You Can Change: Hope for Those Who Struggle

By Eric Swanson

Is there something in your life you wish you could change? You have read your Bible over and over again and even memorized some great verses about change, but nothing is different. You have heard stories about someone overcoming an alcohol problem and you so desperately want the same change in your life. It could be a pornography addiction that never goes away or a desire for drugs. You want to experience freedom but for some reason the freedom never comes, and the only experience is enslavement and regret. This can lead to bitterness toward God and a downcast outlook on life. But this isn't the way Christians are to live. You know how you are to experience joy, and yet no one in their right mind is saying that about you.

This book gives the Christian practical tools to see change happen. This work gives the believer practical steps to take to overcome any addiction and to truly experience the peace of Christ we all want to have as we live out our days. Isnt it time to claim victory over some addiction? Are you tired of confessing the same sin over and over again? Dont live in the circle of sinconfess. Through Christ, this sin and confess cycle can be broken and joy can be experienced. If you are looking to break bondage or you want others to break some addiction, then this book is for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 20, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490864662

Eric Swanson

Eric Swanson is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute and is currently employed as a church planting intern in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Eric developed a great love for writing while on a vision trip in China and had a novel published in 2010. This is Eric’s first nonfiction work.

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Copyright © 2015 Eric Swanson.

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Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers. All rights reserved.

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Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-6466-2 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 03/20/2015

Contents

Chapter 1 Change should be expected

Chapter 2 Jesus controls us

Chapter 3 Confession

Chapter 4 Repentance

Chapter 5 Conviction

Chapter 6 Desiring God

Chapter 7 True Contentment

Chapter 8 Holiness is Key

CHAPTER 1

Change should be expected

The more I go to different churches, the more I ask myself if Christians believe that change is possible. I listen to sermons about how Jesus is the only way to heaven. All is good to know, but if this is being preached Sunday after Sunday I can understand why those my age and younger are leaving the church. I can’t speak for everyone, but I want to hear how Jesus can make things better for me now. I know how to be saved, but if I leave with the same addictions and failures, then I begin to loss interest. I want to know right now how my life can be better. I remember a verse recorded in the gospel of John, Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.(John 14:6 NIV). This means that not only does Jesus provide for us a way and the only way to heaven, he also promises to give us life. This means eternal life, but I would like to think that this includes the best life while here on earth. I get this impression, because Jesus also said, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10 NIV)

Before I get much further in writing this book I want to address some criticism to this thought. I know that some only become Christians so they can get what others have. They know all the right answers when asked how to get saved. They’ll even boldly proclaim that Jesus is the only way to be saved. But one only has to take a closer look to discover that it’s all words and no action. They just want to be in a church and carry the name of ‘Christian’ in order to get something from others. It’s all about manipulation and control.

This is the case no matter where I have been over the years. I can think back to my time when I worked with inmates at a local jail in Wisconsin and how one individual became a good friend, but it was mostly to see how much he could get from me.

I don’t think I’m alone in this situation. I believe we have all been around others who wanted to control us by giving us guilt trips. My burden is to see others stop their manipulation and demonstrate the character of Christ in their lives.

I just believe that if we come to know Jesus as our Savior then changes should happen in our lives. I get disgusted when I hear about how the Bible is someone’s favorite book, but their viewing habits resemble the world. I get sick when others praise God on Sunday, but listen to music about killing cops and having sex on Monday. People like this aren’t looking for change, and haven’t taken the first step in letting Jesus have control of every area of their lives. In fact I would have to question if that particular person is really saved.

Maybe in some ways this is the problem we have in the church. We have a lot of people going to services on Sunday who think they are saved, but they are only fooling themselves. One only has to go online and look at the twitter feed for church on some Sunday morning and you can read tweets about how some girl was out partying on Saturday night and decided to sleep in instead of going to church. Or there will be the guy who will boast about what he did to some girl and then says its time for church. When I read things like this, I have to wonder if people really understand what being saved is all about. It has to be more than some Bible reading every once in awhile. Church is not an event, like some people go to the movies. Church is even more than a place to meet up with friends. To be honest that can happen anywhere. Church should be a place where we move away from the mentality of attendees to a place of owners. Attendees only go to be entertained, like going to a good movie. They come in, sit down, maybe sing a few songs, put a few dollars in the offering, if last week’s sermon was good, and listen with expectation that the preacher will say something profound and impactful that will make them feel good.

To be honest this is how I went to church for the longest time. It was just something I did on a weekly basis and because of this it wasn’t making a difference in how I lived out my life. If the sermon was boring or the worship was bad, then I felt like I wasted my time. I just wanted to receive and the thought of giving was foreign to me. Now I find myself in churches where I can serve and where I feel comfortable inviting friends to. For me, I just want to serve others for this is the example that Jesus gave us while he was here. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45 HCSB). Now if Jesus came to serve, then shouldn’t we be doing the same with our lives?

I don’t want everyone to get caught up in external performance, but shouldn’t there be some change once we get saved? I’m not saying that change looks the same for everyone, but having a relationship with Jesus is a lot like getting married. For instance, when someone who’s single gets married, there should be no doubt about the change in status. If they were asked, ‘Are you married?’ they wouldn’t have to sit and think about whether or not they are married. They know that a change has happened. They have a date in mind about when that change took place and the same should be said of us who come to know Christ. Not everyone will have a date and time. But there should come a point when we realized the way we were going down wasn’t working and a decision was made to travel a different path. There should be a point when reading the Bible took priority and prayer was something we looked forward to instead of something we dreaded. There should be a point when we longed to look at God and just wanted to be in His presence.

This change happens in a different way depending on the person. We all know about the former drug pusher from either jail or the prison system who comes to know Christ and his life turns upside down in a good way. Addictions are replaced with a love for Christ and he is given strength beyond our understanding to say ‘no’ to past relationships. This person may end up being a great evangelist who speaks boldly about the change Christ caused and people stop to consider his testimony and message. But then there’s the individual who also comes to know Christ in jail and once out, life is just a struggle. Perhaps his wife leaves him and everyone laughs at him for being a Christian. Is one conversion genuine and the other false?

We know that we should come to know Christ in a personal way to save us from the fires of hell and to experience eternity with Jesus forever. If