“Don’t copy the behavior or customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2 (NLT)
I grew up in a family who, over the years, raised several hundred tropical birds. In our area, we became known as the “bird people.” So,
when a baby magpie was brought to us, we took it in and nursed it back to health.
We affectionately called him “Oscar,” and he was like no other. He walked with us more than he flew and talked a blue streak. He scared the telephone man, who was up on a ladder when Oscar landed on his head, talking like crazy! And it thrilled the school children when he’d ride the windshield wipers of our bus, singing and laughing. If you closed your eyes, Oscar sounded like a child laughing and talking. We’d even joke that Oscar thought he was a person. The reality was that, even though he sounded like a person, he was just like a recorder that could imitate a person.
As we walk this life, we can say the right things, sound and act like a Christian, and go to church on Sundays. But if we haven’t received
the knowledge and Spirit of Jesus into our lives, we are simply an imitator, just like Oscar was.
If we are going to imitate something, let’s be a reflection of the heart of God. Ephesians 5:1 says, “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are His dear children” (NLT). Let’s be authentic followers of Jesus. In that, there are no question marks of who is counterfeit, and who is real — no “Oscars,” but people who have been 100 percent transformed because of Jesus.
God, help me to not be just an imitator, but let me pursue You in everything I do. Amen.
— Corrie Hill
Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.
The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website.
Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org