Making Changes Last

When things seem to be going good in our lives or we are at least content with our circumstances we rarely would see a need for change. The simple definition of change is to alter or make different, usually with the intent to make better or improve. Stop for a moment and reflect on what in your life you wish was different. What in your life could be improved? What do you wish was better?

In most support groups one may hear a portion of a prayer from Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr referred to as, “The Serenity Prayer.” Within it one asks God for the peace to accept the things that cannot be changed, the courage to change the things that are within our power to change and then for the wisdom to know the differences of what we can and cannot change.

We have to know and realize that we will never change another human. We can encourage, influence, maybe even persuade but ultimately it is up to each individual of whether they make the changes in themselves that maybe we wish they would. Maybe we have been in a similar situation as a certain person and we know that if they did X, Y, and Z their life would show some improvements, but until they get to the point of being willing to make those changes on their own nothing will happen.

Working as a counselor and now a pastor too, I have heard many “rock bottom” stories. Rock bottom is that symbolic place that people often refer to where they finally start the process of changing.

In the late 70s and early 80s James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente came up with The 5 Stages of Change Model. Within this model one can look at the different stages to see where they may be in regards to making a change. The first stage is Pre-Contemplation which is basically the stage that you still feel no need to change. You believe that there is no problem and no reason for a change, even though others may see it. In this stage you will reject any advice or help because you see no need in it.

Then 2nd stage is Contemplation; this is where you actually start to think that it is in your best interest if you do start to make a change. This leads to Planning or what some call the “brainstorming” stage. You think of all possible options that you can do in order to make change happen. You may have many ideas, but the next stage is to pick a plan and put it into action.

The Action stage is where other people will also see a difference. There will be evidence that you are making a change. It will be seen in how you act which will be a direct result from your thoughts and beliefs changing. As the change happens and others see the differences and improvements the last stage is Maintenance. Once at this stage the change has happened and you continue doing what is necessary to make the changes made last.

March 16, 2025

~TRS

Come What May

Rays of Hope ~ Tim Stockton

Writing poetry has been something that I have enjoyed doing since the early 90s. I sat down tonight to write a column and was not sure at all what to write about. I typically keep a notebook next to my bed so that when I have an idea I will jot it down or most of the time will continue to keep writing until it is finished. I picked up the notebook and flipped through some pages and came to a poem dated November 16, 2024 entitled, “Come What May.”

This then made me think of what my family had just read in our nightly devotions from the book of Job. If you know anything about the Bible or not most may have heard of the suffering of Job who the Bible declares was a righteous man, yet he had great troubles, trials, and tribulations to the point that his wife basically told him to “curse God and die.” Then his best friends came to support him and console him but ended up basically telling him that he must have done something really bad in order to have all of this “bad stuff” keep happening to him. In a quick snapshot basically Job had been so blessed with riches, family, respect, wisdom, and integrity that Satan challenges God stating if God removed all of the blessings Job would curse God and not follow Him.

My kids used to watch a show where the brother was presented with an obstacle of sorts, but his motto would always be, “Challenge accepted!” I am not saying this is what God said to the devil; but in essence He did. He gave the devil permission to cause all of the bad, traumatic, grief-causing events to take place in his life. The way it reads basically all in a matter of very short time he lost his wealth, all his children died at one time in a storm that destroyed the house they were in. Then eventually Job’s own body was impacted with what is described like boils and sores, that covered his entire body, causing immense pain and discomfort. He also was under great emotional and mental health distress with the death of all his children and possessions. Job did get discouraged and at times seemed to wonder where God was in all of this.

However, “come what may” Job would never curse or blame God for what had happened, but he did get to a place he did not understand why he was having to go through all that he had. Nevertheless, he never turned to the point he lost his faith in God. Back to the poem some of the verses say, “Even when times get rough, believing I am never enough. Walking through valleys, eyes blinded to truly never see, yet…Come what may, being filled with doubt. I know His light will lead me out. Come what may. I will trust in the Lord. Come what may. I will seek out His way. Come what may.”

~TRS 2-3-25

Awakening Your Faith

I was once told by a former Sunday School teacher that when something happens in “threes” it may be wise to take heed to what’s going on. This past week I heard 3 different people at 3 different times talking about the time the disciples had followed Jesus onto a boat, but a great storm arose. It wasn’t just a small storm with some thunder and lightning. It was a very scary time in which the disciples believed they may face an untimely death. The word perish means to “suffer death, typically in a violent or sudden way. As the disciples feared for their lives as the water was crashing over into the boat they finally found Jesus asleep in the boat.

They awoke Him crying out that they are perishing, yet He was the one trying to wake them up to a new level of faith. Jesus said unto them, “Why are you so afraid, and have such little faith?” At this point Jesus had not yet calmed the storm. This means the thunder was still clapping and the lightning was lighting up the sky. The winds were blowing fiercely and waves were still crashing down inside the ship.

