Transformation (25)

Bright Ideas & Other Monuments

Whenever the revelation of God’s glory shines the brightest, human frailty and foolishness becomes the most apparent. This certainly was true the day Jesus was transfigured before three of His disciples, Peter, James, and John. I love the way this amazing scene is described in The Message translation of Matthew 17:1-8: “Sunlight poured from his face. His clothes were filled with light” (v. 2).

Ordinary humans may reflect God’s glory at times, like Moses did after he had spent 40 days in the Lord’s presence. As believers, each one of us has the incredible opportunity today to reflect His glory in this way: “We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV).

But instead of merely being reflected glory, Jesus’ transfiguration wasn’t something more like “transmitted” glory: “His appearance changed from the inside out” (v. 1 MSG). What a sight it must have been to see “sunlight poured from His face,” as The Message translates verse 2.

Yet things began to get off track when the disciples realized that Moses and Elijah were also there in deep conversation with him” (v. 3). Peter always had a plan, and he just couldn’t help himself from breaking in on this holy encounter: “Master, this is a great moment! What would you think if I built three memorials here on the mountain—one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah?” (v. 4)

Peter was well-meaning, of course—just as we are when we come up with bone-headed schemes to advance the kingdom of God. He probably thought Jesus would consider it quite an honor to have a memorial booth built for Him right next to Biblical dignitaries such as Moses and Elijah. But Peter didn’t yet realize that Jesus was in a class all His own. He also didn’t realize how ridiculous and insulting it was to suggest that Jesus, the Son of God, should be confined to a box made by human hands.

Right in the middle of Peter’s rambling proposal, God interrupted him with a stern rebuke: While he was going on like this, babbling, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and sounding from deep in the cloud a voice: ‘This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to him’” (v. 5).

It was as if the Heavenly Father was saying, “Thanks for the kindly suggestion, Peter. But instead of coming up with such hair-brained ideas, you need to sit still for a moment and LISTEN for a change!”

I don’t know about you, but I definitely have some of Peter’s tendencies. When I don’t take time to listen, I often come up with crazy ideas for helping God rule the world. Perhaps you can relate.

When Peter and the two other disciples heard this heavenly reprimand, “they fell flat on their faces, scared to death. But Jesus came over and touched them. ‘Don’t be afraid.’ When they opened their eyes and looked around all they saw was Jesus, only Jesus” (vs. 6-8).

I love how this story ends. Peter no longer has any bright ideas. Moses and Elijah are gone, no longer a distraction. When the disciples finally opened their eyes and looked around, “all they saw was Jesus, only Jesus.”

Don’t we all need this kind of glimpse of Jesus from time to time? In addition to transforming us, it would save us a lot of time and energy in not having to build unnecessary and counterproductive monuments to our own ingenuity.

 

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TheTransforming Message of Easter

Easter is the highest holy day of the Christian faith. The Presence of the living Lord in trusting hearts changes all of life.

“The Easter message tells us that our enemies, sin, the curse and death, are beaten.

Ultimately they can no longer start mischief.

They may still behave as though the game were not decided, the battle not fought;

we must still reckon with them, but fundamentally we must cease to fear them anymore.”

- Karl Barth

 

The resurrection of Jesus is a fact we could never have imagined, a reality changing our destiny.

His resurrection was not merely the product of hallucinatory desperation or wishful thinking.

The disciples were not convinced by an empty tomb—personal encounter convinced them.

“I have seen the Lord!” canceled their doubt and dispelled their fear—today, it still does.

An empty tomb never proved resurrection; but a heart full of love is strong evidence.

                                                         Because He lives, enemies are beaten, all life changed.

Despair is not the last word—hope indeed springs eternal.

The grave is not a prison—the body will decay, but the soul is free.

Death is not the finale of the symphony of life—eternal life is the encore.

Aging will not have the final say—a glorious body will replace a humiliating one.

Funerals are not a final good-bye to loved ones—hellos will echo in heaven’s reunion.

Rough roads are not permanent–when time’s journey is over, saints will stroll golden streets.

Sin’s nightmare will not last forever—pain and tears will disappear when God’s dream comes true.

 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again

to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

1 Peter 1:3 ESV

 

Johnny R. Almond

                Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized

GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized (copy & paste to browser for blog & book info)

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5 Life-Changing Lessons from the Magi

We don’t know the exact time frame of the journey made by “wise men from the East” in search of young King Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12). It may have been several months or even a few years after Jesus’ birth when they arrived at Herod’s palace and asked, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” (v. 1)

But while some of the details of their journey may be unclear, there’s much we can learn from the wonderful example set by the magi:

1.   They made it a priority to pursue the Lord (v. 1). These men came from a great distance to encounter the Savior. They weren’t just casual believers, but were committed to having a personal encounter with the newborn King. In the same way, shouldn’t we make it a priority to pursue the Lord and spend time in His presence?

2.   They came to worship Him (v. 2). Right from the beginning, the magi made the purpose of their journey clear: “We have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” May that be our focus as well during this Christmas season. Instead of being distracted by all the trappings of the holidays, let’s take time to worship Jesus!

3.   Nothing could divert them from their mission (vs. 3-8). When God gives us a dream to pursue, we often have to deal with a “King Herod” who tries to distract us along the way. The magi truly proved to be “wise men,” able to discern that King Herod had no intention of furthering their mission. In the same way, we must avoid the influence of toxic people and naysayers during the holiday season.

