Page 29 - Living Light - A Message of Joy!

Monday January 1 - How salvation works
...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling...
Philippians 2:12
Working out our salvation! Hmm! Surely salvation is the sovereign work of God? Jesus’ cry, “It is finished” sealed victory over sin and death (John 19:30). The price for our ransom was paid in full. Hallelujah! If you have committed your life to Christ – you are redeemed, not part-redeemed.
Then what needs to be ‘worked out’? In fact, the process of ‘working out’ starts at the moment we repent and begin to walk in newness of spiritual life. Thereafter, as we gain understanding of God, his ways and his will for our lives, we grow in godliness, evidenced in personal conduct and faithful living. This process is termed sanctification.
Dear friends, all God asks of us is for us to co-operate with his goal of changing each one of us, by degrees, into the image of Christ. This is a daily process of being transformed into the likeness of Jesus. How wonderful is that! Romans 12:2 gives the key: ‘Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’ The Greek word used for ‘transformed’ describes a radical change, evidenced in the process of metamorphosis, as caterpillars become butterflies and tadpoles become frogs. For the Christian this must be ‘worked out’ in a renewed way of living, choosing no longer to be restricted by ‘old life’ thinking!
Heavenly Father, I praise you that ‘If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away...’ (2 Corinthians 5:17). May I think and act accordingly. Amen.
Tuesday January 2 - How God works
...for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose. Philippians 2:13
‘Danger – God at work!’ This would make a whimsical yet profound lapel badge, warning people to be aware that major reconstruction is taking place in my life. Today’s verse reminds us that God is at work in us to fulfil his good purpose. Note: it is his purpose and it’s a good purpose. So that begs the question: what is this good purpose? It’s nothing less than ‘being transformed into the image of the Lord from one degree of glory to another’ (2 Corinthians 3:18). When we pray “Thy will be done, thy kingdom come” we are unknowingly asking to be transformed by yet another degree into the likeness of Jesus.
I love the song, ‘Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me; all his wonderful passion and purity. O thou Spirit divine, may I truly be thine, ‘til the beauty of Jesus be seen in me. Let my wonderful Saviour be seen in me; his amazing compassion and constancy. His great love is my goal, by his Spirit’s control, ‘til my wonderful Saviour be seen in me.’ All too often we ask God to join in with our plans, rather than submitting ourselves to his master plan!
Today, God wants to fashion you to become more like his Son. Dare you pray the prayer below?
Father, ‘you are the potter and I am the clay. Help me to be willing to let you have your way. Jesus, you are changing me, as I let you reign supreme within my heart.’ Amen.
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PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY