Friday, January 05, 2007

I Want To Be Made



By Michael Eaton

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things… John 14:26 NIV

“I want to be bigger, faster, and stronger. I want to be Made.” Many of you may not be familiar with the opening words of the MTV series entitled, “Made.” It is a series that is dedicated to teens that are seeking self-improvement. For example a couch potato would want to be made into a football star or an unpopular student who wants to be made into Prom King or Queen.

The show will assign them a coach like Eddie George (former NFL running back) to teach them the discipline of being an athlete or they will bring in somebody like the reigning Miss Sunshine to teach a young teens whether male or female the social skills to becoming popular enough to become a Prom King or Queen. This coach pushes them to a point of no return. They will drive them to make the changes that need to be “Made”. What I like about this show is that it teaches teens that anything worth doing or becoming will take a focus and concentrated effort. If you what to be “Made” it will take work.

The Made Resolutions

Many of us make New Year’s Resolutions around this time of year. Dave Letterman made a resolution in January of 1994 to, “Raise financial backing for my one man ice show – Davecapades.” This was number nine on his Top Ten Resolutions for 1994. Number one that year was, “Four words: Mrs. Kathie Lee Letterman.” Many of our resolutions seem to be as far fetched as, “Davecapades.” These resolutions seem implausible, because we do not have a made coach. Some are resolving to becoming slimmer, to stop smoking, to getting out of debt, to spending more time with family and to quit drinking amongst a host of other similar resolutions.

We tend to make New Year’s Resolutions and for example pledge the all time promise to loose weight or get into shape this year. Over 66 percent of adult Americans are considered overweight. It is not surprising to find that weight loss is one of the most popular New Year's Resolutions. The evidence is in fitness. Regular exercise has been associated with more health benefits than anything else known to man. Studies show that it reduces the risk of some cancers, increases longevity, helps achieve and maintain weight loss, enhances your mood, lowers blood pressure and even improves arthritis. In short, exercise keeps you healthy and makes you look and feel better. We know this, because we all have heard about similar studies as we were sitting on the couch watching TV. Therefore, we then began to think about joining a gym? Or, we do join a gym and go for the first two weeks of the New Year and then quit as the weeks go by? We learn in the gym, “No pain, no gain, no gain , no loss!?" That is why we quit. We don’t have a "Made" coach to motivate us. We do not have cameras following us around. We don't have the coach waking us up at 5:00 AM in the morning to go do our workouts. We want to change, but we don’t have the drive to change.

Some resolve to quit smoking around this time of the year. Quitting smoking will yield these benefits. Coronary heart disease risk is cut by half 1 year after quitting and is nearly the same as someone who never smoked 15 years after quitting. Stroke risk is reduced to that of a person who never smoked after 5 to 15 years of not smoking. Cancers of the mouth, throat, and esophagus risks are halved 5 years after quitting. Cancer of the larynx risk is reduced after quitting etc and so on. We know this, because we heard about these studies as we were sitting on the couch watching TV. Why didn’t we quit? We don’t have a “Made” coach and cameras following us around and waking us up at 5:00 AM in the morning to go do our workouts. We don’t have that “Made” coach to tell us, “If you have resolved to make this the year that you stamp out your smoking habit, over-the-counter availability of nicotine replacement therapy now provides easier access to proven quit-smoking aids." You do not have your "Made" coach to tell you, "Even if you've tried to quit before and failed, don't let it get you down. On average, smokers try about four times before they quit for good.” However, we want to change, but we don’t have the drive to change.

I Want To Be Made

The true of the matter is for Christians, we do not need the drive to change. God has given us the drive to change by His Holy Spirit. The Spirit is our very on “Made” coach. The Holy Spirit is dedicated to Christians that are seeking Christ-improvement. His job is to make us into the image of Jesus Christ. This means He will drive us to becoming slimmer, to stop smoking, to getting out of debt, to spend more time with family and to quit drinking. He will wake us up early in the morning for our 5:00 AM devotionals and our 6:00 AM workouts. He will drive us into the things of God.

All of these resolutions can be Christ-improvement. The bible says in
2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” I do not know about you, but for the year 2007, “I want to be Christ like, slimmer, healthier, wealthier, wiser, and happier. I want to be “Made” into the image of Christ.

"Made" Into A Christian

This is how you can be “Made” into a Christian.
1. Every human is a sinner. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23
2. God's penalty for sin is death. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23
3. In His great love, God has made provision for the salvation of sinners. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
4. Each person must put his trust in God's Son, Jesus Christ.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:9-10, 13
Once you are saved, you need to be a part of a bible teaching, bible believing, and bible living church. Being apart of a church is the way you can be “Made” into the image of Christ. If you live in the Abilene, Texas area, I would love to see you in our service at the Holiday Hills Baptist Church.

Michael Eaton is Senior Pastor of Holiday Hills Baptist Church. You can write to him at meaton@holidayhillsbaptistchurch.com or visit his website at www.holidayhillsbaptistchurch.com.