See Jesus, Be Transformed

Have you ever wondered why you can read the Bible faithfully and still feel stuck in the same old patterns? Why the truths you highlight don’t always become the truths you live? The answer is simple: information alone cannot change you. We’re changed from glory to glory by the Holy Spirit as we behold the Lord in the reading of the Scriptures.

Second Corinthians 3:17–18 (NLT) declares, “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 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.”

When you open your Bible, you are not just processing text. You are looking at Jesus with your spiritual eyes. Each passage offers you a glimpse of His glory. And the Holy Spirit, present as you read, takes that glimpse and begins to shape you into the very image you behold.

But here’s the key: you must yield. Revelation without surrender will only frustrate you. Many believers read the Word, feel conviction, and then quickly push it aside. We excuse our habits, justify our attitudes, or downplay our compromises. But the truth doesn’t change simply because we resist it or try to forget it. The Word continues to stand as the eternal standard of God’s will.

Transformation happens when you respond to conviction with surrender. When you read a verse and the Spirit pierces your heart, don’t ignore Him. Whisper, “Transform me, Holy Spirit. I yield this part of my life to You.” In that moment of surrender, chains break, the mind renews, and your nature changes.

You become like what you behold. If you obsess over worldly things, you take on their shape; restless, distracted, and unfulfilled. But if you obsess over the Word, gazing into the face of Jesus through every page, the Spirit molds you into His likeness. Your patience deepens. Your purity strengthens. Your love becomes genuine. Slowly but surely, you will look more like Christ.

This is the miracle of transformation. It doesn’t come from your own strength or discipline alone, but from the Spirit working within you as you yield again and again.

So the next time you sit down with your Bible, don’t stop at reading. Pray with humility: “Transform me, Holy Spirit. Don’t let me leave this moment unchanged. Shape me into the image of Jesus.” And He’ll change you, sometimes even in ways you cannot immediately see.

Because the goal of Scripture is not just that you know more; it’s that you become more… like Jesus.

For more about this topic, watch “The Absolute BEST Way to Read the Bible (And Most Don't Do It)” on YouTube by clicking here.

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When The Bible Comes Alive

Have you ever read your Bible only to feel like you accomplished nothing? 

Maybe a fleeting inspiration, a nice quote to carry you through the day. But then, hours later, it’s gone. No transformation. No traction. Just another passage forgotten in the rush of life. If you've been there, you’re not alone. But that isn’t how it’s meant to be. God has more for you. You don’t need to settle.

The Bible is not a natural text; it’s supernatural.

Jesus said, “The very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” - John 6:63 (NLT)

If we approach Scripture as mere literature, we might glean a little encouragement, but we’ll miss the power - the very power that breaks habits, changes character, and ignites a holy fire within. That power comes only when the Word is received in the spirit, not just the intellect.

Matthew 13 tells us the parable of the sower. The seed, which represents the Word of God, only bears lasting fruit when it falls on “good soil.” Jesus explains that this “good soil” is the person who truly hears and understands the Word (Matthew 13:23, NLT). But many never get there. Why? Because they read the Bible without the help of the precious Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:14 (NLT) says, “But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them… For only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.”

Without the Holy Spirit, Scripture remains locked. But when you read with Him, He opens your eyes. You’re no longer reading about God. You’re fellowshipping with Him.

Then there’s the issue of depth. Some believers start strong but fall away when trials hit. Why? Shallow roots. And shallow roots grow from shallow study. A verse of the day is a great start, but it’s not the destination. You need consistency. Obsession. A love for the Word that drives you to take in much of it daily, not out of guilt, but out of hunger.

Finally, beware the thorns. Distraction will kill your devotion. Jesus said the Word is choked by the worries of life and the lure of wealth (Matthew 13:22). So slow down. Meditate. Read slowly, think deeply, and repeat the Word out loud. Absorb it.

This isn’t about checking a box. This is about transformation. It’s about reading until your heart burns, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:32).

Don’t just study Scripture. Receive it. Cherish it. Meditate on it. And let it set your spirit ablaze.

