I remember time Randy and I were doing some quick grocery shopping when we looked up to see a younger couple we had known before but had lost touch with for a while.  We hardly recognized them at first.  They had attended church with relatives that Randy pastored at the time.  When they came, they looked down not wanting to engage in conversation.  But now, they came over to us, looked into our eyes with joy on their faces!  Their first words were, “We’re different now!  Jesus has changed our lives and set us free!”  We could tell—it showed from head to toe!  We celebrated with them!

This couple had fought drug addiction over the years that made them look older than they were. They had been battled and scarred from the effects of the drugs.  They were ashamed over the loss of control.  Disheveled they tried coming to church because of relatives who wanted to help them find Jesus.  But then, they disappeared. They needed counseling to face why they needed the drugs to numb their emotions and they found they right place and the right Person to lead them out and save them—Jesus!  Everything changed.  Randy and I praised God for their redemption and transformtion! 

We thanked them for telling us and showing us how Jesus changed their lives.  They came to church the next Sunday with smiling faces as the beauty of Jesus was seen by all who knew them before and now after.  “The old has gone and the new has come” are not just words in our Bibles.  These powerful words describe life transformation—all because of Jesus!

When we totally give our hearts, minds, and souls to Jesus, everything about us changes!  It shows on our faces!  Our demeanor is different when we relate to others. Redemption brough about by the mercy and grace of God, delivered by Jesus, and powered by His Holy Spirit living in us transforms us from dead living to coming alive in Christ!  We become physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually healthier with each day given to Jesus. 

2 Corinthians 13, The Message

He’s Alive Now!

^1-4 Well, this is my third visit coming up. Remember the Scripture that says, “A matter becomes clear after two or three witnesses give evidence”? On my second visit I warned that bunch that keeps sinning over and over in the same old ways that when I came back I wouldn’t go easy on them. Now, preparing for the third, I’m saying it again from a distance. If you haven’t changed your ways by the time I get there, look out. You who have been demanding proof that Christ speaks through me will get more than you bargained for. You’ll get the full force of Christ, don’t think you won’t. He was sheer weakness and humiliation when he was killed on the cross, but oh, he’s alive now—in the mighty power of God! We weren’t much to look at, either, when we were humiliated among you, but when we deal with you this next time, we’ll be alive in Christ, strengthened by God.

^5-9 Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it. I hope the test won’t show that we have failed. But if it comes to that, we’d rather the test showed our failure than yours. We’re rooting for the truth to win out in you. We couldn’t possibly do otherwise.

We don’t just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that it will all come together in your lives.

¹⁰ I’m writing this to you now so that when I come I won’t have to say another word on the subject. The authority the Master gave me is for putting people together, not taking them apart. I want to get on with it, and not have to spend time on reprimands.

* * *

^11-13 And that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace. All the brothers and sisters here say hello.

¹⁴ The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“Examine and test yourselves,” writes Paul to the church.  “If the test fails, then do something about it!”  Seek God first.  Seek all who know Jesus and will help us find our way back to Him. 

If we test negative to all that God wants to be and do in our lives; then stop, drop to our knees and pray.  Offer all we are to all God is and wants to be and do in our lives.  He will answer and transform us from the inside out.  Then the beauty of our alive Christ will be seen in us!

Help each other!  Celebrate God’s strength in our weaknesses and limitations.  Think “in harmony” as we work together to point the way to being alive in Christ!

Lord,

I give you my life again this morning.  I look up instead of down to see your glory at work in my life.  I rejoice because of your love and compassion that saved my soul.  I ask for wisdom and invite you into all the details of this day that lies before me.  Show me the right path to take and I will follow.

In Jesus Name, Amen

I’m remembering a favorite song written by Amy Grant written decades ago that describes the look on our faces when transformed by His grace—  “Her Father’s Eyes”

I may not be every mother’s dream for her little girl,
And my face may not grace the mind of everyone in the world.
But that’s all right, as long as I can have one wish I pray:
When people look inside my life, I want to hear them say,

She’s got her Father’s eyes,
Her father’s eyes;
Eyes that find the good in things,
When good is not around;
Eyes that find the source of help,
When help just can’t be found;
Eyes full of compassion,
Seeing every pain;
Knowing what you’re going through
And feeling it the same.
Just like my father’s eyes,
My father’s eyes,
My father’s eyes,
Just like my father’s eyes.

And on that day when we will pay for all the deeds we have done,
Good and bad they’ll all be had to see by everyone.
And when you’re called to stand and tell just what you saw in me,
More than anything I know, I want your words to be,

She had her father’s eyes,
Her Father’s eyes…