Day 12
Tuesday, January 25th
It is so good to enter this new year focussing on and believing for more. Each one of us can be guilty at times of settling and losing sight of all that God longs to do and is able to do in our lives and our world. I was reminded a few days ago of a popular worship song from many years ago, which includes the refrain “more love, more power, more of you in my life”.
The heart of a true disciple is to follow Jesus and, in doing so, to be transformed into His likeness.
Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they
are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognise that God is a living, personal presence, not a
piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old,
constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between
us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured
much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God
enters our lives and we become like him.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (The Message)
Over the course of my life, I have had the privilege of meeting and knowing individuals who shine, with the presence of God. When you leave time spent with them you leave encouraged, challenged and loved. They intercede for you, raise your faith and are people whose integrity and wisdom leave a deep impression on your life and the world around them. They are humble, servant hearted and generous and have countless testimonies of how God has answered their prayers.
It has been my observation that, as you might expect, these people spend time in worship and prayer daily. What I have also observed, however, is that they are not perfect and generally have not lived easy, comfortable lives. The key to being more like Jesus is simply that they have learned dependency on God and to surrender every area of their lives to Him. If we want to be more like Jesus, to have more love, faith, hope, power or joy we cannot hold back.
We need to be ‘all in’, wholehearted, holy. Day by day we need to allow him into more and more of our lives, our thoughts, our responses, our joys, our challenges, our sorrows. The Holy Spirit is willing and able to come and provide comfort, peace, power and counsel in every area of our lives but we need to lift up the drawbridge and allow Him in.
Are there any areas that you are holding back on today? Are there thought patterns, worries,
anxieties, pain or unforgiveness that is gripping your heart but you find hard to let go of? Are there relationships, activities or habits in your life which you hold onto but know they are unhelpful and pull you away from God? Choose to let go and surrender and receive his forgiveness and power so that you can experience life and freedom.
More than ever our world needs to encounter Jesus and it will do that through us, his people. Let’s make it our prayer to allow God into more and more of our lives so that He can shine brightly through us.
Perhaps most startling and wonderful of all, we can be a God-possessed people, those whose every word and action is controlled by the living God – quite literally Jesus-people whose lives are louder than their words.
Grace Turner, The King’s Gold
Prayer
Thank you that I am able to become more like you as I spend time in your presence and walk with
you day by day. Show me those areas in my life which I need to surrender to you and help me to
entrust them to you. Amen
Sarah Brabban
Connect Leader, Richmond Location