How People Change, Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Heat 2: You in the Real World
1. Read Romans 8:20-22. What are the three ways Paul describes earthly life between creation and the second coming?
2. Each of the three ways above end with a question (p. 108-109). Where do you encounter futility and frustration in your life? Where do you encounter the reality of decay in your life? Where are you experiencing pain right now?
3. How does the enemy use the effects of the fall to his advantage? (p. 109). Also read I Peter 5:8-9.
4. Describe the heat and the response in each of the Wilderness examples. Give an example of how you have responded in similar ways. (Pages 110-113).
a. Bane of Boring Food – Numbers 11:4-23.
b. Fear of Threatening Circumstances – Numbers 14:1-4
c. Blame Game – Numbers 20:1-5
5. Author quote from page 113, “the anger we reveal in the middle of the trial says more about us than it does about the trial. The Bible keeps the focus on us. It confronts the self-righteousness and spiritual blindness that makes us think that the biggest problems are outside us, not inside.” Comments.
6. Read Deuteronomy 8:2-14. Why does God give us wilderness experiences? (p. 114).

The following assignment is quoted from the workbook, How People Change. The workbook is a very simplified version of the book, but does include this very powerful project that we will be using in our studies:
7. Personal Growth Project
This project begins a process of self-examination that will take you through the remainder of the book. What you do with this assignment and those that follow will determine how much you personally benefit from this course and how much it will prepare you to be used by God in the lives of others.
Your assignment is to choose an area of struggle from your own life. From now on, you will work on this area, applying what you learn from the HEAT, THORNS, CROSS, FRUIT model lesson by lesson. For each lesson, you will be given a guided opportunity to take the principles, perspectives, and promises of each lesson and apply it to your particular area of struggle. It is our hope that, as you do this, you will see measurable progress in that area of your life, while you get to know your Lord and his grace more fully and deeply.
Perhaps you are thinking, “I don’t know how to choose the thing I should work on”. Here is some guidance:
a. You may pick a relatively minor habit (biting your fingernails or breaking the speed limit) or you may choose a major pattern of behavior, thinking, speech, or emotions (a tendency to be shy and evasive around people; a tendency to be aggressive and controlling; or a tendency to judge or categorize people).
Either choice has its benefits. Small habits are easily observed bits of life that can lead you to think about more substantial issues. For example, biting your fingernails could lead you to consider how you handle stress and tension in general. Larger, more general themes and problems bring more of your life into God’s light right from the start. If you pick a larger issue, like strained relationships with people, you will find it more helpful to narrow the focus, for example, by focusing on one relationship in particular.
b. Here are some possible choices for a personal growth project:
Driving habits: your driving reveals a lot about your personality and expectations about life.
Money and possessions: Are you obsessed with wealth? Covetous? Continually in debt?
Work and rest: Do you alternate between workaholism and a self-indulgent love of comfort? Are you driven and restless? Do you procrastinate and avoid responsibility? Do you pursue leisure in a way that pleases the Lord?
Grumbling: Do you tend to be negative, pessimistic, complaining, irritable, unhappy, discontent, and dissatisfied? When do you grumble, and about what?
Avoidance: Does fear keep you from people or situations? Are you afraid of what people might think?
Subtle boasting: Do you seek to look good in other’s eyes through your job, your possessions, your children, your spirituality?
Secret sin/addictive behavior: Is there an area of sin and temptation that regularly defeats you? Have you found it difficult to admit it and seek the help of others?
c. Take time to pray. Ask God to give you insight and wisdom as you choose your project. Ask God to help you to resist the temptation to take the easy way out and give you the courage of faith to choose an area that really needs attention. Ask him to make you willing to be honest before him and others.
d. Once you have chosen your project, write down everything you know right now about your struggle. When and where does this problem tend to rear its head? How long have you struggled with it? What have you done to get control or victory over it? What do you think Scripture says about it? How do you think it has affected you and the people around you? What do you think it reveals about you and what is important to you? In what ways right now, do you think God is calling you to change in this area? Turn to the diagram in Chapter 6 and try your best to answer these four questions:
HEAT: In what situations and relationships does this struggle most often reveal itself?
THORNS: How do you respond when the HEAT hits? What do those responses reveal about your heart? What are the everyday consequences of responding in that way?
CROSS: What specific things does Christ offer you in your struggle: What promises can you claim? What passages speak directly to your struggle?
FRUIT: In what ways does God want to change your heart? How will that heart change result in a whole new set of responses to the same old HEAT? If those changes take place, what will be the harvest of good consequences?
Do your best to answer these questions. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t answer all of them, since your understanding will grow with each chapter. Be thankful that God has given you this opportunity to meet him and experience his grace, right in the middle of life’s difficulties. It is our prayer that God will use this project to change and mature you and position you to be used by him in the lives of others.