transformation – Somerset Church of Christ

June 26, 2025

Be the change for good

man and woman carrying medicine and food labelled cardboard boxes behind a white van

There’s an old expression in the church that was used to sniff out supposed heretics. That term was “change agent.” Change agents refer to individuals who advocate for significant alterations in the church’s practices, beliefs, or structure and were accused of deviating from the church’s “norms” or traditions. The problem is that this term is incredibly subjective and many were over-labeling people as change agents when they simply were trying to do good for the kingdom.

There is nothing inherently wrong with change or doing new things, so long as they are in step with God’s commandments. God himself said, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19 ESV). Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

Renewal. Transformation. Change. These are all good things when they align with God’s good and perfect will. It’s our duty to seek and follow the will of God. Oftentimes even well-intentioned people follow their own desires, thinking it is God’s will when it is not. Following God’s will requires discipline and a vast amount of scripture reading and prayer. As Christians, we can be change agents for good! We can be transformed to become more like Christ. This is the change we should be after!

March 22, 2023

We Are Being Transformed

We all know that Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church was pretty harsh. Paul spoke very boldly concerning their divisiveness that was driving Christians back into their former paganism. There was little tolerance for such behavior in the church. Christians were fighting over spiritual gifts, were living in rampant sexual sin–the kind that even pagans were ashamed of, they were getting drunk at the Lord’s supper and excluding the poor, their worship was complete chaos, and women and men volleyed for status in the church, to name a few.

In Paul’s second letter, he reminds them again that that behavior belongs to a former life. Now they have hope through Christ Jesus. Then he made an extremely bold statement: “Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end” (2 Cor. 3:12, 13 ESV). We are very bold, not like Moses! Now that’s a bold statement! Last time I checked, Moses sort of led the Israelites across dry ground in the middle of the Red Sea. Moses also appeared and spoke with Jesus when he was transfigured on the mountain!

Speaking of being transfigured, Paul goes on in 2 Corinthians 2, after telling them that they are bolder than Moses, to say that they “are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (Vs. 18). The word he used is the same word Matthew and Mark used to say that Jesus was transformed or transfigured in front of them! So now we Christians, through the Spirit, are also being transformed with Christ the same image. In other words, we are becoming just like Christ by mirroring his image. This, in turn, gives us absolute boldness to tell other people about Christ.

October 22, 2019

The Beauty of Blessing

When we hear the word “blessing,” we often think of rewards. Think about it. What is the context of “blessing” that is used over and over again? Typically we talk about rewards, and most often we use it in the context of our rewards. What we don’t hear very often is blessings being placed in the context of righteousness and repentance.

In Isaiah, Israel will bless other people by displaying righteousness and calling people to repentance: “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Isaiah 42:6-7 ESV).

Israel is kept by God, who holds their hand. They do not walk this path alone. God does not abandon His people or leave them stranded on some vacant island. Rather, God walks with His people, hand-in-hand, to instruct them in how to live as children of light. He gives them as a covenant for the people, to open the eyes of the blind and to call people out of the darkness of the prison of sin.

Through God, this is how we bless people still today. We free the oppressed. We give to the needy. We sit with the broken. We teach them to do right by our righteousness. We call them to repentance in the name of Christ. Transformed lives are the beauty of blessing!

Photo by Matt Collamer on Unsplash