July 10, 2019 UNVEILED
2 Corinthians 3:16-18 “But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, we are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
Logic tells us that in order to get what we want, we must put forth the required effort to get it. This is certainly a true principle, however, there are times that this principle does not hold true. In Christian circles, there are many who believe that our spiritual maturity and our being transformed comes as a result of our work-if we pray more, study the bible more, go to church more, give more, visit the sick, etc. then we will be a ‘good’ Christian who is earning God’s approval. All of these activities are good things to do, and we do have a part to play in our being transformed. However, these, and other things we do as believers, are to be the by-products, or the fruit of knowing God and knowing our new identity in Him-not things we do because we ought to do them or because we want to earn His approval. Everyone has a veil over their heart and cannot understand the scriptures or experience the truth of the scriptures until their heart is turned to the Lord. Once the heart is turned to the Lord, the veil is removed and the Spirit then gives understanding of the scriptures; those who deny or reject God, and those who oppose God, cannot understand the scriptures. The mystery, and the miracle of God is that as we behold Him and seek Him, as our heart and thoughts are turned to Him, we are transformed. Our transformation is a work of God-we do not transform ourselves. As we are transformed, our motives and our desires change, our thought patterns change, our actions change, our view of others change-our hearts are changed. All of the changes we undergo in this transformation process reflect the glory and the nature of God. The wonderful part of having our hearts turned to the Lord and being transformed is that we experience the liberty that only God can give. The greatest liberty is the liberty to be who God made us to be. Satan tries to rob us of the liberty we have in Christ, but he has been defeated and Christ has set us free. May we turn our hearts to the Lord and continue to discover our new identity as sons and daughters of God.
John 8:36 “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.”
Blessings,
Buddy