Holy transformations
by Charles Bertelsmeier
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For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:10).
Read Hebrews 10:1–10
Sacrifices of burnt offerings to God are recorded early in the Bible as having been performed by Noah, Abraham and Jacob – long before God commanded the Israelites under Moses. Among other things, killing and burning an animal as a sacrifice to God was an act of submission to God as well as making payment for their sin and receiving his forgiveness and favour.
Through Moses, God instituted a system of daily animal sacrifices to pay for the sins of the people of Israel and this went on for centuries. However, right from the beginning of his ministry, Jesus was identified as the Lamb of God, the ultimate sacrifice for the sins, not just of the Israelites, but for the sins of all humanity. And, having made us holy by Jesus’ perfect life, his death and his resurrection, God adopts us into the heavenly family as his children. And he now wants to teach us how to live as his children.
We regularly face situations in which we are overwhelmed and discouraged. The challenge for us is to see past the immediate threats to our peace and security and recall the love that Jesus had for each one of us as he hung on the cross. God is in complete control. His Spirit is right beside us, and he wants to teach us how to relax into his love and respond in ways that honour him. Instead of losing control and potentially exacerbating the situation, a response wrapped in Jesus’ love may help defuse the situation. And it may also help someone to want to investigate further what (or who) it was that enabled us to respond in such a positive way.
Christians over the ages have learned how important it is to regularly (daily) spend time with God so that this transforming work of the Spirit can take place. Otherwise, it is so easy to get caught up in the advice and pressures of our world to concentrate our thoughts on what seems good and fun for us but never really satisfies us.
How important to you is your relationship with God? Are you committed to spending time in the school of the Holy Spirit so that your relationship with your Heavenly Father grows stronger?
Heavenly Father, I know that Jesus lived the perfect life for me that I cannot live. I also know that Jesus died on the cross to free me from all the debts I owe for not living that perfect life. Thank you also for your Spirit living in me to change me to become more and more like Jesus in my attitudes, personality and priorities. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the Air Force, Army and Navy. He lives in a retirement village in the outer north west suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. Together they have four children and eight grandchildren whom they love spending time with. He keeps himself busy with their pot plants, community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
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