Information VS Transformation

Have you ever had one of those days where God spoke to you in so many ways that you couldn't ignore Him? The random reminders from my weekend have led me to this empty screen with the cursor blinking in front of me. My head is full of so many thoughts with so little organization. So before I go any further, I am asking God to speak through me.

Lord, give me the words to share my heart with clarity. Give me the courage to be vulnerable and the wisdom to voice what You have laid on my heart.

I spent the weekend with my best friend who recently moved to Dothan, three hours away. I was blessed to worship with her family at their new church and listened to very inspiring lessons in their Life Groups and in the church service. The first thing that snatched me up from my daydreaming was when Brother Van said, "We're not here for information. We're here for transformation." Wow. How many of us can really say we go to church to be transformed? How many of us sit in the pews and jot down a few notes so we can say we listened without ever taking to heart what God has spoken? I know I'm guilty of that sometimes most of the time. I'm tired of going to church to play the role of "Christian." I think we have enough people trying out for that part in the Play of Life. I'd like to be different.

So how can we do that? First of all, what would set us apart and make us stand out as someone who really comes to church looking for transformation? And then, how do we get there? Brother Van clarified this for me. We have to invest in people. SPLASH is the acronym he shared. Show People Love And Share Him. If I want to be transformed I have to make it a point to love people, even when it's hard. I think the only way to do that is to pray for a transformation in our hearts--not just once, but on a daily basis! I am going to beg God to change my heart. I feel like I've wasted so much time investing in things that don't matter. I sometimes spend hours on Facebook, when I could be out connecting with someone face-to-face and making a difference in someone's life. I'm praying God will change me from the inside out, starting with my heart. When my heart has changed, my actions will reflect those changes.

I am the first one to call others out on this subject of actions matching up with words, and I've discovered I'm just as guilty of this discrepancy. I spend so many Sundays in church, but very few of them are more than informational meetings for me. I gather information that I can file away in my head, but how often am I letting these things soak into my heart? If I'm honest, it's not very often. I can make it seem like I've absorbed the information, but I think that's because I've gotten pretty amazing at acting. Maybe I should move to Hollywood and get a role on the big screen playing a Christian. :-)

So my resolution is to start from here and make a change. I want to be transformed, and I want to invest in people. I could wallow in regret over the time I've already wasted, but that will only waste more time! Like the Addison Road song says, "Every moment is a second chance at starting over." So this is my moment and this is my new start.