In His Likeness
By Lonny R. Bower Jul 07
John 10:10 tells us that the enemy of our souls would like nothing more than to kill us and if he can’t do that, he will attempt to steal from us anything and everything that the Lord has accomplished or revealed in our lives. However, when he finds out that he cannot steal from us either, he sets out to destroy the work of God in our lives. Do not be fooled the devil is a professional assassin, an accomplished thief and a master destroyer. He’s been at his dirty business since he deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden. But this does not leave us without hope, because Jesus came to tear the devil’s kingdom down and to give us life and life more abundantly. If we know Jesus, we will have life and if we will acquaint ourselves with the power of Jesus we will have abundant life! Romans 8:11 says that if that same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwell in us, He will quicken our mortal bodies…. Let us look briefly at the power and affect of His Spirit. In Matthew 3:13-17 we see Jesus being baptized by John and the Spirit descending upon Him and the voice of the Father speaking from heaven (what a great picture of the Holy Trinity!) Then we see in Matthew 4:1 that Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted of the devil. Afterwards in Matthew 4:17 we see Jesus begin preaching and as one reads on through the gospels they will note the power that accompanied our Lord’s preaching. We can have this same power, but we must walk as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6). We must be led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14) this affirms that we are children of God. One will quickly learn however that the Spirit will often lead them not around but through tribulation. This should not be dreaded, but anticipated and necessary for our Christ-like charter (if we’re going to be like Him we have to walk through tribulations). Romans 5:1-5 tells us how to respond and reveals the result—it is for our benefit! If we have any hope of awakening in His likeness (as the Psalmist referred to in Psalm 17:15), we must walk through tribulation—rejoicing, not complaining! Give a testimony, not a depressed-timony!