DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT MONDAY – TRANSFORMERS. Part 1.

Some people will change when they see the light. Others change only when they feel the heat. -Traditional.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. - Phil 1:6.

It's interesting to me how Jesus looks at men. He does not only see what a man is; he also sees what a man can become. He sees not only the actualities in a man, he also sees the possibilities. Jesus looked at Peter and saw in him not only a Galilean fisherman but one who had it in him to become the rock on which his church would be built. Jesus sees us not only as we are, but as we can be; and he says: "Give your life to me, and I will make you what you have it in you to be."

Once someone came upon Michelangelo chipping away his chisel at a huge shapeless piece of rock. He asked the sculptor what he was doing. "I am releasing the angel imprisoned in this marble," he answered. Jesus is the one who sees and can release the hidden hero in every man. – Source unknown.

A few years ago, the toy industry came out with a toy called "transformers." It would look like a truck, but by turning a few parts, it would become a powerful robot in the shape of a man and contained many powers. In a way, the same thing is happening to us. As the caterpillar is being transformed into the butterfly, we are being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.

Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be. - Thomas a'Kempis.

We are going through a period of change we call life, that is preparing us for our role in eternity with Him. Now, we are going to find out how this is happening to us, and it will explain the "whys" of many things we go through. There are four elements involved in our transformation; THE NEED, THE SEED, THE WEED and THE APPEAL. This week, we will look at each element separately, and today we start with…

THE NEED
We cannot change ourselves, we are not god or a god, and there is no help in self. The answer for man is not within himself… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, - Rom 3:23. There is a "sin nature" we are born with, that controls us to do evil and we can't stop it. There came a need for a champion, one that could meet that need, and Jesus became our champion of love, and fulfilled sin's penalty so that we can be FREE! Now sin no longer has power over us!

As the Union Pacific Railroad was being constructed, an elaborate trestle bridge was built across a large canyon in the West. Wanting to test the bridge, the builder loaded a train with enough extra cars and equipment to double its normal payload. The train was then driven to the middle of the bridge, where it stayed an entire day.

One worker asked, "Are you trying to break this bridge?" "No," the builder replied, "I'm trying to prove that the bridge won't break." In the same way, the temptations Jesus faced weren't designed to see if He would sin, but to prove that He couldn't. - Today in the Word.

There is a need to change, because the potential for life is so enormous, so abundant! Let us be transformed into the image of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

Loving Father, I ask by the power of the Holy Spirit, that you would change me. Transform me into the character of your dear son Jesus, that I may be more like Him, in His wonderful name I pray! Amen!

GBYAY