Jesus was still laying down when He had asked them about their little faith. “…Then He arose, and rebuked the wind and the sea; and there was a great calm” Matthew 8:26. By this time in the disciples following Jesus they had heard Him preach and teach. They had seen Him heal all manner of illnesses and cast out demons, and when they were now at a point in their lives having to face a storm they knew where to go in order for Him to save them.

At the time they possibly had no idea what Christ was going to do in order to save them, because they all were astonished and marveled being amazed that even the wind and the sea obeyed His command. This was to give them a glimpse that He was from the beginning of the earth and more specifically on the second and third days was the one who created the heavens and the sea. If He had spoken them into existence then of course He could tell them to stop.

Through facing storms in our own lives we can hopefully hear the Spirit telling us to “wake up your faith.” See that Christ can keep us safe even in the midst of the storm. We can learn from the disciples to follow Him and learn from the wind and the sea to obey Him.

Our faith and obedience will help us weather any storms of life we may face.

~TRS 1/19/25

The GIFT of Giving

One can look up the definition of gift and it will explain that a gift is something that is given without any expectation of payment. Recently I was able to share that to understand the depths of what a gift is we just have to remember the acronym, G.I.F.T.

As in the definition of a gift it has to be “Given, Intentionally, Free-willing,” with some “Feeling, Thought, and Time” put into it. The greatest gift ever given was from the Creator of the universe, nature, and all things which are all gifts to enjoy as well, but still the greatest is the One who fulfilled hundreds of prophecies, the Messiah.

A recent headline in the news is that the Bible has picked up in sales in the past few months and since 2020 with people looking for purpose. The Bible has been a number one selling book of all times because within it one, if they are willing to find it, will find their purpose between it’s pages. This is not only a gift for yourselves, but others in your life.

John 3:16 is a verse within the Bible that most have heard about even if they have never read it for themselves. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Within this verse it lets us know that God “gave.” To give us His Son is a gift that was intentional, because He has the feeling of Love for us. He also put thought and time into the gift.

He knew that from the beginning that Jesus would be given to a broken world as it states in Revelation 13:8 that Jesus is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” This means that God foreknew that once He created the people, in the garden, in the world, that was in the universe He spoke into existence was tempted they would fall into sin and need a Savior.

This shows He was intentional and thought about how to bring the “Ultimate Gift” to the earth in order for us to have an opportunity to receive it. Just like any gift that is given to us we have a choice of whether to accept it or not. You may have heard about this gift and know it is there waiting for you to open, but it will be your choice of when this gift is opened in your own life.

It is only repentance that opens this gift. A gift that can never be repaid. Our gift back to God is giving of our will to Him which also has to be intentional with love. For the greatest thing we can do is to love the Lord God with all our heart, mind, and soul and love our neighbor as ourselves. Receiving this gift will change the way we feel and the way we think and the more time we put into this “GIFT” the more giving we will be.

~TRS 12/22/24

Taking Control To Stop Identity Theft

Rays of Hope ~ Tim Stockton

A continuation from the last article that can also be read from the blog timstocktonraysofhope.com is about how it is God who defines us and gives us our identity. Living in the present people have to be aware of the fact there are dishonest, crooked, and manipulative people who are out to steal as many identities that they can. The very first identity theft came soon after the beginning and the original two people had their true identities stolen by the “father of lies and deception.”

When sin came into the world it changed the human relationship to God from that point on. From even before that point God knew and made a plan to bring restoration. In a somewhat comical, yet serious explanation Jase Robertson, from the Duck Dynasty family in a YouTube short from Truthimus.com states, “We can know the entire Bible in 60 seconds. From Genesis to Malachi it tells that Jesus is coming to earth in human form because we humans are flawed. The four gospels tell of when Jesus; God in human form came to the earth. Then Acts through Revelation lets us know that Jesus is coming back.”

Revelation 13:8 states that Jesus is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the earth.” This means God knew what the human race would do to need salvation even before He created them, yet He did anyway and therefore made a plan on how to bring salvation to all those who choose to believe.

As explained in the Defined study from the Kendrick brothers, “God’s love for us, His desire for a relationship with us, and our identity as His image bearers never changed.” God is always calling us closer but we have to have “ears to hear.” The deceiver is still out to “steal, kill, and destroy” any and all opportunities that are given to accept and know Truth. Jesus explained in the parable of the sower about how the same seed (the Word of God) was sown on the different types of soil and how if it doesn’t take root the enemy will “snatch it away.”

We do all we can to protect our identity from being stolen like hiding our pin numbers, using passwords, securing our devices, and using privacy controls. Likewise, we need to do all we can to protect our true identities God designed within us and become the Light bearers that we were always meant to be.

