Being Transformed into His Likeness

Last night, we had a meeting with all of the missionaries and their families like we had last week that was a time for a devotion and worship. This week, Jodi and I shared the devotion. Jodi's emphasis was Psalm 37 and Isaiah 58 demonstrating that God transforms the desires of our heart, which are truly His desires. She also shared how He can make our righteousness shine like the dawn.

The Lord instilled in me an excitement about 2 Corinthians 3:7-17--the Glory of the New Covenant. As you know, I started this trip with the theme from Zechariah 4:6, praying that things be done here "'not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD." The passage in 2 Corinthians was an encouraging reminder of how Moses was so radiant after getting the tablets from the old covenant, which was not to last as long as the new covenant that was to come. He experienced God's glory with such intensity that he felt the need to veil himself from the Israelites gazing at the fading radiance on his face. How much more glorious is a ministry not of condemnation but of righteousness! If the old faded, how much more will the new one last? The message to us in verse 12 is since we have this hope, let us be bold. Don't veil or hide the radiance from others as Moses did from the Israelites. I feel that because the people here radiate God's light and things here simply defy the aspects of human boundaries, it has to be Spirit-driven. I love that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (verse 17). The only way to truly shine is to have Him shine on us and in this process we are transformed into His likeness.

Two years ago when I came to Ghana, a lady wearing a veil, a muslim scarf, was walking by the BMC hospital and heard a song about wanting to be healed. She threw off her scarf and became unveiled physically. She then went straight to the pastors at the hospital, got saved, and became unveiled spiritually. This is a place of unveiling and transforming into His likeness. I pray the missionaries are encouraged. They are being used.