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Can’t you hear the voice of wisdom? She is standing at the city gates and at every fork in the road… Prov 8:1

The difficulty of Decisions:

• I’m usually alone.

Get all the advice you can, and you will succeed; without it you will fail. Prov. 15:22

• I’m evaluating my life.
• I’m guessing at what’s best.
• I’m considering how others are affected.

The Question we are left with: Can I change?

Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it. Prov. 4:23

And I will give you a new heart—I will give you new and right desires—and put a new spirit within you. I will take out your stony hearts of sin and give you new hearts of love. Ezekiel 36:26

God can do anything, you know. Far more than we can ever imagine or guess or request in our wildest dreams. He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, the Spirit deeply and gently within us. Ephesians 3:20

Clarity about God:

• God’s love for us is greater than we realize.

God embraced us. He took our sin dead-lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us. Eph 2:5

…absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. Rom 8:38

• God is not out to harass, but to give hope.

I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. “Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed. Jer. 29:11-14

• God is at work in our lives.

It’s not the result of anything you’ve done, so no one can brag about it. God has made us what we are. He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that he has prepared for us to do. Eph 2:9-10

For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants. 3Phil 2:1

The Lord is there to rescue all who are discouraged and have given up hope. Ps 34:18

Allowing Change to happen in you:

• Allow God to get your attention.

When the Lord saw that he had caught Moses’ attention, God called to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “Here I am!” Moses replied. Exodus 3:4

• Focus on God, not your failure(s).

Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, … But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Rom 8:6-9

• Look for progress, not perfection.

Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand him better. Col 3:10

Connection Group Questions:

These questions also work well for personal time with God.

• What difficulty do you have in the serious decisions you make? Explain.
• Are you more aware of your failures or your progress? Explain.
• How have you changed in the past year? (Give a few examples)
• How does having clarity about God help us in the change process?
• How would you describe to someone the greatness of God’s love?
• How does God give you hope? How does that hope affect your everyday life?
• Do you see God at work in your life? Explain?
• How does God get your attention? Give a personal example if you can.
• What can you do to keep God as your focus, rather than distracted with your failures?
• What have you done to celebrate your progress?
• Do you expect perfection in your life? Explain.
• Talk about the progress you see in someone’s life in your group.
• What is God’s agenda in bring change into our lives?