Dear Redeeming Grace,

In his message last Sunday, Jason reminded us that Jesus powerfully transforms idolatrous hearts. For each and every one of us who have been saved by grace through faith in Christ, this is true of us!

We may not have statues on our shelves, but many things battle for the title of "greatest treasure" in our hearts. We are confronted with the first commandment to have no other gods before the only true God. At times we can be like the young man in Mark's gospel, boasting in the commands we've kept, while there are things we aren't willing to "sell" in order to have treasure in heaven. (Mark 10:17-22).

But, the message of the gospel is that God transformed us when he made us new in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 makes this clear: 

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

Even though we battle against remaining sin and competing loves, the power of God is at work in us making us more like Jesus day by day. As Jason said, "The power is a person." So, we keep looking to Christ daily, trusting him and his power.

We can be confident that the one who made us new is still at work transforming us into his likeness for his glory and our good.