Pastor's Page: I've Been Changed!

This is a short devotional formatted to fit a church bulletin page (in a large print font) which churches may freely reproduce, if the blog address is cited.

We are blessed from time to time with wonderful divine encounters which move us emotionally. Often we are so filled that we are moved to tears and could shout, "Glory to God!"

These are wonderful moments to be cherished. Many of us especially experienced this when we first accepted Christ. We'd love to linger in these moments, but the world is too much around us. After a while, even the afterglow starts to dim.

While some may think that the emotional experience is what is supremely important, this is not the essence of true spirituality. True spirituality is centered in our relationship with God. The essential product of that relationship is Christ-likeness. Our goal is not some spiritual "high," as wonderful as it truly is. Rather, the goal is a changed life, especially as we live in a world which is hostile to Christ's kingdom.

Week after week, I pray that people would be changed through our Sunday worship. Certainly, I pray for radical change which comes through our initial experience of God's saving grace. But more basic for God's people is the change which occurs little by little every week as we gather around Christ's throne and worship him every Sunday morning.Let's be faithful to all our services, truly worshiping Christ, so that all may see how we're becoming to look like him!