Day 1 - An Empowered Transformation

Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 1:3-5; 2 Corinthians 3:12-18

A huge man stepped on the scale, not knowing it was broken. A little boy watched closely to see how much the man weighed. The needle rose quickly, but to the boy’s disbelief it stopped at only 50 pounds, close to what the boy himself weighed. The boy looked at the man, then at the scale, then at the man again, and said to his mother, “Mom, that guy must be empty inside.”

A lot of us are empty inside. Without the Holy Spirit living and transforming us, we are hollow. 

Change is often unpleasant. When Sir Francis Drake learned about the potato in Peru and brought it back to Scotland, people refused to grow potatoes because they aren’t mentioned in the Bible. When streetlamps were introduced in Boston, local ministers preached against them: “If God had intended this, he would have made the sun brighter and the moon more brilliant.” The use of painkillers was also opposed by clergy who argued that bodies were created by God and should not be interfered with by chemicals. 

Being transformed means surrendering what is familiar and leaving behind what we once valued. Any approach to transformation that puts self at the center is doomed to fail. Self-improvement cannot produce lasting personal transformation. Divine empowerment is the only sure method to change. That’s why the apostle Peter begins his letter by stating, “[God] has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” We are empowered from the inside out as God gives us spiritual birth and causes us to grow.

God wants us to be controlled by His wind, the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit living within us has the power to change us from one degree of glory to the next.

We praise You, God Almighty, for the indwelling power of Christ’s resurrection. Father, we frequently resist change because we want to be comfortable. Give us the mind of Christ so that we can choose Spirit-inspired change. Amen.