Every Moment, Every Day

When I hear the song "Gracefully Broken" by Matt Redman featuring Tasha Cobb Leonard it brings to mind the attitude I want to have every single day.  So often, I resist the breaking process of my loving heavenly Father.  I dig in my heals and refuse to let go of my ways, my wants, my expectations and demands.  But I am reminded in this song, to let go.  Open my heart, open my arms and let Him take over.  Jesus said in Matthew 10:39  If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.

I have so many attitudes that need replacing and every day the Lord works with me to weaken and finally break the chains of sin that bind me.  It is a hard process, sometimes painful, but I would have His will in my life complete.  I'm pretty sure the sooner we cooperate the sooner this process will get finished...and then on to the next! LOL. 

Perhaps the Lord is trying to break something off of you.  A habit, an attitude, guilt, sin, the past, a relationship, an attachment...whatever it may be our Father does it with the loving touch of grace.  He has no desire to hurt and destroy, only the heal and to make whole. 

Lord, help us to cooperate, help us to let go, open our hearts and hands that You may be free to move about our lives with Your wisdom and love.  Let us become all You desire for us to be...break us that we may be rebuilt in Your image.  In Jesus' Name,  Amen

Search your heart today, what area has the Lord be trying to break open in your life.  If you look back over the last weeks, months, maybe even years, I'm pretty sure you'll find a consistent pattern or

focus. 

Word Pictures

"Instead of letting anxious thoughts roam freely in your mind, lasso them by voicing you hope in Me.  Then bring those captive thoughts into My Presence, where I will disarm them."  This beautiful word picture was written by Sarah Young in her "Jesus Always" devotional book.  It immediately made me smile and lit up heart and mind.  My first thought was, "I NEED TO DO THIS!"  Based on 2 Corinthians 10:5  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ, Sarah's statement points us the antidote for our anxious minds, our angry minds, our negative minds and our hurting hearts.  Jesus.

I needed this so much.  And I need to put it into practice.  Last night I found myself going down the well worn path of anger at work.  Once again, a few of us were left to get things done while others were off doing anything but.  It's very frustrating, but mulling it over and over and over just brings down my spirit, my countenance, my witness, and it's not where God wants me to be.  And then I remembered those few sentences from the devotional.  And I had peace.  At least for a while. 

This is a tough practice to master.  But I determined to do it!!  I am determined to bring  EVERY thought captive, and drop those negative, destructive, unhealthy little thought nuggets at the feet of my Savior.  I want to come to Him with an open heart and open hands that He may take the junk and fill me with His peace, love, and joy.  I want to let Him speak peace into all my circumstances and through me share His love for those around me. 

Wow, this renewing the mind thing is hard work.  And for me it's taking a very long time.  But that's okay...It's God's time and as long as I keep working it, He'll keep working with me and in me.  And that is one of the most awesome, comforting things about our heavenly Father.  He never gives up on His children. 

Romans 12:2  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.  

Lord, I will keep working on this.  Forgive my failures.  Let me come to You quickly, as soon as my thoughts start turning in the wrong direction.  Give me wisdom to deal with circumstances that vex my spirit, weigh on my heart and cloud my mind with toxic thoughts in a way that glorifies You.  Let You light wash all that is not pleasing to You away.  People don't need another judge, they need Your love.   Lord, You know how hard this is for me.  You know that yes, indeed, sometimes life is unfair, and people don't do the right thing.  But help me to still share Your love, and shine Your light to those around me...no matter what.  Lord, we are taught that You take care of Your children and You pay will deal with those who harm us.  I don't want to take that into my own hands.  You are a God of justice.  Lord, help me to leave in Your hands all that concerns me and the people who take advantage.  And Lord, I know I am not perfect, no, far from it...Help me to be merciful. And let me put myself in Your hands as I seek to honor You and be obedient in all things.  This is so hard Father.  I know I am not the only one who struggles with this area.  Help us all!  Teach us.  Lead us.  Remind us.  Thank You for never giving up on us!!  You are amazing. 

Use the above "word picture" or create your own picture of what taking wrong thoughts captive and bringing them to Jesus would look like.  Use it to renew your mind. 