11-17-24 ~ TRS

Living On Purpose

Have you ever thought about if you could have been born in another time and place, when and where would it be? If you put too much thought into it though you will realize that if “you” could be in another time and place you wouldn’t be you. It took all the ancestors from the parental bloodlines of your parents to make you who you are. So, if we were born at different times and places we wouldn’t be the persons we are today.

I recently have been doing a study and then turning it into a preaching series as well based on a book written by the Kendrick brothers called, “Defined; who God says you are.” The first lesson is to focus on how we each are uniquely created and that God knows each one of us from the moment of conception when He gives life to us.

We are created in His image as it is recorded in Genesis 1:27, “He created them in the image of God; He created them male and female.” Many believe that God has been from the beginning, because He created time and made the beginning. Psalm 139 lets us know that God has been there since our own individual beginnings as well. “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You. When I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed and in Your book they all were written…How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! (Ps 139:13-17).

To be fearfully made is to be made with respect and reverence. To be wonderfully made is to be made in a way that it inspires delight and is seen as extremely good. When something is made with skill it is being created with a purpose. This is how the Creator has masterfully sculpted each person. For Him to have “precious” thoughts about us means that He sees us as valuable.

Too often many will discount their beginnings and not realize the value of their life. We were created with intention and purpose; on purpose to become a light bearer of the One in whose image we are created, yet with our own uniqueness in that no two people have ever been, nor will be completely alike.

Take time to thank God for your beginning and seek to live for Him on purpose.

~TRS 10-27-24

The Dangers of Favoritism in Relationships

We all may have a favorite ice cream, or a food to eat. We might have a favorite car to drive or a favorite place to visit. However, it is not good to have a favorite person. You may enjoy someone’s company and have a great love towards someone, but if we choose to treat some better than others we could fall into the entrapment of favoritism. This practice is continuing to give unfair preferential treatment to one person or group at the expense of another. This type of treatment though the one getting it may like it all the others may feel treated unfairly.

Showing favoritism is the opposite of being in unity which the best selling book of all time, The Bible teaches. In Galatians 3:28 it reads, “neither Jew nor Greek, male or female, slave or free, but all are one in Christ Jesus.” One can also read in several instances of those who were called of God but then chose to do the opposite of what they knew to do and showed partiality and reaped the consequences of that. Abraham favored Isaac over Ishmael, Isaac favored Esau over Jacob, and Jacob favored Joseph over his brothers. In each one of these cases the outcomes had devastating impacts on others.

The apostle Peter once said as recorded in the book of Acts, “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.” In the book of Romans it is encouraged to “let our love be without hypocrisy. To abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good and be kindly affectionate to one another, in honor giving preference to one another…be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all. If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

“If it be possible as much as it depends on you” is a choice. It could be a very difficult choice that is why it says, “if it be possible.” But, with God’s help He will give us His mercy and grace to at least not show partiality and treat others unfairly. We are to be the “hands and feet” of Christ and if our faith is placed in Him we will be moved by compassion to help those in any need, whether it be physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. The best way to do that is to never show favoritism or partiality.

~TRS 10-6-24

Letting Maturity Shine

I had recently written about joyful tribulations and that seems impossible to ever refer to a time of trouble as a time to experience joy. It’s because most may see joy as just a “feeling” when it isn’t really that, but it is a fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22 states, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” These are all evidence of living in the Spirit, or walking after the ways of God.

For most, as the older we get we are able to look back over our lives and see the good and bad times. Some may have more of one than the other, but no matter how many “bad times” they can learn to be endured. We keep on keeping on and learn through those times we can’t wait to get out of. The half brother of Jesus who came to faith in HIM after His death and ascension became one of the first writers to the early church as most historians will tell to encourage the early “beginning” church to walk the walk and talk the talk if you are going to call yourself a believer in Christ.

In James 1:3 he writes, “you know the testing of your faith produces endurance and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” In our society and culture to hear the word perfect is a standard that none can really live up to and a belief that some mistakenly think they are without spot or blemish. The Word lets us know that there are none who are perfect, but we all fall short of God’s glory. God has a certain standard and we none can reach it. This is the reason for salvation and yes we all need it, but it is a choice. You don’t have to receive it. Yet, it is still a gift that is offered to all.

Once the gift is accepted then we can be made perfect, but not in the way we see the word. The word can actually mean becoming mature. As children grow we hope that they get more mature. I’m sure we all know some that no matter their chronological age they are not so mature. Maturity is something that takes effort to demonstrate.

As we live through the good and bad times and learn how to navigate through life we can only hope that we learn to be more mature than we were the day before. Even Google explains that maturity is being able to take responsibility for your own actions, having the ability to listen, being willing to have accountability, and respecting others. All of these are also evidence of walking in the right Way and along with the fruits of the Spirit we can gauge our maturity and growth in Christ. The closer we are to God and living in His light the brighter our lives will shine.