For more about this topic, watch “You'll Never Read the Bible the Same Way After This,” on YouTube by clicking here.

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Holy Spirit - The Greatest Bible Teacher on Earth

Within the Word of God, there are wonderful mysteries, liberating truths, and life-changing messages. As a believer, you have a sincere desire to know the Word of God in greater depth. You want to draw closer to the Lord, live in holiness, and walk in a way that pleases God. In order to do that, you must walk according to the Word. But it’s possible that you, like many others, struggle sometimes to understand the truths of Scripture.

When the believer struggles to understand the Scriptures, the believer becomes discouraged in studying the Scriptures, and, more often than not, just gives up on their personal devotion to the Scriptures. 

When I first began to read the Word for myself, I would read halfway through any given chapter of the Bible only to realize that I wasn’t understanding what I was reading. So I’d have to start over. I would even zone out and read the Word without giving it my full attention. When I read the Word like that, there was no spiritual fruit. 

It can be overwhelming and even discouraging when you struggle in your devotion to the Word.

For me, the difference was made when I turned to the Holy Spirit, the greatest Bible Teacher on earth.

But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. (John 14:26, NLT)

The key to truly understanding God’s Word is the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit takes the information, adds inspiration, and brings about revelation. That revelation is what produces true and lasting transformation.

The Holy Spirit illuminates God’s Word. The Word of God is the substance with which the Holy Spirit creates the character of Christ in you. He was the One Who inspired the Word; surely He has the ability to teach it.

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Are the Spiritual Gifts No More? The BIBLICAL Answer

Have the spiritual gifts ceased to be? Are they no longer in operation in the church today? This is a fiercely debated issue, and I’m not going to be able to address every point of contention in just one article. My goal, rather, is to just get you thinking in the right direction, the Biblical direction. 

We must recognize, first and foremost, that our foundation is the Word of God - no debates there. So, does the Word of God teach that the gifts have ceased to be? Not by any stretch of the imagination. 

The belief that the spiritual gifts have ceased is called “cessationism.” Those who believe that the gifts have ceased are called “cessationists.” Of course, that’s an oversimplification of the terms, as there are varying beliefs even within cessationism. But, for the sake of conversation, we’ll stick with the simpler definitions I just gave you. 

So upon what exactly does the cessationist base their faulty interpretation of reality?

There are a few things. 

#1 Speculation

#2 Arguments from History

#3 Poor Biblical Interpretation

#1 Speculation

First, you’ll notice that cessationists use a lot of speculation - something they’d discourage in any other context. Here’s an example of speculation: Paul the apostle instructed Timothy to use wine as medicine. “Why”, the cessationist will ask, “didn’t Paul just heal him?”

Then they’ll conclude that because Paul didn’t heal Timothy or because Timothy didn’t just heal himself, that the spiritual gifts had already stopped operating. This is faulty logic for a couple reasons. 

Firstly, there are many examples in Scripture where godly men died, suffered, or remained sick. This by no means leads to the conclusion that therefore God just picked some subjective spot on the timeline of history to end His demonstrations of power. This just means that God’s sovereignty still applies even in the context of the miraculous. His sovereignty and His miracles have never been at odds with one another. So, there are instances, both in the OT and NT when God didn’t demonstrate his power as people thought He should. Simply put, God exercising His sovereignty to withhold a miracle never means that miracles are no more.

Secondly, the other problem with speculation is that it’s just that - speculation. There’s nothing in all of Scripture that even comes close to indicating that God’s power has stopped working. Now here’s where things get interesting. Once you show through Scripture that God’s power still works today, the cessationist will dodge the point. 

They might interject, “Oh, we believe that God still demonstrates His power. We believe He still does miracles. He just doesn’t do miracles through the spiritual gifts anymore.” And what a telling dodge that is on the part of the cessationist. They have to play semantics, word games to hold their position. 

But the position of those who believe the spiritual gifts are still in operation is quite simple: just as God moved sovereignly and miraculously through men and women in the past, so He still moves today. As believers who embrace the spiritual gifts, we don’t actually believe that we carry power of our own or that we wield a gift independently of God’s will - nor does the Scripture teach that. Again, God’s sovereignty applies even when spiritual gifts are involved.

