THE POWER OF C-H-A-N-G-E
Part 1 – Connect
I've always heard that religion is about reformation. But Christianity is about transformation. Those two things are not the same. The former is about what a person can do to make self-improvements – Ladder People. The latter is about a person totally yielding to the Person of Jesus Christ to develop Christ-likeness within him – Relationship People. Jesus promised that if we would allow Him to by faith, He would come to make His "home" within us. In essence, we become the dwelling place of Christ. In the same sense, Jesus promised that His residence within us would bring about change, real change!
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that, "…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" A person who has made a life-changing commitment to Jesus Christ is a person who is being transformed to reflect His character. "And the Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image." (2 Corinthians 3:18)
What does this kind of life change look like? How do I know it when it's happening in my life as a follower of Jesus Christ? How do I identify life change as it happens in the lives of others?
There are what we call six "life change indicators" that help us identify our path of spiritual maturity as disciples of Jesus. We use the acronym, CHANGE, to make it easier to remember.
Connects with God and His Family
True life change begins when a person realizes and acts upon his need to be in relationship with his Creator, the One who made him, loves him, and has a purposed plan for his life. Upon that realization, as a person commits his life through repentance and faith to Jesus Christ as his only hope for salvation. Then he submits to the leadership – what we call Lordship – of Christ in every area of his life. This is where spiritual life change begins. Through faith an eternal connection with God takes place.
This new relationship with God through Christ continues and grows when a person connects with God's Family on earth. The Bible calls God's Family on earth the Church. Growing Christians are to gather together on a consistent basis for the purposes of corporate worship, mutual fellowship, spiritual encouragement and instruction, and serving fellow Christians, the community and the world.
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