Day 24 – Transformed By Truth
Image via WikipediaThe truth transforms us.
Spiritual growth is the process of replacing lies with truth. Jesus said in John 8:31 ” If you abide in my word you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” Someone once said that if you think you are above deception, you are deceived. True growth comes from having our lives transformed by the truth. The truth is found in God’s Word.
The issue we have to face is what we actually believe about God’s word- The Bible. Is it just a “rule book” where we find the way we are supposed to live with a bunch of really cool stories of how the world was made, how God’s people lived, and the life of Jesus almost 2000 years ago? As Christians, we are “supposed” to read it because that is what Christians do.
Or… do we see the Bible, and the words in the Bible, as living words able to actually generate life, healing, hope, releasing power, able to overcome the enemy and defeat temptations, transform circumstances, impart joy and cause miracles? God’s Word is spiritual nourishment that we must have to fulfill our purpose and be transformed by the life changing living truth that it imparts releasing us from lies and deception. Remember, the only power that the enemy has in your life is deception. God’s living Word sets us free.
How do we allow God’s Word to set us free and grow into mature well nourished Christlike people? How do we replace wrong thinking with right? We must abide in God’s Word. The only cure for spiritual malnutrition is spiritual food, and in order to really be fed, there are three day-to-day activities we need to consider.
- I must accept it’s authority
- I must assimilate it’s truth
- I must apply it’s principles
In order to be transformed we must first accept God’s Word as the supreme authority in our lives. Not our feelings, not our opinions, not the world’s viewpoints or even well meaning friends and family. Many of our troubles are caused by not having a reliable authority directing our lives. Resolve in your heart and mind that what God says in His Word that the Bible is your final authority and whether you “feel” it or is doesn’t seem logical, you simply ask before you do something, “what does the Bible say?” This will keep you from falling into things that you don’t need to, and transform you.
It’s one thing to say you believe the Bible, it’s another thing to assimilate it, and internalize it. There’s a saying that “the longest journey in the 18 inches from your head, to your heart.” Getting the Word into you, remembering it, reflecting on it, meditating on it, researching it, and letting it take root in your life will transform you.
Once it’s in you… well, then we find ourselves applying principles that we may have never applied before. We become “doers” of the Word, not just hearers. Jesus pointed out that “Everyone that hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man that built his house upon a rock.” John 13:17
Implementing God’s Word, obeying it, doing it, trusting it… all of these strengthen us, build us up, and put us on a Rock that cannot be moved and we become unwavering examples of transformed lives. May it be so with us today.