Sadly, the cessationist rejects God’s sovereignty because they box him in to their worldview. They rely on their own personal experiences - or lack thereof - rather than the Word. That’s ironic being as how the spirit-filled believer is the one often accused of relying upon or focusing too heavily upon “experience.”

#2 Arguments from History

But if it’s not speculation the cessationist is using, it’s going to be an argument from history. For example, the cessationist may say that the early church fathers didn’t pray in tongues or that there were some early believers who believed the gifts had ceased. 

In the first place, there are thousands of actions all of us perform every week for which there will never be a historical record. How can we know what the early church didn’t practice? We’d need a complete record of every early church member’s life to know that. The cessationist is in a tough position, in that he has to prove that the early church - all members and leaders -stopped practicing the spiritual gifts.

Still, the cessationist might be able to point to some early church father who believed the gifts ceased. But all that does is demonstrate that there were even cessationists back then. There were debates and differences of opinions even then. We honor the early church, but we shouldn’t idolize it. The Bible, not historical Christian figures, is the final authority. The question is not, “What did the early Church believe?” The question remains, “What does the Bible teach?”

So then after you rightfully dismiss the cessationist’s philosophical or historical arguments, the question arises: does the cessationist have any good Biblical reason for his position?

#3 Poor Biblical Interpretation

The best a cessationist can offer is a poor interpretation of this verse:

8Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. (1 Corinthians 13:8-10, NLT)

So the gifts will cease to be in operation at the time of perfection. So when does that take place? The Bible clearly tells us in the next two verses:

11When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. (1 Corinthians 13:11-12, NLT)

Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t know anyone on earth (besides the Holy Spirit) who knows everything “completely.” The Scripture, in this context, is most certainly talking about eternity. Until then, the gifts are still available to the Church. 

Now, I can already see the comments. Of course, there are angles that I couldn’t address in this short article, but I assure you that whatever the angle, whatever the argument, cessationsm has been Biblically, thoroughly debunked. And I want you to pay close attention to the comments that cessationists might leave on this post. Notice that all of the dissenting comments will fall under the categories of personal attack, speculation, historical arguments, or forced interpretation of Scripture. Many will reference their bad experiences with the spiritual gifts. Many will misunderstand several of the points made in this article.

Some will say I misrepresented cessationism. I didn’t. Some will say I twist the Scriptures. I don’t. Some will say that there’s plenty in Scripture to show cessationism to be true. There isn’t. No amount of scriptural gymnastics can produce such a counter-biblical view. So the next time someone tries to tell you the gifts have ceased, ask them for the specific chapter and verse. Don’t be intimidated by those who love to debate. Stand on the Word. There’s no debating with the Word of God.

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The Word and the Spirit

The Spirit gives inspiration. The Word gives information. Together, they become revelation, and revelation brings transformation. 

That’s the way it’s been since the beginning - the Spirit and the Word working together. Think of the creation narrative in the very first chapter of Genesis. The Holy Spirit hovered above the face of the deep when God spoke all things into existence. God the Father gave the command, the Word was released, and the power of the Holy Spirit partnered with that Word to bring about creation.

You need the Holy Spirit to teach you the Word. 

But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. (1 Corinthians 2:14, NLT)

And you need the Word to be properly taught by the Holy Spirit.

But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. (John 14:26, NLT)

If you don’t have the Word, with what will the Spirit teach you? If you don’t listen to the Holy Spirit, how will you truly understand the Word?

There are two kinds of believers.

The free spirit has trouble with developing and with seeing the need for a disciplined devotion to the Word. 

The analytical mind has trouble with surrendering to the Holy Spirit. 

In each and every one of us, there’s a change that needs to take place in order for us to experience the fullness of what God offers. For every kind of believer, there is a side to God that will confront that believer. 

