Sunday 05:23:10

We are loved, forgiven and accepted by God. We did not have to earn it; it was done for us through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. We are declared to be holy by the work of Christ on the cross and being made holy by the work of Christ continuing in our lives. We are just becoming what we have been declared to be. How are we changed? How do we grow spiritually? We are changed by reflecting, contemplating, and beholding Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:18 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect (or contemplate - behold) the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. Why is there so much in the scriptures about us reflecting and being light? We understand why Jesus is called the light. God is said to live in unapproachable light, but why did Jesus say, “You are the light of the world?” Why does Paul write, “Live as children of light?” We may not feel very bright. Why so much in the scripture about us being light? We’ll have to go back to the beginning to see. Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. We were created in the image of God. We are created to be His image-bearers. Isaiah 43:6-7 6 I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth- 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." We were created in His image. We are created for His glory. But in the fall, we became unable to fulfill God’s design to bear His image. Through the cross of Christ, God is restoring a people to bear his image and reflect His glory. Ephesians 4:17-24 17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. The gentiles have become futile in their thinking, darkened in their understanding, separated from God. 20You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. You were taught to put off your old self and be made new. And to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. We are to live our lives in such a way that the glory of Christ is seen in every aspect. Ephesians 4:32 forgive, just as Christ Ephesians 5:1-2 love, just as Christ Ephesians 5:21 submit to each other out of reverence for Christ Ephesians 5:22 wives, submit to your husbands as unto the lord – yield your rights, not because your husband takes the place of the Lord, but as an act of submission to the Lord. Ephesians 5:25 husbands, love your wives just as Christ Ephesians 6:1 children obey your parents in the Lord We live in the shadow of the cross. Everywhere we go, everything we do, every thought, every relationship is to be affected by the work of Christ on the cross. In everything, we are to reflect the glory of Christ. Here’s how change happens. I read in the scriptures that I’m supposed to forgive like God, through Christ, forgave me. My life doesn’t demonstrate that. I’ve been holding on to anger. I go to God, confess my unforgiveness and ask for His help. I reflect on how God forgave me and it begins to change me. That is how we put off the old and put on the new. It is how we begin to reflect the glory of God. We are to live all of our life in the shadow of the cross of Jesus Christ. We are meant for His glory. Have you been living in a way that demonstrates the cross of Christ?