A reminder for
today
But they had
heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith
which once he destroyed. (Galatians 1:23)
I woke up this morning with a sore throat and a blocked
nose. My first thoughts were “Awesome, no work” lol. And then I was off to the
gym. I must be fanatic, oh yes, I am. So, I am sitting here at work feeling
very sorry for myself with pain and stiffness from this week’s workouts and
then this lovely flu that is busy working his way into my life. How do we
change a heart?
Now there is a question? Paul is probably one of the most
amazing stories in history of a heart turned towards Jesus and a life devoted
to His truth. Paul as we know persecuted and killed the followers of Jesus
until one fine day on his way to Damascus, he met Jesus. This meeting altered
his life forever and made him one of the most determined followers of Jesus and
writer of the largest part of the new testament. Now you must consider the
irony for a moment. Here was a man taught in the law of God and very good
scholar in the books of the old testament. You can say he was a bit of a
specialist in his field. Now this hardened scholar did not think for a moment
that Jesus was who he said He was and he (Paul) was also influenced by the
leaders of the church.
Now, determined to end this false teaching he left for Damascus
to destroy these Jesus people. On his way, the Lord appeared to him and asked
him one simple question. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
"Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?"
Who are you, lord?" Saul asked. And the voice replied,
"I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the
city, and you will be told what you must do."
This was the end of Saul and the beginning of Paul. A man
changed by the truth. You see the minute the Lord spoke to him all those years
of studying the scriptures suddenly made sense and it all fell into place. You can
see this in how Paul explains Jesus in his books. Paul’s heart changed by the
light of Jesus. So, in this we see that the Lord can change any heart and
change any person. If you remember we looked at the life of Lee Strobel in the
movie “A case for Christ” and how Jesus changed him.
Jesus can change any heart. We must never forget the power
of prayer and how it can affect the lives of those around us. When you go to
your knees tonight in prayer, keep those you work with and those you meet in
those prayers and watch as the Lord does miracles around you.
Lord, we are in awe of what happens when you change a heart.
Touch our hearts today and light a fire in us to carry your words with us and
share your gospel fearlessly and without holding anything back. In Jesus name.
Have an awesome day, dear friend of Jesus.
Cheers
