I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.- Romans 12:1-2 KJV

Warrior;

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. (John 1:1-2) Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you. (Matthew 24:35, 1 Peter 1:25)   What is THE GOOD NEWS?  Here it is.  A Holy God meets a sinful man, WHERE THEY ARE, and then TRANSFORMS them into a NEW CREATION: A CHILD OF GOD.  This is what Paul said to the Corinthian church; Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17) This is why James was so adamant about experiencing REAL CHANGE.  If the GOSPEL is REAL, then it will change us!  If we really FOUND GOD, then what comes out of us, is not the same thing, as what used to come out of us- because we are a NEW CREATION.  Hear THE WORD of God, from the Conduit of Jesus’ half-brother James:   What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?  If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?  Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:14-17) James is not disagreeing with Paul that Faith alone, by Grace alone, in CHRIST ALONE, to the Glory of GOD ALONE- is ALONE THE ONE WAY TO GOD! James is saying what God is saying in todays verse; we are to be TRANSFORMED- Metamorphoses!

Leader, God meets us where we are at, BUT GOD never leaves us there- unless that is our will! Hear the Word of the LORD, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18) God is changing us, transforming us. Just Like Jesus told the religious leader, Nicodemus, in John 3, Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus thought this was impossible, we cannot change our NATURE, I have already been through the BIRTH CANAL- Jesus was talking about a TRANSFORMATION. The transformation is called metamorphosis. The word metamorphosis is derived from two Greek words: meta, meaning change, and morphē, meaning form. It means to change form. The Bible reveals that a major part of God’s plan for us is that we also undergo a metamorphosis—to change form into something different than we are now. This is how we can become a NEW CREATURE. In IT terminology, we talk about Operating Systems. There are only 2; an FOS, or a GOS. A Flesh Operating System vs a God Operating System. Consider the butterfly and the Caterpillar, they are nothing alike. Caterpillars have six true legs on their thorax, and many “false legs” on their abdomen. But butterflies have only six legs, and none of them are on their abdomen. Caterpillars walk slowly on their stubby legs. But butterflies fly long distances, in some cases thousands of miles. Caterpillars are sexless and cannot mate. But butterflies are either male or female and can mate and lay eggs. One creature becomes something NEW, something totally DIFFERENT!

Conduit, God’s Word reveals that the transformation by which a caterpillar becomes a butterfly is similar to the transformation the redeemed sinner enters after the new birth- being BORN AGAIN in the SPIRIT. As we work out our SALVATION with FEAR and TREMBLING, the worldly sinner finds the power, from the HOLY SPIRIT- who now indwells them, to once again “become a partaker of the divine nature” and “escape the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (Rom. 12:1-2; 2Pet. 1:3-8). If we are successful in this, then God sees us transforming year after year from the worldly caterpillar into the spiritual butterfly. Jesus was transformed right in front of Peter at the Mount of Transfiguration. Hear the Word of the Lord, “And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. (Matthew 17:2) We are called to be TRANSFORMED; this transformation is not passive. We must make it happen! We present our body because that is our spiritual service. WE MUST CHOOSE! We must CHOOSE to be transformed. We must NOT allow ourselves to be conformed to think, act, feel- like the world. WE MUST RENEW OUR MIND. Not being conformed and being transformed are both in the imperative mode in the Greek, which means they are commands. God has commanded us to refuse to be conformed to this world and He has commanded us to be transformed. In the process we learn at least 3 things. 1- This transformation is not passive. We must make it happen! 2- being conformed is under our control. This is why Paul warned the Corinthians: “Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” (1Corinthians 15:33-34). 3- It means that being transformed is also under our control since we are commanded to allow it to happen. The passive reveals that it is the gospel bringing about the transformation, but we have to do the things necessary for its power to work. Act differently than the old you! First, we must “put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24). In another Scripture, we are told to “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:2-3). This requires a complete change of priorities and focus. It is written, “put to death your members which are on the earth,” “put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.” Similar to today’s passage, this passage requires we “put to death”, “put off” and “put on.” We “put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language,” and we put on all these, “tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering.” (Colossians 3:5-13). The Caterpillar does not do anything to become a Butterfly, except, LET GOD BE GOD! Today, Let God be God! It is finished, it is paid in full by our JESUS! We just need to LET GO of the WORLD and its WAYS, and LET GOD transform us!