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

The illumination of God’s word into my heart has been a slow and yet profound work.  Originating from a background of religion with a staple of hierarchy and denominationalism, I was content.  I knew what to expect and when.  I knew where the boundaries were.  I was comfortable.  And even with constant reading and memorization of God’s word, it became nothing more than mental assent.  Who can quote the most scriptures or counter with another.  Or, if you study the Greek, it really means thus and so.  The key was there was no real fruit, no reliance on His Word.  The Word of God, without faith and the Holy Spirit, has no more power in our life than the reading of the Wall Street Journal.

But, with the preaching and demonstration of the Word, you begin to see the purity, holiness, awesome power, and purpose.  It is to make us like Him.  As we see and read the Word, and allow the Holy Spirit to do a work in us, we have a choice …. stay the same … or change.  We can either launch out into the deep with God, or we can stand on the shore, where life is comfortable … simple … staid … dry, and crusty.  Anyone can have a head full of knowledge and never experience the life transforming power that the Word can have in action in their life.

This is what the Word has been for me.  3 years of RBI.  2 additional years at the River.  All in one word: Change.  It is not about fitting God’s Word into my life, but about fitting me into His Word.

–Michael