Face Transplant

"Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always." ~ 1 Chronicles 16:11

What does it mean to seek God’s face? Who even knew that God had a face?

To seek God’s face simply means to pursue His kingdom and righteousness (see Matthew 6:33). The ultimate goal is to stand face to face with Him and take in His presence.

But often times, we are afraid of seeking God’s face because we’re afraid of being exposed – afraid that we won’t measure up, that the façade we give the world will be stripped away, and that God will see us for who we really are – broken, messed up, and flawed.

But the thing is, when we stand face-to-face with God, not only is He able to identity our flaws and exercise His strength in our weaknesses, He’s also able to heal us from our brokenness. God is not looking to expose us and broadcast our sins to the world. That’s what the world does.

God wants us to seek His face so that He might change us from the inside out. So much so that eventually, we take on his image and when people see us, they see Him.

God is looking to give you a face transplant. But in order to do it, you’ve got to go in and see the Physician.

God bless,

J.W.

Train Up A Child (Part 7)

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” - John 8:32

Many people misquote John 8:32 and/or take it out of context. Most often, you hear people say "and the truth shall set you free" and that's it. But this scripture reveals much more than just that.

If we look at John 8:32 in context, we see in the preceding verse that Jesus talks about people becoming His disciples. A close reading of John 8:31-32 reveals that it's only after becoming a disciple of Jesus that one is exposed to the truth. Exposure to the truth then makes us free.

In other words, there's a whole process to attain freedom. Simple truth doesn't make people free. It's by becoming disciples of Jesus that we come to know the truth and become free.

In other words, Jesus instructs us to become disciples (Matthew 16:24) - that is, to become students or "studiers" of His Word. He tells us to train by abiding in it (John 8:31).

And just like any trainer, He says we can't get the results without going through the process.

So, the real question is, if you truly want to be free, are you willing to go through the process to get there?

How are you training today?

God bless,
J.W.