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The Father uses the capability of beholding Jesus to reach and totally transform the world. All of us have witnessed how a man or woman's whole countenance will transform whenever they catch a glimpse of somebody they really love. Everyone of us has also observed the effect upon us of looking at a spectacular sunrise. We definitely also know the startling effect of suddenly observing something awful. That is the power of true sight. Anything we fixate upon has the power to impact our feelings, performing a transformation on us from inside us. Here are five major strategies by which our Father uses the power of beholding to tremendously impact our life in Christ! 1) The revelation of who Jesus is delivers us out of darkness into the only true spiritual life. Before he fell from grace Adam was able to look upon God easily. God is not invisible--we were simply born with our spiritual eyes veiled! With our decision to believe in Christ the eye of our heart was restored and we now can see Jesus by faith. This amazing revelation changes how we see everything! In the early days of conversion the feeling of having been transformed might be so dazzling that it looks as if we are entirely altered. But it's too soon to get the T-shirt. This is only just a good starting point. 2) The revelation of Jesus preserves us in the Christian life. It doesn't matter how dynamic our conversion might have been, it still will need to be fed as we seek to live by faith. The Father gives us five graceful ways of invigorating the image of Jesus that we are now carrying inside our spiritually sighted hearts. Consider this: as Jesus walked the earth He really loved to study the Bible, pray to God, worship God, share faith with His companions, and extend Himself in ministry to anyone in need. He still likes doing these things! And He would like to do them through you! As we behold Jesus through doing these five activities, we not only live closer to Him, He also becomes more powerful in us. Our bit is to do them with Jesus and for Jesus. The Father makes the growth happen. 3) The unveiling of Jesus rescues us in every time of extremity. Possibly our two main areas of need are for forgiveness and assistance with our many problems. As unlikely as it may seem, the real reason why our sinfulness and our problems seem so desperate is because we are not yet convinced how perfectly Jesus is the response to them. Our unending need of His grace and favor "forces" us to look upon Jesus. Do you need freedom from guilt and shame? Re-focus upon Jesus. Do you need power against being tempted? Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Do you need aid with your difficulties? Behold Jesus. Are you grieved for your family members? Re-focus upon Jesus. The moment we catch sight of in Jesus the thing that we need to see in Him in any circumstance of need, His peace comes back to us and the Holy Spirit raises us into the flow of life in Christ. 4) The unveiling of the Lord Jesus transforms us. It is the only thing that changes us. You can make an effort to be better, but strength of will and good desires don't change anybody for over a day. The truly important work occurs only with the help of God as we learn to re-focus our eyes on Jesus. The instant that we see that Jesus is truly covering us with the mercy and power we need we recover settled faith and inner peace. As we begin relying upon Him once more, the Holy Spirit lifts and leads us just as He did at the beginning. There is no higher way to live as a Christian than living submitted and full of trust! That is the graceful transformation of our life from the inside out. The Spirit of God does it all as we rely on Jesus with a readiness to obey anything He may show us. 5) The unveiling of the Lord Jesus will finish our transformation in heaven. The apostle John instructs us that when we behold Jesus in heaven we will become like Him, because we will look upon Him as He truly is. Once the final veil of time and space is taken down and we fully gaze upon Jesus, our lives will enter into fullness. Our supreme "glorification" will be the result of beholding Jesus. As you marvel over these 5 methods that God is rescuing and changing us, you can not help but praise the Father for making it so easy and graceful to become a child of His and live the new life in the Spirit. The only tricky part is learning how to get our eyes back on Jesus in the way that's needed! That is our work of faith. Whenever you begin to lose His peace, seek to get your attention back on Jesus until once again you see Him as the answer to your present issue. Looking steadfastly upon Jesus transforms everything! Steve Evans helps people recover their inward freedom, so that their life in Christ can become a healing stream. The major teachings of his popular series, Matters of the Heart, are free online. Get started now and get your free copy of his insightful ebook, An Illustrated Guide to the Spiritual Life.
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life in Christ, spiritual life, Christian life, saving faith, image of Jesus, transformation, conversion, inner peace, revelation, life in the Spirit,
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