Tag Archives: control

Change is happening, who’s managing it?, September 10, 2018

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Today we start a new topic that will take us through  the next few weeks. In one of my businesses, I serve as a professional change manager. In fact, as part of the marketing of that business, I secured a copyright for a slogan that explains a little of what the company does. The slogan says this, “When change happens, management matters.” You see, we all change. In fact, we change all the time. If we didn’t we would be dead. Did you know that the only cells in the body that are not replaced with some frequency are brain cells? Every other cell is replaced on a regular basis. Skin and hair cells being two of the most frequently replaced. You might be surprised to know your whole body of skin is replaced about once a month.

But we will talk about some different kinds of change over the next few weeks. Suffice it to say that we must change. So if change is necessary to our very survival, we need to know a little about change. We need to think about what needs to change in our life and how to go about managing that change in a way that benefits us. Taking a knife and slicing off strips of skin is not the best way to change your skin cells monthly. Yet cutting your hair every once in a while is not necessarily a bad thing. You probably don’t want to remove an eye and expect it to regrow itself, but a cancerous tumor needs to be taken care of quickly and decisively before it spreads throughout the body.

So change is necessary for all of us and management of change is also important. We, however, will talk about changing some important things and how we must manage those changes so God can use us most effectively in the days, months, and years ahead.

What do we talk about first? Let’s look at that organ in which the cells don’t change. The brain is the center of all your thoughts. Hundreds of thousands of studies have been done trying to explain that three pound mass of goo that sits in that space between your ears. We have learned a lot, but we still know so little about it. We know it operates with tiny electric currents that run between the neurons, those little nerve cells that comprise the brain. Yet how do those cells hold every memory and analyze problems and create imaginative and artistic things? We have no idea. When those connections are broken through concussions or surgery or trauma or drugs or some other means, those memories and analysis processes and creativity can be destroyed or changed. Why? We don’t know except all that information is stored in those tiny electric currents in the cells, just like in computer chips. Fascinating studies with no good answers except that God made us in incredibly complex ways that we cannot duplicate.

So what about that brain? Why do I mention it first in this series of change? Jesus kind of points us in that direction. He tells us that murder starts with a single emotional thought of calling a brother or sister a fool. He said that rape begins with a single thought of lusting after a person. See, every behavior we name as a sinful behavior begins inside that three pound brain as a thought and then is transmitted to our hands and feet to carry out that thought in action. So to carry Jesus’ warning just a bit further, our thoughts control us. He said what comes out of our mouth tells others what we really are. Those thoughts that result in words we can’t take back. Those are the things people hear and see that determine our true character.  

Your thoughts control you. You might say, “Wait a minute. That’s not who I am. My thoughts are private. I can day dream and think what I want without affecting anyone else. I can daydream or think about actions I’d like to take against someone or something, but that doesn’t mean I’d ever carry them out.”

Really? Think about it for a minute. We are controlled by a lot of things sometimes. Your boss controls what time you show up for work. If you get there too early, the doors are locked. If you habitually get there too late, you find you no longer work there. Your bank account controls what you can buy. You thoughts control your attitude. And attitude creeps into all that other stuff. Do you think you can work effectively for a boss you despise with your thoughts? You will barely get by at best, doing only the minimum he requires and getting away from him as fast as you can every day. Do you think those lustful thoughts about that co-worker doesn’t affect the way you see your spouse when you get home?

We need to get honest with ourselves if we are going to be the men and women God wants us to be. Before we can do anything about those attitudes, those thoughts, those things that control us, we have to recognize them and begin to turn them over to God so he can help you change them. Maybe the things controlling you are physical appearance or popularity or greed or power or what others think of you. Whatever the thing that controls your thoughts and keeps you from being the man or woman God wants you to be, sit down today and make a list of those things. Jot them down in a private place or share them with a prayer partner if you can. Begin to let God change those thoughts and hindrances to your relationship with him.

Your thoughts will control you. That three pound miracle that sits between your ears controls your whole body. It is the place where every function in your body finds its origin. Nothing happens within you that does not start from a command in that mass of cells call the brain. So what is controlling you? What needs to change? Are you ready to give those things to God and let him help you change?

Let’s go back to that slogan I mentioned in the first place. When change happens…management matters. You are changing. The question is who is managing the change? Do you think your managing it? How’s that going for you? Do you think our culture is shaping and managing your change? That works great, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s time to turn the management over to God and let him direct the changes that need to take place. He’s really good at change. After all, he changed nothing into something. Darkness into light. Chaos into order. He can help you change the thoughts that control you, too. Take a chance. Let him manage your life from the inside out.