Above All Else

So here's the picture.  It's early afternoon, I get out of the church after working on our bulletin boards...time is running much faster than I want it to.  I have to get home, get ready for work....this is the work I've been doing for 33 years, the work that has damaged me physically, my arms hurt almost all the time, especially the right one and I pretty sure I need surgery to correct the problem.  I'm thinking about the time crunch, thinking about how nice it would be to be able to retire...but of course that is out of the question, we just took on a large debt to fix the deck at the house, not too mention some other bills that definitely need to be paid off before retiring...oh and as I am rushing, thinking about all this I get into my aging, 13 year old truck, with over 150,000 miles on it where the stuffing is coming out of the seat and is all over the floor and the 4 wheel drive doesn't work.  Then since I'm in such a great place here, I hear that little voice bringing up my flaws and sinful attitudes, anger, impatience, lack of faith, addictions...Yes this is the picture I want you to consider.  All of this took place in only a few minutes, you know how quick thoughts can be, and how quickly the negative can pile up in our minds...so I cried out to the Lord..."Please, fix me, fix everything, fix my  life!"  At least I got something right, I went to the right source!!  LOL

Okay, so I pile all my stuff,  including myself, into the car, buckle up and get moving.  Radio God visit on it's way!!  Our Father is sooooo good!!  Natalie Grant has a new song out and the Lord picked that moment to let me hear it for the first time.  This song brought comfort, conviction and peace all at the same time for me.  Considering I know she is went through thyroid cancer (which is completely gone!  Yaay!), I can only imagine this song was brought from the deep places of her own heart...and I know it mirrors so many of ours cries.  This is such a faith encouraging song, reminding me to seek God above all else, no matter what my need may be.  He is faithful.  My prayer is that it encourages you as much as it did me. 

Lord, teach us to want You more than anything.  Life hurts.  Life gets twisted and life gets hard.  Remind us through it all we are not forsaken, nor ever alone.  All things serve You.  Lord, carry us through the hard times, the sad times, the frustrating times and let us glorify You in all.  I do ask for deliverance from the things that weigh us down, but only when You are done doing what needs to be done in our heart and lives through them.  Give me, give all of us more faith and more trust.  In Jesus Name, amen.

Listen and let the Lord's healing wash over you today. 

Little Gems

As I've said here, I am doing the  "read the Bible in a year (or a little more)" thing.  And as I walk through the pages of God's story I am picking up these little gems along the way, things I've not noticed before.  It's great!  Oftentimes, we read a section of Scripture with a distinct purpose...either our own, or one we get from a devotional or study we are doing regarding that section or a specific topic.  So just reading the Word for the sake of reading His Words, digging into His heart and what our Father wants us to know is a whole different experience.  I am sure for each person the things that come out of this practice will be different and personal, holding God's purpose, direction and heart for each reader. 

I was reading chapter 22 of Genesis when I came to verse 18:  "And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed because you have obeyed Me."  Here, God is speaking to Abraham after the near sacrifice of of Isaac.  Abraham had obeyed God in bringing Isaac as a sacrifice and at the last minute God stayed Abraham's hand and provided a ram to be slaughtered instead.  Abraham did not even withhold his much loved child from God, knowing that God would provide and had the solution already worked out.  (A lesson there for us all as well, but I digress! LOL.) 

But what I started thinking about was this.  How many millions, upon millions, upon billions and maybe even trillions of people have been blessed by Abraham's act of obedience?  Can you imagine this?  The Hebrew nation grew from Isaac's line.  Millions of God's chosen people born, preserved and serving Him through Isaac.  Then we come to the even bigger picture: Christ.  Jesus Himself came from this family line.  And His sacrificial death (pictured in the Abraham/Isaac story) has saved untold numbers of people of all nations and races for centuries.  Eternal salvation! 

One small act of obedience in a sea of sinfulness has led to the salvation of multitudes!  Now, will my small acts of obedience (and some maybe not so small on the "I don't want to" scale) do the same?  Probably not.  But will they be a blessing now and maybe somewhere down the line?  I am going to say yes.  We don't know how or how much, but every time we say "yes" to our heavenly Father we are adding something good to the world and building the kingdom of God.  One act of obedience can lead to......only God knows! 

Lord, give me an obedient heart.  Help me want to please You more than myself, more than others, more than anything.  Lord, remind me of this over and  over and over again...all day, every day.  Help me to walk in the Spirit when I want to follow my flesh, my desires, my emotions.  The spirit is truly willing, but the flesh definitely weak.  Remind me of the importance of each decision I make.  Each word I speak...they are seeds for good, or seeds for evil.  I want to choose You!  Forgive my failings so very often in this area, even last night's where my words and attitudes showed anything but Your love.  I pray this in Jesus' Name.  Amen. 

