As Jesus followers we are called into the Kingdom Life. This blog will help us converse and learn what that means. It will contain thoughts on Scripture, Sermon Reflection, Leadership Training and interesting reads. -Pastor Jeff

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Contagious Ethos = Core Values (Part 2)

A friend of mine is fond of saying, "God loves us just as we are, but loves us too much to leave us as we are."  I think this one statement captures much of what is at the heart of God's passion for our lives.   God without a doubt meets us where we are.  He loves us.  His love is preemptive.  It comes before anything we do and anything we change in our lives.  In fact the Bible says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)  There is nothing more you could do to earn the love of God.  It comes completely without any of our own merit.  That is very good news. 

However, God's love is thorough.  It's a love that once received moves into the depths of our being and "transforms" us from the inside out.  In the love of God, who we are now is not who we were created to be.  We are all on the way...all on our journey of becoming.  That's humbling right?  None of us have arrived.  None of us are a finished project.  God is at work in each of our lives refining, pruning, reshaping, changing, remolding and any other descriptive term you can think of that signifies transformation. 

Here at BridgeWay, we value transformation.  We believe that transformation creates the contagious ethos, culture, environment that we've been describing these last couple of days.  People are drawn to movements that have the potential and power to change their lives.  There is nothing compelling about a message that leaves us stuck in the same spot day in and day out.  Why get up early on a Sunday morning, invest hours in reading the bible, serve selflessly people you don't know or give up unhealthy compulsions if at the end of the day there is no change?  Only when our lives are transformed by the love of God through the power of God are we able to serve as a shining light in a dark world. 

NOTE:  Your light should brighten year after year as you grow in faith.  If you are only as bright as you were when you began this journey...God longs to do a work in you.

There are no excuses as a follower of Jesus.  When we get angry, resentful, bitter, easily frustrated or whatever, we can't simply say, "Well, that's just how I am."  That may be how you are right now, but I promise you that if you give Jesus full access to every aspect and element of your life that He won't leave you like that for long.  Ultimately, God's hope and promise for your life is that you begin to resemble Jesus more and more daily.  This journey of growth and intentional transformation is the path to becoming the person that God envisions us to be, the person that he desires to use in powerful ways.

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