way of living is not optional for the real Jesus follower, Romans 12: 1-2; Colossians 2: 6-10. Colossians chapter 3 has fantastic advice and guidance for living the life of victory! So don’t delay, you can start living the new life today.

The third principle, and one that may surprise you is that living a life that will please God must include living a life that is invested in helping others. Think about it, when you really judge yourself (Matthew 7: 1-5) you will lose that critical, self-centered spirit and think of others before yourself. I bet our families and friends and neighbors would say Amen to that! Then you will be in a better position to help others be restored in their relationships. A critical element in Biblical self-confrontation is that not only do you gain, but others gain as well. We all are part of the web of life, inter-connected with others. So when one of us benefits, those closest to us benefits as well. It certainly is not quantum physics!

It is critical that one remembers that it is God’s sufficiency, ability and desire for us to change. We have considered the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We must remember God’s word is powerful, Hebrews 4:12. Rather than go to the well of wisdom the world has (can you feel the sarcasm!), or you own ideas, you have God’s wisdom (James 1:5), strength (1 John 4:4), and He is more than able to help us (Philippians 4:19).

Jesus Christ will never abandon his people to fight the battle on their own (Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5), he is always with us to nurture and sustain us (John 15: 1-11), he cares for us (John 10: 27-29), will always defend us (1 John 2:1) and is always interceding to our Heavenly Father on our behalf (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25).

I know that I am always having to watch my attitudes, words and actions. It is so easy to mess up and have the desires of Dave be the focus rather than the desires of God. No one ever said the Christian life, or life would be easy. Just ask the men and women who have served and fought in World War II, Korea, Vietnam or in the Middle East these past 20 years. But remember God holds the world together by the power of His word, and He can do the same for you!

(Dave & Lisa Carroll are area missionaries with InFaith, America’s oldest Christian home mission agency. Source material for this article comes from the Biblical Counseling Foundation. You can contact Dave at 406.459.8935 or [email protected])