Last week fpStudents experienced the beginning of a movement.  Trust me, it was WAY MORE than just “camp” as we saw students break free from many things in their life and commit to chasing after God forever.  They are poised to make an incredible impact on East Tennessee, and it all starts with the recognition that they, and we, need to be transformed.

Philippians 2:12-15 “…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,  for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.”

In Philippians Paul shows us that our transformation begins at the point of salvation, but we continue to “work it out.”  There is a process that we must go through where God works in us so we can become blameless and pure.  Wherever you are in the process, the key thing to remember is that you still need to be transformed.

Why do you need to be transformed? Because you’re not dead yet. If you’re not dead, then God’s not done! God’s plan is to transform you…not into a perfect Christian robot, but something pure among the wickedness of the world…a beam of bright light in the midst of the dark sky.  That’s why we need to be transformed…because the more we chase after God, the more we look like Jesus, and the more the world is drawn to Him and will be saved.  Therefore God’s purpose is for those who love Him to share His reconciliation with those who don’t.

We all have the need for salvation.  We can’t make our own way to Heaven, that’s why Jesus death and resurrection is so vital to our relationship with God.  But beyond that, we have a need to be transformed.  We don’t need to become perfect in order to have a relationship with God, but once we start that relationship and continue to see who He is and how much He loves us…we can’t possibly stay the same…we must continue the process of transformation!

Pray with me for this generation.  Not that they will become something great by solving the debt crisis and creating world peace…but that they will be marked by representing Christ through their transformation.  And that will truly change the world!