February 17 - Ever-Increasing Glory

Today's Reading:
1 Kings 20:1-21:29
2 Corinthians 3:1-18
Psalm 96:1-13 
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Focus Verses:
2 Corinthians 3:17-18
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Insight:
The Spirit of the Lord gives freedom. Those who place faith in Christ receive the free gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) who indwells our mortal bodies (Romans 8). We are no longer in bondage to sin (Romans 6), but instead we are freed from it to live a new life in Christ.

Freedom in Christ means that I have the freedom to change and grow and become. The Spirit of God leads, empowers, transforms, and shapes the lives of all who follow and submit to Christ. The Christian life is a process of change and renewal. Every passing day, every passing year, I can continue to grow and become more and more like Jesus.

Response and Action:
I need to remember that in Christ, I have the freedom to change and become more like Jesus. The Good News of Jesus tells me that I really can change. I need to hold on to this promise and take hold of God's grace, making every effort to experience the reality of what God can do in my life. I need to open my heart and focus my mind on the leading of the Spirit of the Lord as I read the scriptures, as I pray, and as I participate in Christian community.

O God, I have so far to go, but I know you love me where I am. Thank you for a love that accepts me where I am and yet calls and lifts me to where I can be. Thank you for your Spirit and the freedom he gives me as a believer in Christ Jesus. Help me to be faithful in prayer, a student of the scriptures, and an active participant in Christian community. Make me sensitive and alert to your leading. Help me to make new strides each day as I follow Jesus with a heart to be like him. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: 2 Peter 1:3-4
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Resources:
Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ
by Dallas Willard