Change is happening. Who will manage it for you?

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Adonai (Malachi 1:6), May 27, 2017

Today’s Podcast


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  1. Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
  2. Topic Introduction with headline.
  3. Scripture
    1. Malachi 1:6
    2. Eternal One: (to the priests who despise the name of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies) A son respects his father, and a servant fears[b] his master. If I am your Father, then where is My respect from you? And if I am your glorious Master, then where is your fear of Me? From your self-centered oblivion you ask, “How have we despised Your name?”
  4. Devotional
    1. Most often in the NIV, CEV, King James and other versions, Adonai is translated as “LORD”. The Voice translates it as “glorious Master”. Adonai was spoken when the tetragrammaton YHWH was written.
    2. We don’t understand the concept of Lord the way the people of England did when King James authorized the translation of the Vulgate into a language the common man could understand
      1. Watch TV shows with lords and ladies
      2. Hear about the titles when we hear about Great Britain’s royalty
      3. Still don’t realize the power lords held over their subjects
      4. The title is believed to have come from an old English word meaning “bread keeper”.
      5. Lord refers to someone who has authority, control, or power over others acting like a master, a chief, or a ruler.
      6. In feudal system, the landowners that provided protection, work and food for tenant families
    3. Adonai is one of the seven names the Hebrews used for God that once written could not be erased.
      1. Sacred name of God, Lord of lords,
      2. owner of all things
      3. creator of all things
      4. Everything is His
      5. He has authority, control, power over everyone and everything
      6. Creation turns at His bidding
    4. May not understand the term Lord the way those who translated YHWH did
      1. May not feel the weight of lordship the way those in the middle ages did
      2. May not understand the power the lord held over His subjects
      3. We can understand God has authority, control, power over all things
      4. He wants us to recognize who He is as Lord, Adonai
  5. If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

He is in control (Mark 4:39-40) July 22, 2016

Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Ezekiel 37-42

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Mark 4:39-40
He got up, shouted words into the wind, and commanded the waves.
Jesus: That’s enough! Be still!
And immediately the wind died down to nothing, the waves stopped.
Jesus: How can you be so afraid? After all you’ve seen, where is your faith?

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

The headlines in the news for the last several months seem a little scary to many people. Vacation plans to Europe cancelled. Vacation plans to America cancelled. Our State Department issuing warnings about travel and violence in various countries around the world and the need to exercise caution when traveling. Three countries now issuing warning about entering our country and exercising caution with our law enforcement. There is a lot of fear in the world.

Gun sales are at an all time high. People who would never consider purchasing a weapon because they had always felt safe in their homes, now own weapons and keep them loaded by their beds because of the fear of invasion that runs rampant across our land.

The headlines across our news papers and social media seem to want to spark racial tension and civil war. As the headlines work to grab people’s attention to the rest of the article, the headlines exaggerate what the rest of the article will share in facts, but we read the headlines and it incites hatred, anger, fear, protest, revolt, emotions that cause us to rise up against each other, often in violence.

Fear is the terrorists’ greatest weapon and they are using it well around the world. Terrorism has touched the shores of every continent and invaded the shores of our nation. And many in our nation fear for their safety because of the recent events that claimed the lives of so many people snuffed out without warning. One of the difficulties in dealing with the terrorists we face today is their willingness to die for their cause. When someone values their own life, they will stop the violence short of sacrificing themselves, but when they disregard their own life and are willing to use themselves as the device for destruction, it is very difficult to stop them. Just what we’ve seen in incidents like those in Orlando, Paris, and Nice.

We fear the things we cannot control. Whether it is terrorism, cancer, heart attacks, communicable diseases, storms, we fear these things we cannot control. That’s what was happening with these seasoned sailors. They got caught in the middle of a storm that rose up on the Sea of Galillee while transporting Jesus from one shore to the other. The winds came out of the north whipping up the waves and producing the kind of violent storms that sometimes plagued the area.

They didn’t expect it. They didn’t think the storm would come in like it did. They knew how to read the weather and this storm wasn’t predicted. But it came just the same. And they couldn’t control its effects on their small vessel. If it continued, the vessel would surely sink. They were afraid. But Jesus was with them. And that makes all the difference in the world.

He controls things we cannot. He controls the results of the storm. In fact, He should the disciples and those in all those other boats that traveled with them that He controlled the storm itself. With just a word the winds stopped, the waves calmed, the rain ceased. The storm obeyed His voice.

