Shine

For a while now I have been buying and selling things, and some of the things I buy are bicycles and some of them are in bad shape.  Most of them need some kind of work done on them; many come with flat tires and most of them need a good cleaning which I may spend a good amount of time on trying to make them look somewhat like new.

I remember getting a pair of old Ross bikes that were very dirty; they had chrome fenders and other chrome parts that needed some scrubbing.  After spending about five hours on these bikes there was a tremendous transformation.  They looked close to new and the chrome shined like a mirror.  The two bikes took on a whole new appearance, you might say they shined like stars or like a bright light, the difference was like night and day.

I have done the same thing with cars and motorcycles over the years.  At one time I entered a chopper motorcycle in a show and took home a trophy.  Maybe I have a gift of seeing the finished product before the transformation takes place.  Over the years I have known others that seem to have that same gift.  

I know this one particular man that has the gift of transformation also, but this man’s main expertise is transforming people.  He takes people that are down and out dirty, bruised and scarred by sin and its lifestyle that have no hope, the ones the world labels as freaks and outcasts, and transforms their lives until they shine from within and become lights for the world to see.  

Think of clay and the potter that shapes the clay, when the potter finds impurities in the clay and he can’t use it, he throws it in what is called the Potter’s Field and discards it as unfit for use.  Now think of this scenario; the man’s name that I have been talking about is Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God.  The potter represents the world and people are the marred clay that has been thrown out into the field as worthless and unusable to the potter.  Then Jesus comes along and walks through the field, as He did when He walked the earth.  When He sees all the people that have been discarded, He picks them up, cleans them off and starts transforming their lives into something beautiful, praise the Lord!

Jesus had such a burning desire to do this for people that He was willing to sacrifice His life so that men and women could be reconciled to God and be cleansed, washed, purified and forgiven of their sins. Jesus knew that the only way this could take place was for Him to be the perfect sacrifice and be willing to lay His life down for the sins of man, and that is what He did.  Jesus has made it possible for us to be called the children of God.  He died a horrible death on the cross and bought our pardon and made it possible that all could be saved, and he did it willingly because He loved us so much.

God’s Word says this in John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

I hope this has been a blessing and an encouragement to every believer and for those that aren’t believers yet, there is still hope for you.  If you are experiencing a stirring in your heart and it feels like conviction, stop what you are doing and get alone with the Lord and let Him minister to you.  Don’t be in a hurry, tarry before the Lord and don’t walk away until you have broken through and experienced the peace of the Lord in your life.  Repent of your sins and ask the Lord to forgive you and to be the Lord of your life.  Then pray and ask the Lord to reveal to you the church you are to attend and start growing and watch the transformation that takes place in your life.  Something to think about!  Have a super day and may the Lord bless you and yours!!