Transformed!

I had some great ideas brewing for my next blog entry last Sunday.  TV Sermons by Creflo Dollar and then Andy Stanley left me inspired...and I was sure I knew what I wanted to write next.  Then I heard the sermon by my own 'Pastor', Jerry, and a whole new message started brewing within me.

Creflo talked about the law vs. love.  How we are to walk in love, and how following the law doesn't make us good Christians if we aren't following Jesus greatest commandments- to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and to love others as we love ourselves.  Then Andy Stanley talked about being a Christian.  His message was a lot like Creflo Dollar's.  He talked about how we treat each other and how we treat non-believers.

Then there was Jerry.  Jerry spoke of transformation.  Becoming separate from the world.  Allowing ourselves to be transformed, to become 'holy.'  Cleaning up our speech (that one was for me), treating our family right, being an example on the job, etc...At first I thought it was sort of contradictory to what Creflo Dollar's sermon had been, because Creflo was telling us not to focus on 'the law' and all the 'do's' and 'dont's' and here was Jerry telling us to 'clean up our act'...so I had to figure out how to reconcile the two in my own mind.

Of course I did.  :)  My own particular vice is my mouth.  Over the years, I have developed a the bad habit of swearing (aka cursing).  Not a great habit for a born-again Christian, but I can curse like a truck-driver when I want to.  But I have been making an effort to turn this over to God and have made great progress.  But I was thinking of how many times I have 'accidentally' sworn in front of someone (it's really embarrassing when I do it in church, too) and said 'oops- well, God's still working on me!'  As if, because I'm free from the law, it's okay to hang on to all of my old  'bad' habits!  And I'm aware there are Christians out there who feel that way.  But do I want to be one of them, or do I want to strive to be what God wants me to be?  It's the latter, of course.

So I realized I've got to clean up my act!  Now pay careful attention, because this is where the reconciling of the two sermons comes in.  You see, the thing is, God doesn't want or expect me to do this on my own.  He doesn't want me to stop cursing in my own power, in order to just follow the 'letter of the law.'  He doesn't want my walk to be based on rules and do's and dont's.  So what about Jerry's message of transformation and holiness?

Good question.  What God wants is for me to be transformed by the renewing of my mind.  (It's in the Bible somewhere, I promise!)  God wants me to choose to let go of my sins and my bad habits and lay them at His feet.  He wants me to turn them over to Him.  I can't change, I can't transform, I can't become holy in my own power, through my own efforts.  But I can through Him.  I don't have to stop swearing on my own and that is good news, my friend, because that is a hard habit to break!

So does that give me license to keep swearing & cursing until God transforms me?  Can I just keep on saying 'Oops, God's still working on me?'  Of course I can, but do I want to?  Not really.  I realize that I need to be putting a sincere effort into continuing to turn my bad habits over to God.  He can't change us unless we truly allow Him to change us.  We have to want it.  It's one thing to say we are turning something over to God, but it's another to truly mean it and put forth the effort to work with Him on it.  We cannot do it in our flesh,  we will always fail.  But we do need to make right choices.  I do have the choice as to what comes out of my mouth.  I can choose not to curse when I'm mad...Sure a curse word may truly slip out once in awhile, accidentally, but that doesn't give me license to 'accidentally' swear whenever I feel like it, just because I can say 'God's working on me....'

So we're back to Jesus' two greatest commandments...Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and loving one another as we love ourselves.  If I love God with all my heart, why would I want to do anything to hurt him?  Why would I want to use curse words when I'm upset, rather than praying to Him?  And why would I want to sin against my neighbor if I am loving Him as myself?  You see, these two commandments are the answer!  These commandments are the key to our transformation.  When we truly follow these commandments, we will be transformed.  Isn't that exciting!  We don't have to focus on the letter of the law, all the do's and dont's, and worry whether we're getting it right.  We just have to love the Lord our God with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves...and the transformation will take place naturally.

God is good!

Dear Lord,
We ask that you keep pointing us back to your greatest commandments, and help us see that they are the key to true Godly living.  Help us to forgive ourselves and move on when do sin, and to continue to strive to be transformed into the people you want us to be.  Holy, separate, in the world but not of it.
In Jesus' precious name we pray,
Amen