4.   They not only worshiped Jesus with their words and their time, but they also worshiped Him with a generous offering. “When they had opened their treasures, they presented to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (v. 11). If we have a genuine encounter with our Savior, the King of Kings, how can we not honor Him with our possessions? True worship demands nothing less. Our treasure and our heart are always linked together (Matthew 6:21).

5.   They returned home “another way” (v. 12). Genuine worship will transform us and cause us to walk on a different path than we started on. If necessary, we’ll even be given supernatural direction or “divinely warned in a dream.” As you worship Jesus this holiday season, He wants to instruct you, change your life, and give you the breakthrough you need!

This Christmas, may the Lord give you a fresh revelation of His LOVE for you—love that took Him from the glories of Heaven to a dusty stable in Bethlehem…to a Cross on a Jerusalem hillside…to the right hand of God’s throne in Heaven…so that you might spend eternity with Him.

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When It's Cold Outside

As temperatures plummet and the news is filled with reports of fierce winter storms up north, I find myself humming the old song, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” And I can’t stop thinking about a simple but profound truth I heard many years ago:

 

In life, we will either be a THERMOMETER or a THERMOSTAT.

 

      Thermometers merely reflect the temperatures around them. If it’s cold outside, a thermometer will let you know.

 

      It’s not hard to be a thermometer. You just have to report and reflect the conditions around you.

 

      Lots of people are like that. When you ask them hold things are going, they simply give you a weather report concerning their present circumstances. Allowing themselves to be controlled by external situations, their mood goes up and down according to what’s happening around them.

 

      However, some people have learned to be a thermostat instead. Rather than just accepting and reflecting the temperature around them, they have a way of changing the temperature in every situation they are in. When it’s cold outside, they warm things up. When conflicts arise and relationships get uncomfortably hot, they know how to generate cooling breezes.

 

      Jesus was a thermostat. Although He continually faced icy reactions from the religious establishment, He never allowed His heart to become cold.

 

      Yes, Jesus sometimes gave a weather report about the conditions He saw around Him. But He never left things like He found them. Instead of reflecting the animosity and unbelief He encountered, He brought compassion, faith, and healing.

 

      But Jesus warned about the temptation we would face to become mere thermometers, reflecting the surrounding culture rather than transforming it. “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold,” He told us (Matthew 24:12).

 

      What a tragic outcome Jesus is describing here. In a day of lawlessness, many people will become calloused and cynical. Surrounded by growing narcissism and self-centeredness, many will allow their love to become cold. Instead of being change agents, people will be like thermometers, swayed up and down by the changing world around them.  

 

      Jesus used the Greek word agape for love, so there’s a good chance He had believers in mind here. He was warning that we’ll surely face times when it’s “cold outside,” but we can’t let that change our disposition or ruin our day. Instead, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit, bringing His kindness and warmth into even the harshest weather around us.

 

      The good news is that we don’t have to be helpless victims as the cultural weather changes around us. As salt and light, we can be a positive force in setting the temperature, not just reflecting it.

 

 

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John Wesley Meets Twitter World

I’ve been haunted lately by an old quote attributed to John Wesley, the famed English preacher and founder of Methodism:

 

“Give me one hundred men who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven upon the earth.”

 

My angst over this quote probably began when I entered the world of Twitter and began a daily count of my followers @BestBibleTweets. In just a week or so, I had gained more than 100 “followers,” yet somehow the world wasn’t shaking like Wesley described.

 

Another milestone came when I realized I had the same number of Twitter followers as the number of church members we had in the church I pastored in Ohio many years ago. It had taken our church an entire decade to reach that number of followers, but I did it on Twitter in slightly more than a month.

 

Yet the world still wasn’t shaking.

 

More milestones would soon follow, until I had thousands of Twitter followers in less than six months. I was certainly proud of my accomplishments…but still the world wasn’t shaking.

 

I forgot to mention that I also have more than 500 contacts on LinkedIn and almost 500 friends on Facebook. That’s cool, but I still find myself troubled by Wesley’s quote.

 

I can almost imagine Wesley appearing to me in a dream some night…

 

“Jim, how many disciples are you leading in the ways of Christ?” he might ask.

 

“Brother Wesley,” I would tell him, “I now have thousands of people following me on Twitter @BestBibleTweets and hundreds of friends reading my posts on Facebook.”

 

“Very impressive, Jim!” Wesley might say. “I sure wish I’d had technology like that to mold disciples in my generation. But tell me, are your followers truly growing in the grace and holiness of the Lord? Are you able to hold them accountable to the teachings of the Word? And are these ‘followers’ of yours bold in their faith and winning souls to Christ?”

 

Hmmm… How would I respond to such a troubling question? And how would YOU respond if Wesley inquired about your disciples?

 

Although I don’t plan to give up on the world of Twitter and Facebook, I’ve concluded that I would trade it all for just 100 people who “feared nothing but sin and desired nothing but God.” For as much as I love my Twitter flock, they are no substitute for true disciples. Nor can my Facebook friends match the level of face-to-face friendships God wants me to have.

 

Lord, we want to be world-shaking believers, able to raise up fully devoted followers who can cover the earth with Your glory!

 

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