Topic: What a Great Change! [Sunday October 25, 2015]
Text: Acts 9:23-31
Key Verse: “And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him” (Acts 9:23).
When someone becomes truly born-again, the evidence are very clear. Apart from the changed lifestyle and conduct, there is also a dramatic change in virtually every other sphere of life. As we look at our text today, this is what we see. Paul, who was once an admired champion of the Jews, suddenly became the target of their assassination plot. He had previously championed the persecution of Christians.
He masterminded the killing and imprisonment of many of them. It was even while he was on the way for the same mission that he had the unforgettable encounter with Christ. Now that he was born again, he switched loyalty. He was no longer loyal to the cause of the Jews but had become a bond slave of Christ.
He now preached the gospel he once denounced and sought the fellowship of the Christians he once despised. The change that took place in his life left no doubt in any one that he had truly encountered Christ. What a great change! When someone becomes truly born again, the changes cannot be hidden.
It is not only his life and conduct that will change, his associates and friends too will. His focus and pursuit, ambitions and goals, will all become turned around. Paul now has only one goal, which is to do whatever the Lord wants. As heaven rejoices over his conversion, so does hell roar in anger. Are you newly converted and wonder why those who once loved you now turn their backs on you? Does it make you feel you have taken a wrong decision? Not at all! You are just on the right track. The changes that you see in you and the oppositions they now attract are enough evidence to show you are now a new creature. Like Paul, you don’t have to be discouraged or ashamed of your new found faith. Seek out and fellowship with the people of God.
Thought for the day: It is difficult to hide a life that is truly changed
Bible Reading in one Year: Proverbs 12-14
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
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