God's Holy Fire: 'Transfigured to Be Like the Messiah'

Friday, September 5, 2025

Whenever, though, [the Israelites] turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are — face to face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.
— 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 MSG

Key Thought

No passage better describes the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives than this one. We've met it before in our God's Holy Fire devotionals, but it is worth hearing it from different translations. The work of the Holy Spirit is so vital in the new covenant people of God, as we have seen in previous devotionals. God is a personal presence through the living Holy Spirit, alive in us to transfigure us into the character and compassion of Jesus. That is the Spirit's goal - that Jesus would come to live in us in our daily lives as we are transformed to be more and more like him each day.

Today's Prayer

Almighty God, do your work in me to make me more like Jesus today than yesterday, and even more like him every tomorrow until that day he brings me home to you. I thank you for the Holy Spirit, who is your living presence in me and who is given me by your grace to accomplish this work in me. In Jesus' name, I thank you! Amen.

Have thoughts on this devotional? Leave a comment

93 Related Resources by Heartlight

Freedom!
Devo: God's Holy Fire
"Whenever, though, [people] turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are — face to face! They suddenly recognize that God is a..."
Metamorphosis
Devo: God's Holy Fire
"But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away [a veil like the metaphorical veil that kept the Jews from understanding the old covenant]. For....."
A Glorious Transformation
Devo: Praying with Paul
"Dear Father, transformer of my life, Lord God, I thank you for your Spirit, for the Lord, and for the freedom I have in them. Thank you that I, with...."
Transformed with Ever-increasing Glory
Devo: God's Holy Fire
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate [and reflect] the Lord's..."
See All 93 Related Resources about 2 Corinthians 3:16-18

Illustration

Illustration of 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 MSG — And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.

Other Devotionals from Heartlight for Friday, September 5, 2025

Unstoppable!
A one-year devotional guide through the book of Acts.
'Arrogant Authority' (Acts 23:1-3)
"Gazing intently at the high council, Paul began: "Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience!" Instantly Ananias the high....."
A Year with Jesus
A devotional to help reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives.
'Essential Unity'
"Dear Member of My Body, Paul emphasized in several of his letters to churches that My church is My bodily presence in the world (Romans 12:3-8; 1..."
What Jesus Did!
A daily guide from the gospels that challenges readers to live for Jesus.
'What Sorrow Awaits! (1 & 2)' (Mt. 23:13-15)
"[Jesus said,] "What sorrow awaits* you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in..."
Morning & Evening
The classic twice-daily devotional from Charles H. Spurgeon.
Evening Thought: Luke 24:16
"The disciples ought to have known Jesus, they had heard his voice so often, and gazed upon that marred face so frequently, that it is wonderful they....."

About This Devotional

God's Holy Fire is a daily devotional about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The Thoughts and Prayer for God's Holy Fire are written by Phil Ware.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked MESSAGE are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

More God's Holy Fire

Translations