So what do we learn from all of this? I think it tells us that despite all the evil around us, we do not need to be afraid. Yes, there are terrorists that want to kill innocent people to advance their cause. We can’t control them, but God can and we don’t need to be afraid. He will either protect us from our enemy or use us in those moments to advance His plans for His world. He is still in control. Not the terrorist. We don’t need to be afraid. Do I understand why He allows all those things to happen? No, except perhaps He is still delaying the outpouring of His wrath in the hope that just one more will ask for His forgiveness and join the ranks of the redeemed in His kingdom.

We can be like Paul as he wrote in prison, which is better to live or die? If we live we get to continue to do God’s work, see more people won to Him, help to grow His kingdom, experience His mercy and grace here. If we die, we are ushered into His presence where we can rejoice with Him forever. So why should we fear the circumstance we face but cannot control. Things we cannot control will continue to happen all around us. But if Jesus is with us, we don’t need to be afraid. He is still in control of all things and still knows what is best for us. His actions and His timing is perfect. We may not understand it right now, but He is God and we can trust Him.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Let Him in! (Matthew 12:43-45) March 20, 2016

Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 1 Corinthians 7-8

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 12:43-45
Jesus: Let Me tell you what will happen to this wicked generation: When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it rattles around through deserts and other dry places looking for a place to rest—but it does not find anywhere to rest. So the spirit says, “I will return to the house I left.” And it returns to find that house unoccupied, tidy, swept, and sparkling clean. Well, then not only does one spirit set up shop in that sparkling house, but it brings seven even more wicked spirits along. And the poor man—the house—is worse off than he was before. This evil generation will suffer a similar fate.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

We listen to these words and think how terrible it must be to let evil spirits get hold of you. But of course we would never do that. After all, we live in an enlightened age in which we just don’t think about such things. We don’t believe in evil spirits and the supernatural. We don’t believe spirits can inhabit people and control them. We don’t believe evil spirits have power over people and can poison their minds, do we?

Jesus’ words must have been for a group of people not so enlightened as we are. They must have been for the uneducated and those who still believed in magic and superstition and the supernatural. They must have been for those who believed in the spirit world and a cosmic battle between good and evil. They must have been for those who believe in God and Satan, heaven and hell. Oops, I got a little carried away. I think that dips into our generation.

Don’t we believe in God and Satan? Don’t we believe in heaven and hell? Don’t we believe in good and evil and the spiritual battle that takes place around us unseen by powers and principals and authorities we do not know? Don’t we believe God’s Spirit can inhabit us and help us through life? And if His Spirit can inhabit us, doesn’t it stand to reason that Satan’s spirit, his demons can do the same? God’s word says he goes about the earth like a roaring lion looking for those he can devour. But he doesn’t do it physically at first. He does it spiritually, from the inside out.

Satan comes into a clean house and starts filling it with trash. He loads up our life with filth. Name the vice and he tries to introduce it until our life internally looks like a pig sty. It fills with lies, deceit, lust, corruption of every sort. Then Jesus comes along and we learn of Him. We let Him peek into our heart and we let Him turn the lights on. We see just how corrupt we are and ask Him to clean us up. We ask His forgiveness for the sins we committed and He comes in to do some house cleaning.

He does a good job and our hearts, our house is sparkling clean. But our problem is, we don’t invite Him to stay. We don’t let Him be the Master of the house. We’re glad He cleaned us up, but we don’t let Him take charge. Instead we decide we want to take charge of our life again. We want to decide what is right for our life. We want to decide what will make us happy and we push Him out the door.

Remember the words of Revelation 3:20 that you hear so much in evangelistic campaigns, “I am standing at the door and knocking. If any of you hear My voice and open the door, then I will come in to visit with you and to share a meal at your table, and you will be with Me.” We use it to try to win the lost. But the verse wasn’t written to the outcasts. John wrote this revelation to the churches. Jesus had John pen these seven letters to the seven churches in Asia, remember?

Jesus says if we don’t let Him in, if we don’t let His Spirit come inside, if we leave Him standing outside the door knocking, a pretty dreadful thing can happen. That spirit that He drives out and cleans up. You know, the filth and corruption and evil He took care of when He forgave your sins, it comes back. But it comes back with a vengeance. It comes back bringing seven friends with him. The plight of the sinner who doesn’t let Christ come in and take charge is worse than the sinner who never lets Him clean up his house in the first place it seems. Now that’s a scary thought. I can get seven times worse than before I let Christ forgive me?

He kind of hints at that in these verses, doesn’t He? The solution is to let Him in. Let Jesus live in your life. Let Him be more than a house keeper. Let Him be the Master of your life. That means saying yes to Him always. It means listening to His voice and following His commands. It means letting Him take charge of your life and letting go of your authority. Don’t forget Revelation 3:20. It’s for believers. Let Him in!

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.