Start a walk through the Bible. 

Galatians 5:16  So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Matthew 26:41  “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Quiet and Alone

Last night I was in Matthew 14 on my journey through the Bible. In this chapter we see the death of John the Baptist described, Jesus feeding 5000, and walking on the water.  We see Peter reaching out in faith only to falter when he looked at the wind and waves around him (something I often do as well).    Before I shut the light and closed my eyes I asked myself, "Okay, what stuck out to me, what spoke to my heart from this chapter?"  And it was a few verses, almost lost in the dramatic and the miraculous, that reached out to me. 

One was vs 13, speaking of when  Jesus heard about John:  "As soon as Jesus heard the news, He left in a boat to a remote area to be alone."  The second was in vs 22-23 after feeding the 5000:  "Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that His disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake while He sent the people home.  After sending them home, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray.  Night fell while He was there alone."

Both times we see Jesus heading off on His own to pray.  First when He heard devastating news, secondly, when He had spent all day ministering to the masses.  `When He was sad, grieving, when He needed strengthening, refreshing, Jesus sought out alone time.  Time in prayer, time with the Father.  I love this picture.  Being away, being quiet, being in God's presence, seeking Him...If Jesus needed it, how much more do I! 

It is sometimes so difficult to block out the world's distractions, the to do lists, the needs or wants of those around us, the jobs, the kids, the chores.....  Jesus' compassion led Him straight back to ministering, but He needed His time alone.  He needed to be in His Father's presence. 

I know that when I keep going and going and going I start to feel overwhelmed and stressed.  I can only imagine the demands on Jesus were a hundred times worse!  And He was human, with the same physical and emotional limitations we all have.  Tiredness probably overtook Him often.  Spending time with quiet prayer was essential for Him, and for us.  I don't know about you guys, but I neglect it often....I study, I blog, I do reading, say some quick prayers...but the quiet, the solitude of time spent in God's presence just absorbing and listening is difficult.   It takes discipline, practice and determination.   Sometimes I think I don't place the importance on this practice that it deserves and that is why I neglect it. 

Lord, forgive me for not placing quiet time on the level it deserves.  Help me and all of us develop this needful practice.  There is nothing better or more beneficial than You presence!  Thank You for pointing this out! 

Start working quiet alone-ness into your schedule....even if it's only 5 minutes to start with. Perhaps read some Scripture and sit with the Lord over it.  I have a feeling we will want more of it as we begin to practice this custom.

Good Morning!

So, remember I said one of my New Year's resolutions was going to be to read through the Bible?  I started doing that, I read a chapter or two from the Old Testament in the morning and then in the New Testament before I go to sleep.  What I've added to that practice is meditating on the chapter I read as I am falling asleep.  (Doesn't meditating sound so much more official than just thinking about. LOL)  Sometimes it takes a few minutes, sometimes a bit longer, either way, the last thing on my mind before I drift off is Jesus and I love that idea. 

A  unexpected benefit to this practice is in the morning I find myself often waking with Him on my mind.  It's the most amazing way to start the day.  The first time it happened it caused a big smile to spread on my face and in my heart!  What a beautiful way to start the day...God visit!!

The things that I think about as I am drifting off may seem inane, or silly to some...like when I was thinking about Matthew 5:24-25  News about Him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to Him all who were sick.  And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed--He healed them all.  Large crowds followed Him wherever He went--people from Galilee, the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from east of the Jordan River.  My thoughts went something like this:  I drew a picture in my mind of Jesus sitting down to teach, surrounded by all these people.  A sloping hillside, green with summer...Jesus reaching out, touching those who came to Him,walking among these lost and needy souls.  His love and compassion radiating from the look in His eyes, the touch of His hand...and then my thoughts took another turn.  Where did these people stay?  Did they have jobs they had to leave?  How long did it take them to get there?  Didn't they have to walk from far away?  How many miles did they walk in a day?  LOL 

Whatever they had to do, it was worth it for them to sacrifice, worth it to travel, worth it to close businesses, leave family, employers....all for the sake of being in the presence of Jesus, of God.  I want my life to reflect that as well.  Whatever the sacrifice, He's worth it. 

Lord, thank You for this new practice in my life!  Help me to keep it up.  Let me be willing to surrender anything for Your sake.  In Jesus Name, amen.

Try reading the Bible tonight before you sleep and think (meditate) on what you've read. 

Philippians I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.  Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.  

