Radical Transformation

When Almighty God moves into a life, we can expect a radical transformation. The speed at which this occurs depends on our willingness to totally surrender to His will.

Our spirit is immediately changed, brought from the state of death in sin to alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:1). The next step is sanctification in our soul, which takes a lifetime for most people (1 Corinthians 6:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

We come as we are, and jump up on the operation table of God's grace; so that His Word can separate our soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12). We facilitate the process as we actively decrease, so that He may increase (John 3:30).

God calls us to die daily to our fleshly desires and to work out our own salvation; but at the same time He makes it clear that it is His Spirit that actually does the work (Philippians 2:12-13; Ephesians 4:22-24).

God created us to imitate Christ and to walk in true holiness by repenting of every sin. We cooperate as the Spirit sanctifies us. We live, move and have our entire being in Him (Acts 17:28).

He forgives us and calls us to submit to the Spirit as He transform us into the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4). We mature spiritually and this conversion consumes every area of our life (Galatians 2:20).

We relinquish our cares to Him, because He really does care for us (1 Peter 5:7). We stop worrying and walk in His peace. When we pray, we give thanks for all that God already did in our life (Philippians 4:6-7).

Jesus encouraged us not to work to attain the things of this world that rust and spoil; but to seek food that endures throughout eternity (John 6:26-27; Isaiah 55:2). We long for Him like the deer panting for the water brook until we joyfully experience His presence within us every moment of the day (Psalm 42:1-2; Acts 3:19).

Prayer:

Father God, You made it possible for us to eat the body and drink the blood of Jesus Christ (Psalm 34:8). Taking Him into our being and consuming Him in an intimate relationship where we two become one. This provides us with eternal life now, and You will also raise us up on our last day on earth in order to dwell with You for eternity (John 6:34). 

Only You can satisfy our longing and fill our hungry soul (Psalm 107:9). Your Word gives us milk as new born babies (1 Peter 2:2). Jesus is the Bread of Life on which we feast as we mature (John 6:35). Then, like Jesus, our food is to do Your will every moment of our life (John 4:34). Prepare our hearts, lead us, fill us with Your presence and Spirit and provide for our every need as we make the radical transition from worm to butterfly.

Thought for the Day:

In Christ, His whole body fits together in perfect harmony, supporting one another, growing together spiritually, loving one another as Christ loves us, and all of us functioning in the ministry into which He calls us. - Ephesians 4:16, 2:10

Faithful to the End

After suffering a cold last fall, I developed laryngitis, which held on for weeks after the cold healed. I adjusted my lifestyle to rest, drink plenty of fluids; but I kept on talking.

I gradually got used to the sound and the strain it caused to try to converse by pushing words past the "frog" in my throat. However, this badly strained my vocal cords.

I had to stop talking in order to allow the vocal cords to heal. One month transitioned into the next, but my raspy voice remained the same. For 10 weeks I wrote notes or sent emails instead of talking.

Week after week, I would heal just a bit; but then if I talked at all, I had to start the healing process all over again. I tried every product known to man to facilitate the process; but silence was the golden cure.

Once God finally healed my vocal cords, I did not recognize the sound of my normal voice. I was so used to the raspy condition that I rather missed that tone.

This reminded me of a season of time, which lasted for over a year, when we remodeled several parts of our former home. The chaos in which we lived gradually became normal; so when we restored our house to order, the order seemed abnormal.

This is the way sin creeps into our life too. We allow a small concession in our habits or lifestyle, which seems inconsequential at the time. Then we start to notice a big difference in our prayer life and unity with God's Spirit.

Yet, we adjust to allow the sin to remain. Over a series of months, the sin seems normal and we do not miss the deep union with the Trinity, or the power in our prayer life or the wisdom and flow of living in the Spirit that we once enjoyed (Ephesians 4:30; Isaiah 63:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:19).

When God's Spirit convicts us, we ignore Him and may even add a few more sins to our lifestyle, which complement the one we already allowed. Sin seems normal to us again, and holiness is forsaken.

Prayer:

Father God, never allow sin to feel normal to us. Keep us from searing our conscious or from consenting to allowing even more sin to develop in our lifestyle (1 Timothy 4:2). Keep us focused on You and never permit us to compromise our union with You through the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13).

Create in us a pure heart, O God, and renew a holy and righteous spirit within us. Do not cast us from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from us; restore to us the joy of our salvation and help us to please You in all that we think, say and do (Psalm 51:10).

Thought for the Day:

If we remain true to God's Word and promises to the end of our life on this earth, trusting God as faithfully as when we first believed, we will also share with Christ in the inheritance of all that belongs to God's Kingdom. - Hebrews 3:14