Transformed

When you know someone well, you generally know how they will act: your dog is going to eat any food that hits the floor, your teacher will stand in front of the class to teach, etc. But what if your teacher started doing handstands in front of the class? Or your dog started wearing tap shoes and a top hat? That would be pretty strange, right? In Exodus 34, there was something strange about Moses. His face literally glowed! Verse 29 tells us this happened to Moses because he had spoken with the Lord. Speaking with Godhaving a real encounter with Himmade Moses seem weird to his friends and family. When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave, He changed everything. As Christians, we are now saved from the power of sin. This good news changes us! We might not have glowing faces like Moses did, but we will become more like Christ as we get to know our Savior. We will start loving others better, being kind to those who aren’t kind to us, speaking truth instead of lies, and glorifying God in all areas of our lives. Moses had to cover his glowing face, but Paul says, We all with unveiled faces are being transformed into his [Jesus’] image (2 Corinthians 3:18). In other words, as Christians, we don’t want to hide the things God is doing in our lives because we want others to know what we have in Jesus. We might be afraid it will change our friendships or our status, but all of that is worth the love and peace we find in Jesus. Being like Jesus will sometimes mean we seem as strange as a dog who regularly dons tap shoes and a top hat! As Christians, we find comfort in 1 Peter 3:14: if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. We have a relationship with Jesus, our Hope, who is with us always. Pray God will grant you courage to be more like Christ, even if it means people will notice. • Kristi Dennis Have your friends ever told you that you’re weird or that what you were doing wasn’t normal? What made you so different to them? Why does following Jesus mean we will sometimes seem very different to those who don’t know Him? And we all are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)

Read Verses:

Exodus 34:29-35