“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”  – 2 Corinthians 3:18 I believe almost everyone that has been following us and read the last month piece has made a resolution to commit to the Great Shepherd to lead him through this year 2015. As we continue walking before Him and with Him, He will transform us daily by His Spirit until we are formed and matured in the knowledge of Him, measuring unto the full and complete standard of Christ. This means that when it comes to our relationship with God, we’re not satisfied with just maintaining the status quo. We’re not content to continue year after year, with the same ideas, and attitudes, and habits that we’ve always had. On the contrary, we believe God wants to change us, that He has the power to change us, and that He is changing us. Yes, it’s true that God accepts us completely, just as we are, but it’s also true that He isn’t willing to leave us just as we are. He wants to change us, through and through, top to bottom. He wants to shape and strengthen our character; He wants to clean the dirt out of our souls; He wants to rework our values and priorities; He wants to give us wisdom and insight and understanding. What He wants to do is make us more like Jesus Christ. Apostle Paul says in the text for this month that ‘we are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory by the Spirit of God’. In other words, as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory more and more. He wants to change us for the better and that process began on the day when we first trusted in Christ, and it will continue throughout our lives. Being a follower of Christ means that you keep learning, growing and changing your whole life long; it’s a journey that will be complete only when Christ returns. Until that time, we are all works in progress. The changes God wants to make in our lives are good ones. Brethren, you have a choice. You can stay just where you are, holding on to what you’ve known, even though it’s making you miserable, even though you long for something better. Or you can say to the Great Shepherd this New Year, “I want to get better. I want more of the abundant life you promised me. I’ll give up anything you require; I’ll do whatever you ask me to do.” And when we finally come to Him on that basis, yielding ourselves up to him as clay to the potter’s hands, then He can begin to work with us, to mold us into something strong and beautiful and we will never be the same again. My friends know that someday our transformation will be complete. Christ will return and when that day comes, we will be changed. No more struggle with sin. No more weakness or weariness. No more sorrow or tears of regret but only joy unending, because we will be like Christ, and we will be with Him forever. Shalom, Yemisi Onanuga.