Today @ The Gathering we continued our summer series “12 Steps Up: How Messy People Mature” with Step #6, talking about Gearing Up. Gearing up for what? Gearing up to truly change, not just repeat old failures and past religious hang-ups.
To truly change we have to believe that God has our best at heart. Think about it. When the Scriptures tell us that God predestined us, He thought about us. He foreknew us. He saw us long before we were born. He knew what would happen to us. He knew the failures, the stupid things we would get involved with. And yet He still decided to say “Yes.” For all the reasons he could have said “No” he said, “Yes.” So what is His plan? It’s easy. The Scriptures tell us that we be conformed to the image of His son. What did Jesus look like? Loving, gracious, happy, energetic, creative, sacrificial: all the things that make life worth living.
But to get them, we have to be changed. The Scriptures say, “conformed.” And you know that anything that requires being squeezed into another shape is going to be a little painful. So today we talked about what God wants to take away, and what He wants to add. The most important things are the things He wants to add. But we have to be ready; ready to let God take away and add to. That takes courage. Most of all it takes conversion.
Today we told you how to let God give you a converted heart.