Our Guest speaker Sunday at our church was Emmett Pogue, a Catholic Priest who ministers at our neighborhood church down the street. I gleaned from his sermon as I took notes.
The scripture reading was from Genesis 17: 1-7. 15-16; Abram was given a promise that he would become a father of many nations, when against all odds it appeared to be hopeless.
Abraham had to look beyond the promise and believe that God could do the impossible.
God made a covenant with him and also changed his name to Abraham, and also on the same day God changed Sarai’s name to Sarah.
These name changes were to bring new hope and revelation of God’s plan.
Jacob was also renamed and given the new name of Israel.
Jesus renamed Simon and gave him the name Peter.
These name changes looked beyond to a spiritual change in the person.
During Lent it is a season when we fast, give alms, and consider the death of our Lord.
We renew our commitments, and ask for Spiritual changes as well as behavior changes and we rebuild the fallen walls.
We relate to one another in Christian love and leave off the labels. We prayerfully rename ourselves. God writes down our new name in his book in heaven.
Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah, the Christ, The son of God.
Jesus took Peter, James and John up into the mountain, and there He was transfigured before them. Their spiritual eyes were opened to view Jesus as He truly was and they were able to look beyond the natural.
Our minister for today suggested that perhaps Jesus was already transfigured, and the actual thing that may have happened was that the disciples themselves were transfigured and could now view Jesus in His reality. May we become transfigured to look beyond!
If we go beyond where we are now, where to we go? What happens beyond?
The Kingdom of God is Now. There is a reality in being a new person with a new name. We see a reflection of our glorified state for we shall become as He is.
May we be challenged to look beyond our natural senses, and to allow ourselves to become transfigured as we behold His face?
Our natural behavior will change accordingly as we change our Spiritual behavior.
It is then that we look beyond, and view the changes in our relationships with one another.
This post is linked to Deidra’s Sunday Jump Tandem
With Michelle’s Hear it on Sunday Use it on Monday
And with Saints and Scripture Sunday
You are invited to enter your True Stories at: Tuesday, Tell Me A Story
http://letmetelluastory.blogspot.com/
8 comments:
What a great message Hazel; Jesus really does change our lives; not only does He save us from sin, but He can transform our lives, if we allow Him too! :)
Blessings and hugs for a wonderful week,
Denise
This is a new idea. Psalm 27 says we will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Is this one of the ways His glory is revealed on earth? Thanks for the thought.
Amen! "Looking beyond" is such a necessary aspect of our worldly life... not that we are "worldly" in our style, but, no matter what, we live in the world and that makes us "worldly" day by day. OH, I so want to focus and look "beyond."
Such truth. I am looking beyond to the manifestation of God's promises on my life. Thanks for the words of wisdom.
yes...man becomes what he thinks about...if our thoughts are worldly, we are worldly, if our thoughts are spiritual, we are spiritual....
Our new eyes, ears, mouth, move from the instinct of a mammal to the miracle of His new creation inside of us, a true transformation. I think that's the true definition of being made in His image.
I'm learning to take on my true identity (my real name) in Christ. It's a long process that requires as much un-learning as it does re-learning. This post is a good reminder of that truth.
Thank you for the beautiful reminder to look to God for His guidance, even when it seems impossible!
Thanks for stopping by Saints and Scripture Sunday! Hope to see you again soon!
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