Wow, what a day Thursday was! It was filled with dynamic worship, powerful prayer meetings, and I just came from a worship celebration with Maxie Dunham preaching. Maxie is an author and former president of Asbury Theological Seminary, and one of the most respected voices of the confessing movement within the United Methodist Church. In what can only be called a powerful presentation, Dunham reminded us that the purpose of the Gospel was not only to get us into the Kingdom, but to also get the Kingdom into us. That is to say, once we encounter the risen Christ and place our faith in Jesus (salvation), we will be transformed (sanctification). We will be different people. It may not happen immediately, but it could. We will most likely look the same, but we'll appear different to others. We will think differently; we will act differently. God longs for us to be saved, but once we’re saved, God longs for us to be made holy. And once on the road to perfection we become bold witnesses of the Risen Lord. Why? Because the Spirit of the Living God now lives in us, and with the help of the Spirit our purpose is not to survive, but to thrive as witnesses of Jesus Christ.
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