Day 040: Transformation

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:1-2

This message speaks to me so much for today, for it is about to be Lent.

Lent is a time for us to transform so that we can become a wholesome offering to God.  In the Old Testament, there are so many specifications about how perfect an animal has to be in order to be sacrificed.  Alongside that, we know that Jesus is the most perfect sacrifice to renew all of us.

But we can't get bogged down in all of the customs and traditions of the world.  Although we might like to think that if we purchase the right amount of candles and icons we would be saved, that's not what God wants from us.  We can't let things become stumbling blocks for us.  We need to follow Jesus and allow him to transform us.  We need to make everything in our lives things that will bring us closer to him.  We need to attach ourselves to spiritual things so that we may grow in the best way possible.

And so, as we prepare ourselves for Lent, ridding our surroundings of every temptation and purifying ourselves just before we go in to receive our ashes for Ash Wednesday, let these verses be our prayer, that God may take us and transform us into something that is pleasing and acceptable before God.  When our own desire is for God, then we can start to become more godlike - perfect.

Day 025: The Journey

So Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for I belong to God.  But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."  Genesis 50:19-20

Perhaps it is just because of reading stories like this, but I do like to live my life by looking for the reasoning behind all the things that happen.  I like to think about what people mean, especially those who have fallen away from my life or those whom I have removed.

Growing up, I have been taught many times that God has a plan for my life, and I won't always understand it, but I need to maintain my faith.  As I have grown up, I have learned that all of this is very true.  God is taking us in so many directions, but we need to remain faithful to the fact that God is walking with us every step of the way.

The best part of this, though, is that God will show us so many new and different things that we'd never imagined.  Many times, God shows us things we had pushed away.  God brings us new foods that we had pushed away as children.  God brings us new music we had covered our ears from.  God brings us new pictures that we had torn up and burned on our own time.

Let's take the time to listen to God and to be receptive to all of the new and glorious things God has for us.  Let us pause to look all around us, to absorb our new environment rather than barreling through and trampling the delicate plants along the way.