Ministries will not transform us —

 

Praying harder will not change us —

 

Serving MORE will not make us like Jesus —

 

Having the correct answer, prophesying, healing, giving to the poor…

 

These are all outward works, and yes, they are good, but none are what makes us Christian.

 

We can become religious on the outside and look like we’ve “arrived,” while the inside stays bound to selfishness, a critical spirit, inner insecurities, greed, jealousy, and pride.

 

But when we Know Him…

 

Truly KNOW Him, with a willingness to yield to His ways, allowing Him to mold and shape us in the secret place, correcting wrong thoughts, and ensuring our motives are pure…we will not come out looking the same way we walked in —

 

We will come out looking like Him.

 

Seeing others through His heart and loving them well.

 

Serving from a place of freedom, not a pressure to look good.

 

Giving when no one can see because the only one that matters is the one in the lead.

 

You’re no longer living to be noticed by the known; you’re sitting with the sinners, the broken-hearted, the lonely…those are the people you long to go after because you know — YOU KNOW — one touch of Jesus through you will change them forever.

 

Going through the motions, playing church, and making yourself look good in front of others is no longer your driving force — He is.

 

You can’t help it.

 

He’s in you.

 

You have His heart and mind, a living vessel — His hands and feet.

 

A Christian is to be like Christ.

 

We cannot accomplish this transformation apart from Him.

 

Turn to Him and exchange all of you for all of Him.

 

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 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. -2 Corinthians 3:16-18 (NLT)