Monday, April 13, 2009

Devotional Thought- By Beholding We Become Changed

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed unto the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. II Corinthians 3:18

We have heard it time and time again, “By beholding we become changed”. But what does it really mean? God has made us as creatures with impressionable minds. In a nutshell, we are like sponges. We absorb what we immerse ourselves in. Whatever we focus on is what we become like, thus the phrase, by beholding we become changed.

If we want to be like Christ, we must spend time getting to know Him and continue to “hang around” him by immersing ourselves in His word. The good news is, that we never have to try to get rid of our sins. Spending time with Christ will make us want to abandon them.

The opposite also holds true, if we spend time listening to a lot of negativity, we will become negative.

A few examples come to mind to illustrate how this miraculous change comes about. For those who have children, you know when your children have new friends or have been introduced to a new concept. How do you know?-by the changes in their behavior. They say things differently, their attitude is different, and their responses to you are different. Any parent who knows their children, knows when their children have different influences in their lives.

Another example that comes to mind is when I changed my eating habits. I added fresh raw fruits and vegetables (salad with leafy greens) every day and made sure I was drinking plenty of water. After doing this a while, I paid a visit to McDonald's. The same food that I had eaten often for most of my life, and enjoyed, was now disgusting. I had not made a decision in my mind to never eat there. After eating healthy, I no longer wanted to eat there.

So it is with beholding Christ. After we get to know His spotless character, how He sacrificed beyond comprehension, we become dissatisfied with who we are and we start to act like Him! Praise God that I don’t have to try to be like Christ. I can just spend time with Him and He’ll rub off on me!

14 comments:

  1. Had a discussion with my mother this morning about "trying" to be a more Christlike person. I "tried" to explain that the more we understand and spend time with God, the natural outpouring or effect is we become more like what we behold. Once we taste him and find out how good He is, the desire comes alive to gobble Him up or rather immerse ourselves in Him. By getting to know Him, we become different. Thank you for making it more clear...I emailed your comments to my mother who is fighting to shed the shackles of a legalistic doctrine to somehow measure up. We can't, but He can...so I have courage to grab onto His hem and allow Him to pull me up!!! Suzan

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    1. I don't understand what you mean about legalistic bondage, because one can ONLY become as Christ in knowing Him through the study of Him, His testimony as is given us in His word. Matthew tells us that we are to pick up our cross and follow Him or we are not worthy of Him, in 2Timothy we are told that we are to study to show ourselves approved, and in Hosea it tells us that my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Gods word is His doctrine and He tells us in John that if we love Him we will obey His word and His commandments and He and His Father will come to us and abide. It is ONLY through His word that we shall get to know Him and it is through our love and faith that we will do this. Faith works by love and purifies the soul. Faith buds and blossoms and bears a harvest of precious fruit. Where faith is, good works appear. See how faith without works is dead? James 2:14-26

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  2. Hey Susan, thanks for stopping by! It's so hard to let go of the legalistic mindset, especialy when it is what you have known for so long. I will keep your Mother in prayer. I pray that I will see you both in the kingdom!

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  3. is the exact phrase "by beholding we become changed" found in the Bible or is it just a paraphrase of 2 Corinthians 3:18?

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  4. It's a paraphrase of 2 Corinthians 3:18. I actually read it today before I sang "Do They See Jesus in Me" at church.

    Is this Suzan? So sorry I spelled your name wrong in my last message. I just noticed that!

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  5. Hi my name is Dan, i live in the UK. i came across your blogspot as i was looking for "by beholding we become changed" after watching this sermon http://www.itiswritten.com/tvprogram/episode/2006/02/1002..... and i loved it so much so that i've saved it among my favourites. Thanks for the good work Yolanda...may the GOOD LORD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU SAFE.

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  6. Hi Dan, Thanks so mouch for stopping by my blog and for you kind words! May God bless you as well and I hope to see you in heaven!

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  7. I am writing some articles for an Adventist publication and in my research, I found your blog. I see you are Adventist, maybe not so much a coincidence.

    I pray that your blog encourages you and inspires others. Godspeed.

    Denise

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  8. Hi Denise,

    Thanks so much for stopping by. I would love to know what kind of articles you are writing. Thanks so much for your encouraging words and if we never meet in this life, may we meet in heaven. Remain faithful. Jesus is truly coming again.

    yolanda

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  9. Yolanda, I just happened on your website looking for a worship thought for my Pathfinders. I had II Corinthians 3:18 in mind and enjoyed reading your Mocha Moment! God Bless you Yolanda!

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  10. Praise God Keith and I pray you had a Happy Sabbath!!

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  11. Thank you so much for posting this!!! beautiful explanation...

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  12. Praise the Lord, Elohim! So excited, Yolanda, to have found your site while looking up the phrase, 'by beholding you become changed'. Your words added an explanation for practical use in our daily living that I will share with our bible study. Appreciate you Sister. May our names remain in the Lamb's book of life till we see one another in the world made new. Patricia

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    1. Amen Patricia! My prayer has been that my name remain. I will add your name to my prayers! May we meet in heaven my dear sister!

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-yolanda