TOPIC: THE TRUTH PRODUCES INWARD TRANSFORMATION – TREM Daily Devotional 21 May 2019 By Bishop Mike Okonkwo [The Redeemed Evangelical Mission]
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“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32 (KJV) A transformed life is not about do’s and don’ts. No matter how convinced you are, your personal consecration cannot save a soul. What do I mean by personal consecration? Things like, no make-up, no jewellery, no trousers (for ladies), and the list goes on and on are all about a personal consecration; they never transform anyone. When you reel out your personal consecration, the unbeliever ponders within him/herself: “Is that what will make me right with God?’ Some people would even go to the extent of dropping these things when coming to church and when service is over, they will go out there and pick them back and live as nothing happened. This is simply because there is no inward transformation; nothing has changed! What changed is that he/she changed his/her appearance, and came to church. It is only the truth that sets people free.
However, when a person has an encounter with God, like 2 Corinthians 3:18 puts it, the person is changed into the image of God; not overnight, but it is from glory to glory. The Spirit of God takes over because He is there to help. He will help our infirmities, our weaknesses and our shortcomings. Under the law, men depended on self-effort. As a result, they produced behavioural modifications without heart transformation. That is what happened to the rich young ruler in Mark 10:20 who said to Jesus: “Master, all these have I observed from my youth.” When Jesus now said to him, ‘give all that you have to the poor’, he was sad and went away grieved. The first commandment was broken immediately; Exodus 20:3 – “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” He had made riches his god.
The self-righteous man would say something like; I come to church more often than my neighbour; I gave my tithe. I sang in the choir, whereas the person who relies on God will say: “Lord, if you don’t help me, there is nothing I can do to help myself”. The person who relies on God leaves justified, unlike the self-righteous man.
Further reading: Mark 10:17-22Daily Bible Reading: Morning- 1 Chronicles 13-15; Evening- John 7:1-27
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