Category: Becoming Beautiful

Ephesians 5:1 NLT
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.

Romans 10:15b NIV
As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

“As an imitation of God (imitatio Dei), Christian existence mirrors the inner life of God by partaking of the divine nature in the economic activity of Son and Spirit. The God of beauty calls his creatures into harmony with himself such that they become beautiful. Becoming beautiful… is available only through a participation in God’s own beauty… As God gives the Son and the Spirit, and therefore his own self-understanding and self-willing, the creature becomes beautiful, holy and glorious. This is what it means to be excellent and happy… Knowing God is knowing him as beautiful and becoming beautiful in harmony with him.” (Oliver Crisp and Kyle Strobel, Jonathan Edwards: An Introduction to His Thought)

We imitate God by participating in his life of love and sharing the good news of the gospel. God has placed us in our families, workplaces, campuses and cities to bring the gospel truth. Today, let’s pray that the Lord will equip us to go and be the beautiful feet that bring good news.

Prayer: Lord, open up our eyes to the opportunities to share the gospel boldly today. May your Spirit empower us to imitate you and live a life of love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship the Lord as we sing “Salvation Belongs to You” by Passion (click here).

– DW

2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT
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.

“Glorifying God simply is partaking in God’s glory and therefore receiving the emanation of God’s overflow and remanating it back to him in religious affection. This is why religious affection is imperative in the Christian life, because Christians are those who partake in God’s glory and fullness and therefore in God’s own affectionate self-knowing.” (Oliver Crisp and Kyle Strobel, Jonathan Edwards: An Introduction to His Thought)

“The affectionate life is participation in the life of our Triune God. It is not just personal or individual, but corporate and church-oriented, meaning the affectionate life does not isolate us from others, but frees us to be more engaged about life in and with God in the context of church. It is in this environment that the beauty of God can grow rather than stagnate.” (P. George’s message)

Church, our lives are to magnify the beauty of God as the Spirit works in and through us and transforms us. What joy it is that we can reflect his beauty and glory!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the transforming work of your Spirit in our lives. May our churches reflect your beauty even more. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s praise the Lord by singing “Everyday” by Elijah Oyelade (click here).

– DW

Let’s read aloud the following passages and confession:

Ephesians 4:21-24 NLT
²¹ Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, ²² throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. ²³ Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. ²⁴ Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

“We confess that we easily claim to love the Bible without loving the life it teaches – the life of costly practical obedience to God through Christ. Yet ‘nothing commends the gospel more eloquently than a transformed life, and nothing brings it into disrepute so much as personal inconsistency. We are charged to behave in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Christ and even to ‘adorn’ it, enhancing its beauty by holy lives.’ For the sake of the gospel of Christ, therefore, we recommit ourselves to prove our love for God’s Word by believing and obeying it. There is no biblical mission without biblical living.” (Cape Town Commitment: “We Love God’s Word”)

Prayer: Lord, I put off my old ways and thoughts and put on your truth, so that I can live in obedience to your word. You say that I am created to be like you, righteous and holy, and so I say “yes and amen!” In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to the song “Who You Say I Am” by Hillsong (click here).

– DW

 

Zechariah 9:17a NLT
How wonderful and beautiful they will be!

“Zechariah 9 has restated major promises that had not been fulfilled in the immediate aftermath of the exile, asserting that God’s word had not died. God will secure the borders of the land of Israel, bring a new king to Judah, restore the population, and defeat their enemies. The final verse of this chapter describes God’s perspective on this future, renewed Israel—’How attractive and beautiful they will be!’…They will be beautiful because they will enjoy the bounty of the land.” (John Goldingay and Pamela Scalise, Minor Prophets II, UBOC)

This verse speaks of God’s covenantal promise where his people will experience abundance, ultimately pointing to the work of Christ and how he will restore his people. As people of God, this is not just in the future, but it is also our present reality. We can enjoy the “bounty of the land” and pray that we will thrive in every area of our lives. We are wonderful and beautiful because of what God has done for us in Christ and we are being made more beautiful in Christ day by day!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your truth that declares that I am wonderful and beautiful. Fill me with faith to believe that this is who I am. Not because of anything that I have done, but because of your redeeming love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s sing in thanksgiving to “I Believe” by Charity Gayle (click here).

-DW

Let’s proclaim this verse aloud and make this our prayer:

Psalm 27:4 NIV
One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.

“Contrary to worldly subjective perception of beauty, biblical beauty or beauty from the perspective of God is objective and absolute. Beauty ultimately originates and is anchored in God himself, in the core of his being… And because God himself is beautiful and is the center/author of all that is beautiful, everything that he creates and everything he says is “beautiful” is truly beautiful! True beauty starts and ends with God.” (P. George’s message)

In a world that is constantly seeking after beauty and where the standards of beauty changes every season, what is unchanging is the beauty of the Lord. Like the psalmist whose singular desire was to enjoy God’s beauty by dwelling in his presence, may we also fix our eyes on the Lord and seek him with a singular pursuit.

Prayer: Lord, there is none like you! As we dwell in your presence, may we behold how beautiful you are and delight in you alone. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s gaze upon the beauty of the Lord as we worship to “Fall Like Rain” by Passion (click here).

– DW