We love building relationships. Subscribe to our blog to receive weekly encouragement in your email inbox.
Search Our Blog Posts
Blog Article Tags
Visit Our Store
Donate
You can also mail checks, made out to IRSM, to:
Iron Rose Sister Ministries
PO Box 1351
Searcy, AR 72145
IRSM is a 501(c)(3), so donations are tax-deductible.
Blog
More blog entries below
Written by Johanna Zabala, volunteer for Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Venezuela
Once, when I was dressed in white on a rainy day, I got muddy. Immediately, you could see everyone's discomfort when they saw me with that dirt stain. Since that day, I don't dress as often in white, and I prefer dark colors to avoid showing dirt and stains.
That beautiful and memorable dress was never the same and I began to take better care of it. I managed, yes, to remove the stain, but every time I wore it, I was more aware of how I needed to be careful to keep it clean. I believe that everything is a learning experience and makes us grow. So I have already learned that it is too easy to transform something white and clean into something dirty, but not so easy to transform it back again after it is dirty.
Ever since my new spiritual birth, I celebrate new life in Christ Jesus (2Co 5:17). In my new life in Christ, every day is a process full of metamorphosis. Amid great challenges, passions, sacrifices, distractions, struggles, and convictions of faith in our Lord, the Holy Spirit does a constant work in the flesh that polishes without equal like refined gold for the glory of our Almighty God (1Pe 1:7).
The Holy Spirit, while working on my constant transformation, has cleansed me of unholy feelings, thoughts, and actions. In accomplishing such spiritual work, because we are human at the same time, an inner change is needed in order to reflect the Holy Spirit and for God to work and transform my character from day to day, to perfect my attitude, and make it like that of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not easy; it is a walk requiring perseverance and constant denial of myself (Lk 9:23).
Every time I evaluate what my life was like before I met Christ, I thank God that I don't know what my life would be like without the transforming action of the Holy Spirit, especially in moments when faith grows weary. But this results in setting aside my comfortable position and focusing on the denial of my earthly purposes and desires, with an eye on Jesus (Heb 12:2), so that I can follow Him and love Him in obedience and truth.
What does it require of me? Effort, trust, and perseverance. I must say, do, and act in the way that only He would act. I must also recognize at every moment the divine and intercessory action of God molding my mind and heart.
In that transforming love that has enveloped and made me fall in love with Him since He first loved me, it has been God Himself in His infinite power and mercy that has lifted me up and strengthened me in all areas of life with Him. He began in my character and has tamed me from the heart to form in me the holy purpose that bears His name.
Everything in life goes through transformation—everything changes—therefore, do not resist change. For you will rise with Him, through obedience to the gospel (Ac 2:38) and by being crucified together with our Savior (Gal 2:20). He is our Prince of Peace, the Alpha and the Omega, the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Living Water, the Bread of Life, the Faithful Friend, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and of course, the One who transforms us. Follow Him and He will do in you what He is doing in me.
Written by Ayane Nayara, Brazil Assistant for Iron Rose Sister Ministries
When something comes into existence, it goes through several processes. A seed, when planted in the ground and watered, goes through several stages until it becomes a plant that bears fruit. It absorbs water, activates its embryo, and then begins the process of growth and development. It takes days, months, and years. And even when it grows and seems to be at its limit, it continues to grow and transform. With each season, it goes through changes and cycles until the end of its life.
The Christian journey follows the same path… We are born in Christ, and then we enter a process of growth and transformation. It is spiritual, but it goes beyond that. It is a new lifestyle.
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2Co 3:18 NIV)
In chapter three of 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks about the moment when Moses went up the mountain to speak with God, and when he returned, his face shone so brightly that the Israelites could not look at him. Moses was in the presence of God. He was His representative, so his face reflected His glory, like a mirror.
Paul then makes an analogy to our lives today, but in a much more hopeful and free way. Through Christ, we can behold the glory of God and reflect His image in us. We do not need to cover our faces because the reflection of Christ that He transmits needs to be seen by the world with freedom through the Spirit and grace.
But this requires growth and transformation from us. It is Christ who needs to be seen, not us. And this transformation begins when we start to live with the Lord and spend time with Him. Looking at God transforms us. If we look at Him and contemplate Him as Moses did, we can reflect Him in our lives.
For us to be close to God in this way, reconciliation is necessary. We cannot represent or reflect the image of someone we do not know or have a relationship with. “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2Co 5:20).
If we continue reading the following chapters of 2 Corinthians, Paul mentions something that can hinder our process.
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (2Co 6:14-16)
What can hinder us the most is our attempt to maintain the same lifestyle as those who have no relationship with God while we try to reflect God. It’s contradictory. I am not saying that from the moment you reconcile with God, you will no longer have any relationship with those who are not connected to Him. On the contrary, we need to reflect Christ to these people. However, we need to adopt a new lifestyle in communion with others who have the same goal— to be transformed by Christ.
For this, we have the Holy Spirit who guides us and transforms us from the inside out. And we have His church, full of men and women who are in the same process, being shaped by Him and sharpening one another.
And I have news for you: this process is not a one-time occurrence. It is ongoing! It is a daily journey of growth, in which we fight against sin and the things that want to separate us from God. The transformation will require perseverance from us. On this journey we will be pressured, we will be perplexed, we will be persecuted, but the Almighty God, whose ambassadors we are in this world, is with us. “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2Co 4:8-9).
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. (2Cor 4:6)
With this, I encourage you to seek more and more each day the transformation that only God can carry out in us.
