The Changed Life: A Journey Toward Biblical Stewardship

By Kayla Phillips

Have you ever wondered: What is my purpose? How should I live my life? Will God be pleased with the choices I'm making?These are questions the author asked and found answers to during her journey toward biblical stewardship. Being truly honest with herself, she wondered if her life looked any different than an unbeliever. If you're looking for a way to continue maturing as a Christian and demonstrate the results by living a changed life, you'll find the tools in this book. Your current thoughts will be challenged as you take on a more biblical worldview. You'll be encouraged and equipped with the knowledge you need to please God in every area of your life. You'll be able to connect Scripture to your actions in order to have confidence that you're living a God-honoring life. The Changed Life: A Journey toward Biblical Stewardship provides extensive biblical references and relatable personal insights from the author. With the Word of God at the forefront, her prayer is that you will gain insight to your identity and purpose and be wonderfully changed.If you'd like to connect and share your insights with others reading this book, please find our group on Facebook: The Changed Life Book Club.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098044152

Book preview

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The Changed

Life

A Journey toward Biblical Stewardship

Kayla Phillips

ISBN 978-1-0980-4414-5 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-0980-4415-2 (digital)

Copyright © 2020 by Kayla Phillips

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Foundation

Basics about God

Basics about Jesus

Basics about the Holy Spirit

Basics about the Bible

Basics about Christianity

Basics about Faith

Basics about the Good News (Gospel)

Basics Regarding Your Identity and Purpose

The Changed Life

Being a Good Steward Over Your Body

Being a Good Steward Over Your Time

Being a Good Steward Over Your Money

Being a Good Steward Over Your Possessions

Being a Good Steward Over the People in Your Life

Being a Good Steward Over the Earth (Including Animals)

The Issues

A Biblical Worldview for Common Societal Issues

The Takeaway

Love God

Love Others

Love Yourself

Preface

Thank you for taking the time to read this book. In it, you will find my perspective on the revelation I received during bible study. You will have a glimpse into the life of an ordinary Christian learning to mature in the things of God. I’m not a pastor. I didn’t go to seminary nor did I take biblical studies in college. I just wanted more out of life. I was very tired of things being the way they were. This book came as a way to get out of an awful rut. I found myself in turmoil, and it wasn’t sudden but a very slow process.

One day I woke up and realized I was miserable. I knew that there were plenty of things in my life for which I could be proud of, but it wasn’t enough to stop the feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy. I was determined to find a solution. I was going to find a career that I could be passionate about or get another degree, a new wardrobe, or hairstyle, or this, or that. I would literally search Google for ways to be happy and have a successful life. I was constantly trying to learn new things but never actually getting anywhere. I was tossed to and fro by my emotions and every wind of doctrine. I was troubled and heavy laden. I was worried and weighed down by many things. I was running away from God because I thought he couldn’t help, mainly because his way was so different from what I learned from society and my experiences.

Being busy and looking for worldly solutions or looking at others to model their lives just did not work. I stopped; I was weary. I decided to be still, drop things out of my life, and get back to basics. I took refuge in God and he brought sermons and conversations to my memory and showed me things in his Word. He gave me insight and direction for my life. I was finally beginning to understand who I was and what mattered most. When he planted the word stewardship in my heart, it became my personal Bible study, then it became a spiritual journey, requiring study and action and faith, and finally it unfolded as this book. Trusting God and submitting to him, brought purpose and fulfillment to my life that I didn’t have before. When we stand firm on the Word of God, realize that it demands our continual sacrifice and hard work but when we obey we get to experience a new type of peace and joy.

I am grateful for the people and resources God has brought across my path and for the pruning that came as a result. It is my hope that this book will be a great resource to you. This book is meant to serve as a help and encouragement to other Christians to walk out the will of God in every area of their lives, stewarding the Word and demonstrating obedience through the changed life. My prayer is that this book will serve as a stepping stone for the body of Christ to move forward with intention, resulting in a renewed sense of purpose, peace, and joy.

In this book, we’ll cover some helpful basics; but the Bible is extensive and though reading this book will take a short while, a spiritual journey takes a lifetime. I encourage you to read over the Scriptures in this book, look them up in other translations, and pray that the Holy Spirit help you to understand how to apply them in this season of your life.

Acknowledgments

Iwant to acknowledge:

My darling husband, Alvin, thank you for pulling double duty with home and career during my transformation. Thank you for leading and teaching me. You’ve endured so much; you’re my superman!

My mom and dad, Karen and Mike, thank you for your support and encouragement. You built my confidence and drive. My mom is one of the best support people in the world.

My sister Sharonda, without your help with dinners and babysitting, I may never have written this book!

My sister-friend Biancia, thank you for prayer and encouragement and for listening.

My sister-friend Annette, you unknowingly sparked a fire in me to do what I should have done long ago but always put off.

My sister-friend Khadijah, your prayers and advice and shoulder were priceless.

Pastor David Walker thank you for your consistent encouragement in faith and all of your personal life stories that illustrated how to practically live out the Word of God daily.

God the father, God the son Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit. Without them, I’d be utterly lost, and none of this would be possible.

Introduction

Iwrite this from the perspective of a married woman who didn’t come to Christ until my beginning years of college. I didn’t begin to mature in the things of God until about fifteen years after I was baptized! This book is written to those hoping to mature into an authentic faith.

This is meant to be a simple read and a springboard for your own personal journey (relationship with Christ). This book is meant to add to your knowledge, shake up your way of thinking, set you up to begin replacing worldly mind-sets with biblical truth, nurture an awareness of the Holy Spirit, and cultivate a more intimate prayer life. I intentionally added hundreds of Scriptures in this book to accomplish these goals. The Word of God is powerful and reading it is the best way to pierce through the old way of thinking. It is my hope that you will read and meditate on the Scriptures provided for your convenience.

So then how should the changed life look? We’re meant to be holy, set apart, different from the world, and a peculiar people. When we say that we’re Christian, it should mean something. This was one of the things that initially hindered me from becoming a believer. I didn’t see the changed life. There was no difference of a Christian other than they occasionally went to church. They watched the same TV shows, listened to the same music, attended night clubs, slept around, etc. The outlook on life was the same: image, money and possessions, and education were paramount. I noticed Christians would say things that they didn’t practice. They love God but didn’t obey God’s commandments. They value family, but they were destroying their families (living immorally, not respecting themselves or others, not honoring marriage, not standing firm against evil, and not being present).

It was Christianity without love, without obedience, without power, and without Christ. I accepted Christ among these types of believers and looked the same way for a long time. I had no consistent prayer life, and I didn’t read the Bible for myself. It took me years to actually open my Bible to see my error and work toward living a changed life. The Holy Spirit revealed to me the word stewardship. I began to study this topic; and when I didn’t find what I was looking for, I knew it was my prompting to delve into this topic and go on a spiritual journey—one that I would need to share with others. I discovered that stewardship is a way of life that I desperately needed to adopt. Through this journey, I have learned to love God more as my life became about pleasing him in every area of my life. It takes discipline, but it is worth it. I am not perfect and still make mistakes. We all fall