~TRS 9-14-24

Wisdom Creates Positive Perspectives

Rays of Hope ~ Tim Stockton

Some may say that they see the glass half empty while others will say it is half full. Those who see it almost gone are typically labeled as more pessimistic. They tend to believe that things will always work out negatively for them. However, those who see the glass half full are said to be a little more optimistic and hopeful. They try to see how some good possibly could come out of bad things that have happened.

In the book of Job we can read about a righteous man that had some very traumatic events happen in his life. He became very distraught and full of grief, yet he kept his faith and belief in God. His wife even told him to just “curse God and die,” but he knew that was a foolish statement and he would not give in.

Another person who suffered horrendous and unfortunate events was Joseph. He had a belief from a young boy that God would use him in some great way but I’m sure he never thought that he would have to endure terrible things in order to get to the place where God then did use him in mighty and powerful ways.

His brothers hated him and wanted him gone. They threw him in a pit and eventually sold him into slavery. Then he was a slave for a time until he was falsely accused and then thrown in prison for years. Being human there had to be times as he was sitting in his jail cell wondering why such atrocities had happened to him.

However, even through the bad things he had to endure he realized that God was with him and was blessing him. The day finally came that the impossible happened. A former slave and prisoner who had been hated by his brothers and wanted dead was now second in command over all of Egypt.

When Joseph finally revealed his true identity to his brothers he made a statement that needs to become a perspective we choose to live by. He explained that what they had meant for evil, God was able to use for the good. When things don’t seem to be going well in your life, or in the world just continue to trust in God. Realize in His timing we will be able to look back and see how His hand and His will was able to work through all the negative things that others or Satan himself tried to destroy us with. When we trust in the Lord and place our faith in Him then we will be able to look at life from a Godly perspective that will help us have rays of hope.

This was true a couple of years ago when I originally wrote this and it is still true today. A few more positive quotes, “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude” (Maya Angelou). “Keep your face always towards the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you” (Walt Whitman). “I never lose. Either I win or learn” (Nelson Mandela). “Remember, no one can make you feel inferior without consent” (Eleanor Roosevelt). “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you figure out why” (Mark Twain). “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity” (Albert Einstein).

God explained that when Solomon asked for wisdom when he could have asked for anything that no one before and no one after him would be as wise as God made him to be and he said, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.” These will be the ones who are always pessimistic and never learning, nor making opportunities.

7-24-24 ~TRS

Simplicity of Salvation

In many if not most churches throughout the decades children and adults alike have been taught what has been called the ABCs of salvation. It is a simple way to help someone know what to do once they understand why they need the “ABCs” that lead to “salvation.” If I did not believe that I was “sick” and you came around trying to sell me or even give me a tonic of cure I wouldn’t want it because I would see no need in it. I have to believe or know that I was diagnosed with a sickness and then I would be more open to hearing about the “cure” that was being offered.

The “Good News” which is what is also referred to as “The Gospel” has to be preached and taught that others may “hear” for themselves and then make a choice. One has to come to the realization that they are in need of saving before they can be saved. One would have to believe the basics that God exists. He created all things, which includes all “angelic” beings; a third of them rebelled at the urging of a prideful enemy of God. The universe and earth and all that’s upon it was created. God saw it all as good. The enemy was even more jealous and was determined to marr the creation, which happened that God was aware from the foundation of the world would happen. This is why Jesus was known as the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

God created free choice to have relationships with anyone who chooses Him and understands that because of the “Fall” as it is called all are born into “sin,” which is a broken relationship with God and the only way to heal it is what some call the ABCs.

A is for Acknowledging or admitting we are sinners; not able to live up to the truth and laws and commands of God. B is to believe that Jesus is the remedy. He is the “only way, no other” and any variation of this truth is still a lie. The C is to confess with your own mouth you have done A and B. This process of the ABCs is also called “repentance.” Some mistakenly think that is the end of the journey, but it is only the beginning.

God is the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end. So there has to be the XYZ. The X is to x-out anything in your life that is not within the will of God or lines up with the Bible. You may have to X on certain people, places, and things that before seemed ok to you. This doesn’t mean you are “better than” others but if others who may not share the same beliefs cause you to stray it may be wise to stay away.

The Y is to continually “yield” yourself to the will of God. This means to submit and yielding also means there is a “crop,” a “harvest.” of fruit in the way we now choose to live with the help of God. Jesus told a parable that the kingdom of God belongs to a people who are “producing fruit.” Just read the parable of the sowers and the seeds.

The Z is to encourage us to have a zeal in serving the Lord. We should have a great desire and hunger to know Him more and to make Him known.

~TRS 3-31-24