Topic: REAL TRANSFORMATION [Church of God Mission International] Above Only Daily Devotional 3 October 2021
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ABOVE ONLY DAILY DEVOTIONAL
SUNDAY OCTOBER 3RD 2021
REAL TRANSFORMATION
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 (GNB, TPT)
“Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come. All this is done by God, who through Christ changed us from enemies into his friends and gave us the task of making others his friends also. *Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new. And God has made all things new, and reconciled us to himself, and given us the ministry of reconciling others to God.”
Real transformation does not take place when you try to change or control a person from the outside. The best you may get in such a situation is a temporal adjustment of behavior especially when the person does not willingly desire that change or transformation. Real transformation takes place from within. You cannot kill a bad tree by merely destroying its fruits. The old tree has to be uprooted from its roots and a new tree has to be planted in its place. You cannot change an animal by trying to change its spots or skin colour. You can only change an animal by completely changing its nature. This is what God does to us when we put our faith in Christ and receive His life.
The major root of every evil and destruction going on in the nations of the world today is the fallen nature of man. The nature of man became evil and corrupted by Adam’s sin and fall in the beginning. The heart of man became deceitful and desperately wicked. Man fell short of the glory and nature of God but by God’s love and His gracious plan of redemption, man now has hope again! Man can receive God’s life and nature and man can genuinely do good works and be controlled and led by God Himself, (Eph.2:10).
Real transformation takes place when God Himself transforms a person’s life. God does not try to renovate the old nature. God completely destroys the old life and nature that we received from Adam and births a new life in us which is just like Christ. God does this by Himself as people hear and believe the Gospel of Christ, (Romans 1:16). God breathes His life into people and they become offsprings of God and carriers of God’s life and nature on the earth.
Prayer Focus:
Thank God for the privilege to have His life and nature and do good works. Pray for the spread of the gospel and transformation of others.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR READING PLAN
Jeremiah 1:1-2:30 Philippians 4:1-23 Psalm 75:1-10 & Proverbs 24:17-20