When Jesus Changes Lives - The Crosswalk Devotional - June 23
When Jesus Changes Lives
By Kyle Norman
Bible Reading:
“Immediately Saul began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.” Acts 9:20
We often use the language of “having faith”, but that makes it seem like faith is a possession we hold. Or maybe faith is a tool we keep in our spiritual utility belts, only to be used when we need to solve some spiritual problem. But faith, biblically, is a verb – it is an action, a way of life. This is why the followers of Jesus were initially called “Followers of the Way.” Meeting the risen Jesus naturally changes us. Jesus changes our habits, our behaviors, our attitudes, and the very way in which we live.
Here’s the thing: Scripture continually tells the same story. When people meet the risen Jesus, they meet a Lord who changes their lives. There are many examples of this. Take Saul, for example. Acts 9 begins by stating that Saul was breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples (Acts 9:1). But if you jump just 20 verses later, we hear that he is in the synagogues proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah. That’s quite the change, isn’t it! Those two bookend verses highlight that something big must have happened to change this man so dramatically. Of course, there was. Saul had an encounter with the risen Jesus.
The same thing happens to Ananias. As Saul is praying and fasting on Straight Street, trying to make sense of his experience on the road to Damascus, the Lord appears to Ananias. Jesus calls him to go to Saul and pray for him. But Ananias initially expresses some hesitation. He’s heard of Saul, knows his reputation, and responds to the Lord, questioning if this is the person he was to see. But Jesus calls Ananias to step out in bold faith, and to witness and pray for someone he never thought he would.
And then, of course, there is Peter. Who can forget Peter, lovable, somewhat dim-witted Peter? Not only does Peter deny knowing Jesus, not once, but three times, he does this immediately after he tells Jesus I will never do that! And not only does he deny his Lord, but he also curses himself while doing so. And yet when he meets the risen Lord, affirming his love for him, Peter is called to a new life of ministry and leadership.
All these people have their lives changed because they meet the risen Jesus. Jesus calls them to embrace a different way of life. Saul accepted the risen Jesus, preaching what he once denied. Ananias, to reach out to someone he never thought he would, and Peter, to become the head of this rag-tag movement called “Followers of The Way”. In each person, in ways unique to what Jesus wanted to do in them and through them, Jesus works a transformation.
So, if Jesus changed the lives of all these people, don’t you think he might come to us and change our lives, too?
Intersecting Faith and Life
Isn’t it great that nobody works out of Jesus's gracious acceptance? There is no one who is deemed unworthy; there is no one for whom Jesus will not come and meet in his grace. At times, it may be tempting to think that Jesus doesn’t want to work in us or through us. We may even fear that a sin or some insufficiency in our life may cause Jesus to refuse us.
But let’s be honest, if Jesus refused anyone, wouldn’t he refuse the person breathing murderous threats against his followers? Or if not Saul, surely it would be Peter, right? If there is anyone who would have done something to remove themselves from the blessings of Jesus, it’s the one who denied him so boldly.
If Jesus does not reject Saul, Peter, or any of the disciples who turned their backs and ran away, why would Jesus ever refuse us?
Where do you think that Jesus wants to make a change in your life? What might Jesus want to address? Like Saul, is there an action that Jesus might want you to move away from? Is there a new direction that Jesus wants you to pursue? Or, like Ananias, is there a person that Jesus wants you to embrace? Or maybe you feel more like Peter. If so, is there a sin that Jesus wants to cover in his love?
Meeting the risen Jesus means meeting the one who transforms our lives. In every case, in every case, Jesus comes and calls us to embrace new life. But we must embrace the voice of Jesus. We must be open to Him and follow Him. So, how might you accept the change Jesus wants to make in you? True, it might involve a process, an about-face, and maybe a time of prayer and wrestling, but on the other end of Christ’s work is a life lived in the grace, forgiveness, and power of the Living God.
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