The word for this week is "changed". We'll be looking first at 1 Corinthians 15:51-53:
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. KJV
This is the Greek word "allasso". Strong's Concordance says: to make different. Thayer's Greek Lexicon adds this: to cause one thing to cease and another to take its place. The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament says: Basic sense is to make other than it is, to alter, to give in exchange. This promise is getting to mean more to me as I get older! The promise is that at the appearing of Jesus for the Church, we will all rise to meet Him in the air, and in that instant our physical bodies will be changed into a resurrection body such as Jesus now has! We will 'exchange' this old body and have a brand new one that can function on earth AND in Heaven also! Our loved ones who are already in Heaven will be coming back with Jesus and their bodies will also be changed, rising up from the grave before us! 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
I fully intend to finish my race and fulfill God's calling on my life for very many more years, but knowing that I have this wonderful change to look forward to helps me to stay very positive about getting older and 'changing'! These changes are temporary, but that change that happens at His appearing is forever and glorious! In the meantime, there is another "change" that can take place as we continue to increase our knowledge of Who Jesus is, and who we are because of Him! This one is found in 2 Corinthians 3:18:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. KJV
This is the Greek word "metamorphoo". Strong's Concordance says: to transform. Thayer's Greek Lexicon adds: to change into another form. This is referring to our inner man, rather than our physical bodies. While we're waiting for that THAT day, we can continue to be changed everyday from the inside, which will show up on the outside! This change is the one that will draw people to the Jesus in us! That's a GOOD thing! Here is kind of fun early song by Hillsong United called "My Best Friend":
Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!
