The Perfect You

Monday, January 5, 2026

Good morning, Lord

Father in Heaven, I seek You first-the knowledge of Your kingdom and Your righteousness. Fill my consciousness constantly and complete Your joy in me as I take up my cross and follow...In Jesus' name…

Memory verse: Psalm 27:13-14 (NIV)

“I remain confident of this, I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Verse of the day: Isaiah 1:16-17

16 “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.”

Today’s reading: Genesis 13-15 Matthew 5:1-26

The Perfect You

Romans 3:23- “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

This means all of us-all who have not accepted Christ as Lord of their lives and for those, praise be to God almighty, who have heard the call and accepted Christ.

But we still struggle with sin. You may not have what any would consider a ‘huge’ sin but you still struggle in your mind with hard thoughts for those who hate what you believe. Or maybe you struggle with loving your enemies. Whatever the sin, it is still sin.

Today we consider this verse: “By a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)

The single ‘offering’ is Christ Himself giving His life for our individual souls.

For all who are believers in Christ, you have been made perfect in Christ-once and for all.

Consider a sculptor who works with a large stone to fashion a figure. Hammer and chisel like tools, he works to uncover what he sees hidden in the rough stone.

Christ has perfected us-nothing can change that. But the perfect ‘you’ is hidden in the stone of sin. God fashions us, day by day, trial to trial, lesson to lesson, to be like Jesus-chipping away-’sanctifying’ or making Holy each of us by our own faith and His divine hand.

This does not happen without pain and heartache because it is hard for us to let go of sin that we are so used to.

 Every time we overcome and learn more of what we really look like in Christ, we live with more freedom and confidence in Him.

2 Corinthians 3: 17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

What do we really look like hidden in that stone?  

Romans 8:29- “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

God is chipping away at our hard outer rock of sin to uncover the image of Christ that He has predetermined that we are.

Under all of what you and I carry, we are perfect by what Christ has done once and for all.

Our daily disciplines and the Lord’s new grace every morning is changing us into the image of Christ Jesus.

Don’t give up-keep knowing that your God perfected self will be visible in the end.

For now, ask and God will fill you with whatever you need.

...because He loves us, He will do it...

Father in Heaven,

Hallowed be Your endless and Holy name. Your kingdom come in my heart in discipline to obey and be conformed into the image of Christ. Give me today what You know I need in my growth. Forgive me for my lazy attitude. Lead me away from evil.

Perfect Father,

In the name of Christ Jesus,

Amen