The Gospel will Always Produce - Inside-out!
What comes to mind when you hear the word “transformation,” that I’ve mentioned in my prayer texts to you over the past couple of weeks? Based on personal conversations with many believers over the years many see the transformation as a personal and internal transformation …stating: my transformation, my growth, my faith. And they are right, the gospel is personal and internal, but it’s much more! When God’s grace is working on us and in us it will also work itself out through us. The internal transformation taking place in our hearts and minds creates an external outworking that moves us out in love and service to others. Think about it: why else would Love God and Love Others be the two greatest commandments? How is the Gospel transforming your life? A great measuring stick when it comes to evaluating our maturity of our relationship with God is to evaluate the quality of our relationship with others …they go hand in hand! In other words, the Gospel is not just the answer to your internal struggles, sins and idols, it is also the answer to your failure to love others, engage the culture and live missionally. Make no mistake, if the gospel is transforming you internally, IT WILL also be propelling you externally! The kingdom of God is not personal and private …take a look at Jesus’s life …His 33 years on this earth changed history! You can thank GOD that His Son did not keep what He knew to be true to himself …He made it known! Paul wrote to the Galatians “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13). There is freedom in knowing Christ and Paul clearly warns us in this verse that our sinful hearts can take the benefits of the gospel and use them for selfish purposes! The mission of Integrity Hockey is clear …are you using your freedom in Christ to further the mission or not? If so …keep it up, if not, why not and what needs to change?
An Integrity Hockey Stop~n~Think – 1.27.2023
