Downsville Cob

Welcome to the Downsville Church of the Brethren BLOG site. The church is located in Downsville, MD. We are a conservative Christian community lifting up the Name of Jesus daily.

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Location: Downsville, Maryland, United States

I am the Pastor of the Downsville Church of the Brethren. This BLOG was set up to allow for interchanges of views, questions, ideas or suggestions concerning the Evangelical Church. While I am a Pastor in the Church of the Brethren all faiths are welcome to join the discussions.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

A Godly Makeover

2 Corinthians 3:18 - And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

There are a number of television shows that use the makeover as their premise. These programs promise a total transformation of your life though a new hair cut, make up or clothes. Stories continue to be told of how many of the recipients of these makeovers found their lives were not transformed because there was no inner change to support the outer ones.

Many think that losing weight will bring them happiness. You can substitute any word(s) you want for "losing weight" and you still have the same problem - the old you has not been transformed.

There is one transformation TV show that does offer something more - Extreme Home Makeover. In order to be transformed in the Lord we must first die to our sinful life here on earth - we must be "born again" (John 3:3). The houses that we see early in every episode are just like we are - rotten on the inside but still standing. These houses must "die" to their old selves and be "born again".

The new homes are beautiful and spacious. The owners return from their weeklong vacation to a whole new beginning. That's where the show leaves us. What we don't get to see, though, is that the new house is subject to the same degradation from the environment that took the old house. It will require a commitment by the owners to keep the house in this shape.

We find the same thing when we come up out of baptism. We are new babes in Christ with a desire to live our lives completely different from what we had done before coming to Christ. Yet, like the house, we are still subject to the same temptations that degraded our spiritual life. We need to make a commitment to keep our house in Christian shape "[13] For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, [14] in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13-14.

Our makeover is internal. We may not look any better to the outside world but we are beautiful to the Creator of the Universe. Just as we make some effort every day to look our best out in the world we need to remember to take some effort every day to look our best spiritually. Remind yourself every day that your old life and your old self have died. The front end loaders have come in and ripped it apart. The dump trucks have hauled all the decay, all the cracks, all the leaks, all the spots where the cold gets in away. These things are not needed in the new life we live.

John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

This was a very reassuring meditation. As I grow older every year -- I'm 62 now -- I can't help thinking how decrepit I've become physically. But I am becoming more and more renewed spiritually, and so I will try to let that be enough. Thanks, Pastor Wilk. You are an inspiration.

Sunday, November 09, 2008 2:55:00 PM  

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