The Lord's Prayer, from Mom

`The Lord's Prayer, also known as the Our Father is one of the most recognized, loved, memorized and quoted passages of Scripture.  Many of us learned it as children, said it and maybe even still do at bedtime, or as part of a group in our churches.  But sometimes, maybe, we take it for granted in a sense...it becomes just something we say as opposed to something we dig into and think about.  I know my Mom was always drawn to this prayer, she loved studying it and exploring it's depths.  I'll share some of her findings here. 

Matthew 6:9-13 In this manner, therefore, pray:  

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

10 Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

13 And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

vs 9  "Our Father" in heaven meets the paternal need.  All our needs are met by the benevolence (gift, kindness) of a loving Father when we pray.  "Hallowed be Your Name."  God's presence, praise Him.  

Psalm 100:4  Enter His gates with thanksgiving ; go into His courts with praise.  Give thanks to Him and praise His Name.  

Enter His presence through praise and call Him "Father" because of Christ's atoning blood.  

Galatians 4:4-6  But when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.  God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could adopt us as His very own children.  And because we are His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, prompting us to call our, "Abba, Father."  

Hebrews 10:19-22  And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.  By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.  And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him.  For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.  

Focus on God Himself and worshiping Him.  Meditate on His Name, on His kingdom, His will.  Humbly go into God's presence with praise and thanksgiving.  

vs 10 "Your kingdom come."  God's priorities.  "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  

Declare that His kingdom shall be established in myself, my loved ones, my church and my nation.  I am asking Him to rule my life.  I promise to try to do His will.  Romans 14:17  For the Kingdom of God is not a matter ow what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.  

vs 11 "Give us this day our daily bread."  God's provision.  Jesus, the need meeter, told us to pray daily, asking Him to meet all our needs.  

vs 12  "And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." God's forgiveness.  Daily, set our will to walk in love and forgiveness.  We need God's forgiveness and we need to forgive others.  Seems one is contingent upon the other.  Matthew 6:14-15  If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.  But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.  That should be a little scary to think about if we are one of those who hold grudges and harbor unforgiveness.  

vs 13  "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one"  Power over Satan.  Put a hedge of protection around myself and my loved ones,  Job 1:9-10  Satan replied to the Lord, "Yes, but Job has good reason to fear Gd.  You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property..."

Psalm 91: 1-4  Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  This I declare about the Lord:  He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him.  For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.  He will cover you with His feathers.  He will shelter you with His wings.  His faithful promises are your armor and protection.  

Verbally, put on the armor of God.  Ephesians 6:13-18  Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.  Than after the battle you will still be standing firm.  Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness.  For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.  In addition to all these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.  Put on salvation as your helmet and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.  Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.  

vs 14 "For Yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever."  Divine partnership.  Praise God for sharing His kingdom, power and glory with us.  Praise Him for making us part of this.          

2 Corinthians 3:18  So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord.  And the Lord-who is Spirit- makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.

Every time I (this is my Mom speaking) come across an article about something in God' Word, something new in God's Word is reveled as if I've never seen it before.  Today, it's vs 10 where it says in Matthew "Your kingdom come."  Think about it--God has charged believers to pray for Jesus' return to redeem the world and establish a new kingdom.  

It's God's promise.  In Eden sin was unleashed because Adam and Eve yielded to temptation.  God then allowed the consequences of that decision to play out.  Nature became a destructive force, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, etc.  The spirit and will of each person bends away from the Creator.  Satan reigns as lord of this present age.  But God has a redemptive plan to reclaim the earth from "the enemy" and transform it into a kingdom under Christ's reign.  

Romans 8:19-22  For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who His children really are.  Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse.  But with eager hope the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.  For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  

So I pray, "Your kingdom come." I implore God to bring forth His eternal kingdom soon.  

From me.

I don't have much to add.  I think the best thing is for all of us to study and meditate on this wonderful prayer ourselves.  There is so much there, so much beneath a quick, surface reading.  Take your time and enjoy!

Lord, I pray also, "Your kingdom come!"  Amen.

Affirmation

God did another "WOW" right after I wrote Tuesday's blog entry.  After I closed out the blog I picked up my Bible and went on to my daily devotional.  Like many Bibles, mine has a little ribbon book mark attached.  I opened to the page  the ribbon held and in highlighted text was Zephaniah 3:17  For the Lord your God is living among you.  He is a mighty Savior.  he will take delight in you with gladness.  With His love He will calm all our fears.  he will rejoice over you with joyful songs.  

