TRANSFORMATION

Believing in Christ, believing He is your Lord and Savior is only the beginning. Can you be saved and not be Christlike? Yes, absolutely (See 2 Corinthians 3:14-16). Becoming Christlike starts with a curiosity of who He is. Then it moves to a desire to be more like Him, then a decision of repentance and then a commitment which moves to a deep hunger to be more like your Savior. The old way of reacting and dealing with issues becomes uncomfortable and as you become more aware of how truly contradictory your thoughts and behaviors are to your Savior’s the more painful it becomes to stay the way you are. God will take you through a series of events and experiences…He will allow people and situations across your path designed to illuminate the work that needs to be done in us and the places that need healing. He is not doing this to punish you for your behavior. He is doing this to honor you. To honor your commitment to be more like Him. He is quite pleased when you trust Him with your transformation. And a transformation it is. It will not happen immediately and will not happen at all if you do not choose for it to. Jesus wants you to live in peace and have a peaceful attitude. He knows we react out of the pain deep in our hearts. We lash out, hold grudges, hold others responsible for our happiness or moods or we try to please everyone, live our life on eggshells and resent others because of it. Both are extremes we were never meant to live as Christians.

Jesus was very confident (not arrogant), accepting and sure. He was relaxed and needed no approval from man nor did He have any ill will toward those who hated Him. His demeanor is what made people curious, His message gave them hope, their belief made them trust Him and a revelation of the Truth made them love Him. But there were those who despised Him for those same reasons. They despised His demeanor, the curiosity He aroused, the message He delivered, the belief He inspired, the trust He instilled and they had no revelation of the Truth. Jesus was strong and wise. Whenever His dissenters wanted to pick a fight or draw Him into a senseless argument He merely spoke the truth which is all that needs to be done. And then there were times when He simply said nothing. Neither the praise nor the hate moved Him. He knew His assignment and He knew whose He was. And He wants us to know that too.

If you love Him, Christ is in you and you in He. Nothing can separate you (See Romans 8:35-39). He is offering you not only heaven but a peace that will pass anything anyone can understand or explain (See Philippians 4:7-9). He wants you to follow Him and take His hand on this journey of transformation. You are not alone and we need each other to lean on. We come together not to join each other in darkness or justify our natural feelings and not as judges to point out how far we have not come. We come together to encourage one another to continue to reach higher (See Philippians 1:27).

My heart is full because I’m not there yet, the truth is I am often shocked at things that the Lord illuminates in my spirit that I thought were dealt with long ago or at the very least sufficiently buried deep enough not to cause me pain. But I take comfort in knowing that “He who began a good work in me will not stop until Jesus Christ returns” (Paraphrased from Philippians 1:6). Oh how I love Him, I love Him, I love Him. Join me on this journey of transformation or if you are already on it hold someone up as they become weak along the way. Give them strength as He gives it to you. This desire to be Christlike is not easy because it goes against our nature. Our natural responses. But it is doable and well worth it. If just one comes to Christ because they were curious about your peaceful, confident, accepting demeanor then you will have fulfilled your assignment. To just be more like Christ.

I said earlier the praise didn’t move Jesus nor did the hate. What moves Him is your faith. I heard a bible teacher say once it’s not your need that moves God it is your faith and that stuck with me. You can do this, it’s in your DNA… it’s in the blood. Take His hand, one foot in front of the other, one day at a time and get ready to take the ride of your life! Indescribable peace, total restoration, complete transformation awaits.

2 CORINTHIANS 3:17,18 Amplified

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom). 18 And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.