{"id":4865,"date":"2020-08-21T16:25:30","date_gmt":"2020-08-21T20:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michigancog.org\/?p=4865"},"modified":"2020-08-21T16:25:30","modified_gmt":"2020-08-21T20:25:30","slug":"fall-blog-2020-transformational","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/michigancog.org\/fall-blog-2020-transformational\/","title":{"rendered":"Fall Blog 2020 – \u201cTransformational\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

I think most people would agree that 2020 hasn\u2019t been the best year ever.\u00a0 <\/span>We have and are still facing COVID-19; we now live with a new normal.\u00a0 <\/span>However, COVID-19 will not hinder the changing of summer to fall.\u00a0 <\/span>Just this week (August 20), I have felt some fall breezes and cooler temperatures.\u00a0 <\/span>Summer is changing, transforming into fall.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Change is an ongoing part of life.\u00a0 <\/span>Change is constant.\u00a0 <\/span>Change is the new norm.\u00a0 <\/span>Our spiritual lives call for more than slight changes; they are in need of transformation.\u00a0 <\/span>Webster theologically defines transform, \u201cTo transform is to change the natural disposition and temper of a man from a state of enmity to God and His law into a disposition and temper conformed to the will of God.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Simply put, transform is a change in character.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, I have chosen \u201cTransformational\u201d as theme for\u00a0 <\/span>the Michigan Church of God church year, 2020-2021.\u00a0 <\/span>I believe God wants to change lives and hearts.\u00a0 <\/span>Recently I read an article by Ed Stetzer on change and I want to share three brief points on transformation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Real transformation starts with new life, not just a new leaf<\/i>.\u00a0 <\/span>II Corinthians 5:17 (NKJ) \u201cTherefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>The very heart of the Gospel message revolves around transformation.\u00a0 <\/span>Jesus calls it being \u201cborn again\u201d John 3:3. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Transformation is a process not a destination<\/i>.\u00a0 <\/span>All of us are on a journey, and things are changing hopefully in us and around us.\u00a0 <\/span>Now, not all change, of course, is good.\u00a0 <\/span>However, we should be growing maturing.\u00a0 <\/span>Philippians 1:6 (NKJ) \u201cBeing confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, transformation changes our focus<\/i>.\u00a0 <\/span>A believer sees things differently after he\/she is born again.\u00a0 <\/span>II Corinthians 5:15 (NKJ) \u201cAnd He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Church, it\u2019s all about Him not us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Join me in this \u201cTransformational\u201d year.\u00a0 <\/span>Lives are going to be changed, and communities will be impacted.\u00a0 <\/span>God will do this through His power.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think most people would agree that 2020 hasn\u2019t been the best year ever.\u00a0 We have and are still facing COVID-19; we now live with a new normal.\u00a0 However, COVID-19…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/michigancog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4865"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/michigancog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/michigancog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michigancog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michigancog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/michigancog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4865\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/michigancog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michigancog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michigancog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}