Wow.  Now, I have no idea why or how that page was saved.  I have not been in that section of the Bible in a while.  But after writing about being afraid even as I knew God was leading me to deep change this year, I was blown away by seeing those words:  "With His love He will calm all our fears."   The went straight to my heart.  And now, I hope to yours as well. 

In that verse I also felt God's pleasure at my choice to follow Him where He is leading this year.  In fact I happened upon a radio teaching ministry, I can't even tell you who it was that was speaking and it was all about having faith and seeking God.  Hebrews 11:6  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.  Seeking earnestly, sincerely, thoughtfully, desperately, actively, purposefully, often.  It was as if God was saying, "Yes!  This is what I want from You!  Do this!"  I can feel His excitement.

In fact, even before hearing this teaching, I was at ladies Bible study that morning and one of the girls brought up Jeremiah 29:12-14  "In those days when you pray, I will listen.  If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.  I will be found by you," says the Lord.  "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes and will bring you home again to your own land."
Unbelief and mistrust have imprisoned me, and I'm sure many of you, long enough! 

And of course, God had a song for me as well.  He knows the way to my heart is through music...it touches us in such an amazing way, usually just when we need it. 

My prayer today is that you will take all this, all these visits as confirmation and affirmation for yourselves as well.  That you will know God is speaking to your heart as much as to mine.  He wants His children to follow, to seek, to trust and believe with all of our hearts.  Lord, help us to surrender to You. 

Lord, sometimes we hear so clearly.  Thank You for that.  Lead us on.  Let us surrender to Your desire and Your design.  And in the areas where we don't want to, where we want to remain stubbornly fixed on our own way, help us to let go.  Lord, let us make this year a year of growth!  Be glorified.  Be honored and be pleased.  In Jesus Name, amen. 

Please take these verses to heart for yourselves today.  They are for you, as is our heavenly Father.  Jeremiah 29:11  "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord.  "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."  Make a choice to be led by faith.  And pray for me!  I want to make that choice every minute of every day and I can't do it without your prayers! 

New Year, New Hope

Every year the Lord gives me a new spiritual "project" for me.  This year I have two!  Last year was kindness.  I was to work on the kindness level in my life.  I've had both success and failure in this area...impatience being a stumbling block for me (You know, the "I can do this better, faster, righter....so just let me do it" attitude).  But I did learn some lessons, and I am going to continue working to become more and more Christ-like in this area.  But onward to this year -- 2018!

God's plan for me this year is BELIEF and TRUST.   These two go hand and hand and I struggle with them more than anything else.  I believe that much of the fruit in my life comes from the the tree of unbelief.  It's funny, the big things I can usually either ignore, or compartmentalize and so they don't get to me so much.  Not to say that this is trust or belief in action...it's not, it's avoidance.  But the little things, the whys and whens of daily living when I don't get my way that show the fruit of this root.  Anger, frustration, hissy fits, accusing God....these are the attitudes that stem from unbelief.  And this is what my Father wants to deal with this year.  I am more than ready to rid myself of this rotten tree!!

I am so excited about this.  I really want to get past this area and move forward in my walk with Jesus.  I want to grow and glorify!  I'm so grateful for His patience and willingness to work with me!

Next up is something I haven't done in a very long time...read the Bible through in a year.  Although I actually take a little longer than a calendar year to do this, I feel it is time again.  I don't like to just rush through the Word so I can check off my reading "to do" list for the day...that's why I say I will take a bit more than a year.  But I feel the Holy Spirit leading me to do this once again and I am eager to do so.

There are other things the Lord is impressing upon my heart as well...and it's more about doing for people, making time to be a blessing and a presence in the lives of others.  I think God will have me on quite the journey this year!

Don't you just love a clean slate!  A beautiful empty white page to start filling with the adventures, successes, lessons, blessings, and even the failures of this new leg on our walk with Christ.  My prayer is that we will see more of His faithfulness, more of His "visits," and become more and more aware of His presence and tender care in our lives. 

Lord, lead us!  Teach us.  Change us.  Help us to make this next year a beautiful picture of Your faithfulness and presence in our lives. Help us to be brave. I pray we can be brave together...I'm scared too.  I'm scared of failure and disappointment.  I look forward with excitement, but also with apprehension. But if You are leading then let us follow!   In Jesus Name, amen.

Sit down with the Lord and ask Him where He wants to go in your life.  Big or small...let Him lead you forward.


2 Corinthians 3:18  So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.