On one hand, we have those who imagine that being a disciple of Christ is aimless wandering - they think that spirituality demands no discipline or structure. These believers despise the Biblical structure of the Church, have issues with accountability, are uncomfortable with the idea of spiritual authority, and often mishandle the Scriptures. They wander into Christian superstitions and develop weird, unbiblical ideas. They applaud when their teachers toss aside the Word in order to “flow with the Spirit.” They know the gifts but not the glory.

On the other hand, we have those who pride themselves in their knowledge of Biblical texts. These believers tend to be judgmental and unnecessarily critical. Hiding behind phrases like “Defending the Faith” and “Exposing False Teachers”, they become bitter and religious - rarely ever actually accomplishing anything for the sake of the gospel themselves. They applaud when their leaders hurl mean-spirited insults at fellow preachers of the gospel. Claiming “Christ Alone”, what they actually mean is “Chirst” plus believe every doctrine exactly as they believe it.

In this hour, neither extreme will do. God is raising a people of both Word and Spirit. This is the new move of the Holy Spirit. You can have both power and truth, joy and holiness, supernatural manifestation and Biblical postulation. We need both Word and Spirit. The Word of God is the building material of the Spirit. It is with the Word that the Holy Spirit creates. The Word is the substance, the actualizing material used by the Spirit to bring forth something real and lasting.

The two streams are coming together to make one river - the people of the Word are uniting with the people of the Spirit. The result will be a move of God that is free but not chaotic, energized but not disorderly. The clear, true gospel of salvation will be presented with miraculous demonstration. The miraculous will not be neglected, but neither will miracles become the focus. There will be a depth of the Word, and a surrender to the Spirit. It’s happening now - a beautiful balanced move of God is upon us. A move of both the Word and the Spirit.

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False Prophets & Heretics

The Bible is perfectly clear. If anyone perverts the gospel or preaches another Christ, let that individual be cursed.

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8, KJV)

When it comes to the gospel, we must be unwavering. Salvation is found in Christ alone. There is no other way to the Father but through Jesus. We cannot change the gospel for the sake of anyone’s preference.

Jesus is God.

Jesus came to earth in the flesh.

Jesus died on the cross for sin.

Jesus rose from the dead and achieved victory over death, over all.

To be saved, we must put our faith in Him.

We must repent of sin.

Those are some of the fundamental doctrines of the faith. From those, we cannot waver.

But what happens when a believer disagrees with another believer on, let’s say, divine healing? Speaking in tongues? Financial prosperity? The sabbath?

Are those doctrines worth dividing over?

The Bible is the Word of God, the final authority. And what if, like Peter and Paul, two believers find themselves in a doctrinal disagreement? None of us would dare to call Peter or Paul a heretic, yet those two men had doctrinal disagreements.

We so easily throw around terms like “False Prophet” or “Heretic”. But the definition of heretic is not “anyone who disagrees with me on anything.” A heretic is one who teaches a direct contradiction to the fundamentals of the faith.

Finances are important, but finances are not the gospel. Divine healing is important, but divine healing is not the gospel. The sabbath is not the gospel. Bible version preference is not the gospel.

So long as we agree on Christ and the essentials of salvation, there is room for unity.

I’m not preaching relativism; I’m preaching truth. I know it’s difficult for some to accept, but not every doctrinal disagreement is cause for division or name-calling. My encouragement to all believers: don’t stone your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Call out the false prophets. Call out heresy. But don’t major on minors. It doesn’t matter your stream, so long as you are in the river of Christ.

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8 Effects of Living in God's Word

There are many benefits to knowing and living the Word of God. Here are 8 examples.

#1 You’ll walk free from sin

I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11

#2 You’ll prosper in all you do

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. Joshua 1:8

#3 You’ll walk in truth

Truth arms you to walk free of many kinds of deception. You’ll walk free from self-deception.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James 1:22

You’ll walk free from demonic deception.

Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. 1 Timothy 4:1

#4 You’ll walk in faith

So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. Romans 10:17

#5 You’ll walk in Wisdom

The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand. Psalm 119:130

#6 You’ll walk in peace

Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. Psalm 119:165

#7 You’ll walk in strength

My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word. Psalm 119:28

#8 You’ll walk in vulnerability toward God

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Hebrews 4:12

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