Spiritual Transformation

"And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you; for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in the earth beneath." - Joshua 2:11
 

Last Sunday night at FBC we began a series of messages going through the book of Joshua.  Most of us know that Joshua is a book of transition.  There is a transition in leadership from Moses to Joshua as well as many other transitions.  As we come to chapter 2 we find in one of these transitions a spiritual transformation.  This is what God desires for us all!  This coming Sunday night at FBC we are going to delve deeper into this transition and transformation.  I would like to share just a brief thought with you concerning this transformation.

The conversion of Rahab, the harlot, is a wonderful illustration of the transformation that God desires for us to experience in our lives.  First, we are radically transformed when we repent of our sins and place our faith and trust in Christ.  Second, we are to be radically transformed each day to look more like Christ and for our lives to reflect Him.  The life of Rahab illustrates how amazing the mercy and grace of the Lord is toward you and I. In the book of Joshua she is referred to as a harlot, however when you come to the book of Hebrews, she is referred to as a woman of faith.  Only God Himself can produce that kind of transformation in someone's life.

The thought I want us to ponder today is: are we allowing Christ to transform our lives in a radical way just like He did in the life of Rahab?  You might say, "I am saved, my life has already been transformed."  I am referring to salvation, but rather to allowing Christ to radically transform you and I to look more like Him each day.  Each day we must allow Christ to mold us and to make us more like Him.  Are we allowing Him to have His way with us to bring about this transformation?

I don't know about you, but I desire for Christ to work in my life in such a way that each day I am seeing a radical transformation in my life to be more like Him.  Just think about the Lord saved and radically transformed a woman who was a harlot and through her is the lineage of Christ.  Jesus Christ, our Savior, the Creator of this Universe, and God in the flesh, is descended from the a woman who was a harlot at one time.

Jesus Christ can radically transform any life, will you allow Him to transform yours?

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, thank You for You mercy and Your grace.  As You radically transformed and worked in the life of Rahab, it is my desire that You would transform and work in my life.  Conform my life each day to look more like Jesus.  In Jesus name, Amen!

Waiting On The Lord

"Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." - John 11:21


I just want to share a quick thought this morning about timing and patience.  We live in such a busy and fast paced world today.  We can have any information available to us in just a few seconds.  If you want to check the weather or read the latest headlines all you have to do is just pull it up on your smartphone.  Due to advances in technology, we literally can have almost anything at fingertips in just a matter of seconds.

When you read John chapter 11 you find the account of the death of Lazarus and the encounter with Jesus and Martha, the sister of Lazarus.  In the beginning of the chapter Jesus gets word that Lazarus is sick and at the point of death.  Then our Lord does something that is very unexpected, He tarries and waits instead of immediately rushing to get to Lazarus.  When Jesus finally arrives at the home Lazarus is already dead and he has been placed in the tomb.  Martha comes running out to meet the Lord, not understanding why He waited to come.  Martha thought that Jesus was late and that His timing was all wrong because Lazarus had died, but little did she know that Jesus was actually right on time.

As I said earlier, we are busy people living in a fast paced world.  Most of us, if we are honest, would admit that we find it difficult to patiently and quietly wait on the Lord.  Let's face it, we know what we want, and we know exactly when we want it: right now!  However, God may have different plans.  Just like Martha, we all have our ideas about what the Lord needs to do and when He needs to do it.  Martha thought that the Lord had done and was doing nothing, but little did she know that Christ was about to something miraculous.  There are many times in our lives when it seems like the Lord is doing nothing or that He is not there, but Christ is always at work in our lives, even when we cannot see it.

I would like to share something on a personal note on how I know this to be true.  I remember when our family came home from the mission field in late 2007.  I truly believed that it was the will of God for me to be on staff at our home church at the time.  All I wanted to to was to be a part of Christ's work.  Then all of the sudden things took a turn in the wrong direction and my heart was literally ripped out, stomped on, and crushed by not only my pastor, but my entire church family.  I ended up having to leave the only church I had ever known.  It was where I was saved, married, baptized, called to preach, called to the mission field, and ordained.  For the next two years I was in a constant state of depression.  I did not understand how God could open the door for all of these other people to serve Him but yet no doors were opening for me.  I wanted so desperately to serve Him full-time somewhere.  Then in August 2010, three years after leaving the mission field, the Lord opened that door I had been praying for.  I was called to be the pastor of Fairystone Baptist Church here in Stuart, Virginia.  As I look back on things now, I realize something that I could not see back then.  I realize that God was not only preparing me, but He was also preparing a place for me to serve Him.  The Lord was preparing the people of Fairystone Baptist Church to have me as their pastor.  I know now that if I had tried to pastor back in 2007 or 2008 that it would have been a disaster because I was not ready, and there were some things that the Lord needed to teach me.  The bottom line is that the timing was not right.

I want to challenge you today to wait on the Lord.  You might be just like I was, thinking that the Lord is not there or that He is not working behind the scenes.  I can promise you that the Lord is there and He is working.  You and I must learn to wait on Christ because His timing is perfect and He is going to do something far more marvelous than we could ever imagine!

Prayer For Today:

Lord, help me to patiently wait on You, even when it seems like You are not there or when it seems like You are doing nothing.  I know that You desire to do a marvelous and miraculous work in my life.  Help me today to understand that my time is not always Your time.  Give me the faith and strength to patiently wait on You and for Your will to be accomplished in my life.  In Jesus name, Amen!