transformation

Slaves to the Stone and Mason

Rachel Chimits

What do our struggles with sin and the troubles of life have to say about our relationship with God?

Michelangelo grew to great fame thanks to his ability to capture the human body’s dynamics and power through paintings and stonework. Centuries later, he is still legendary for his art. Most people have at least seen pictures of the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling and the David or Pietà statues.

God’s Fire Still Burns

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

Sadly, much of Christ’s body today resembles a modern-day Valley of Dry Bones (see Ezekiel 37:1-14). It is a wilderness filled with the bleached skeletons of fallen Christians. Ministers and other devoted believers have flamed out because of a besetting sin. Now they are filled with shame, hiding out in caves of their own making. Like Jeremiah, they have convinced themselves, “I will not make mention of [the Lord], nor speak anymore in His name” (Jeremiah 20:9, NKJV).

Clothed in Christ’s Power

Gary Wilkerson

Putting on our new self is really important for Christians. It will affect the way we live our lives. It will affect the way that we receive the redemptive power of Jesus Christ. It has an impact on every aspect of our lives. Putting on the new self is the way to live out that new life that God gives us.

This is critical because it shows that a real meeting with God has taken place and the transformation of our hearts has begun.

All the Signs of New Life

Steve Otradovec

Distance, struggles, pain and Satan’s lies can cause us to question God, our faith, and our impact for the kingdom of heaven.

As a trainer and facilitator of poverty solution teams in Southeast Asia, I sometimes ask myself, “Are we impacting and transforming lives? Is the kingdom of God actually working through us to push back the darkness and bring forth hope, abundant life and reconciliation?” 

The answers to these questions are in the signs of new life. 

Living in True Transformation

Gary Wilkerson

There is an important lesson to take note of in the story of Noah. The tigers went into the ark and didn’t come back out plant eaters. Their nature did not change by being in the ark. The animals were saved from the flood. That is their lives were preserved for a time, but their natures did not change. They were not transformed. The tiger did not repent of eating other animals; he stayed the way he was.