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Scripture for the day: 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 Nevertheless when one 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, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Thought for the day: In another place this same Paul said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” You see, Jesus has never been in the business of reforming people as if He were the leader of some world-wide self-help group. The Father’s goal has never been to help you and I become better people; His goal has always been to transform us in mind and spirit, into the likeness of Christ. And transformation doesn’t come simply by reading all the promotional materials we can find, plugging in to all the latest movements in the church, or steeping ourselves in devotional materials – as vitally important as those things may be. No, all those things, along with prayer, reading of our Bibles for all they’re worth, attendance at praise and worship services and taking part in times of fellowship whenever and wherever possible may be seen as tools by which the Lord transforms each believer into the likeness of His Son. In short, we are transformed primarily by spending time with Him – but there’s one more element to this transformation that I’d like to mention.
There’s a wonderful little legend about a man who was lost and wandering in the desert, dying of thirst. As he wandered in that terribly hot desert, he stumbled upon a ramshackle, dilapidated shack. There wasn’t much to it, but, at least, it would provide a little bit of shade and respite for him. So he made his way into the hovel and was enjoying the shade for a moment. He was looking around when he noticed about fifteen feet away from him a rickety, rusty old pump. His eyes brightened, and he thought, "I wonder." He staggered over to the pump and grabbed hold of the handle. He began to work that pump up and down, but nothing came out. He fell back to the ground, and as he fell, his hand landed on something. The man looked over and saw it was an old jug covered with dirt and filth. He took the jug, and it felt like there was something in it ... sand, for all he knew. He began to wipe off what appeared to be a label or a note. He brushed away the dirt and began to make it out. The label said: "You have to prime the pump with all the water in the jug. P.S. Be sure to fill the jug again before you leave."
Suddenly, he was faced with a life-or-death decision. Before him was the sure thing; a jug with some water. At least, if he drank that, he could live a little while longer. But if, indeed, it was true, he would have access to flowing, fresh, cool water ... as much as he could possibly want. He pondered that decision for a few moments. Could he really trust that set of instructions that was no telling how old? He decided to go for it. He popped the cork. Sure enough, it was almost full of water. He walked over to the pump, poured it all into the top, and grabbed hold of the handle. He began to work that pump again ... squeak, squeak, squeak. Nothing came out. Squeak, squeak, squeak. Suddenly, there appeared a trickle of water. Squeak, squeak, squeak. It grew into a larger stream of water. Squeak, squeak, squeak. Suddenly, it was gushing all the cool, flowing, wonderful water he could possibly want.
He filled the jug and drank it. He filled it and drank it again. The man filled it a third time and poured the contents over his head. He was marvelously refreshed. Then he remembered the note. He filled the jug again, put the cork back in place, and added his own little note to it: "Believe me, it really works. You have to give it all away to get it back."
Friends, believe me, it really works, this life of discipleship; but you have to give all of yourself away. But, when you give yourself all away to Him, then He gives all of Himself back. You become transformed. You become like Him.
Now go take on your world. - Bill