“People Can Change”


BIBLE READING: Acts 13-16

                Have you ever watched a movie twice?  I don’t mean something like “Frozen” or a “Barney” movie that you turned on to keep you children occupied.  I mean, have you actually, willingly, watched a film twice? I guess we all have our favorites that we catch often like “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back”.  As a young teenager, I can fondly remember going to the local Budget Video and picking up the fourth installment of the Rocky series cleverly entitled “Rocky IV”. I had never seen any of the Rocky movies because we did not have cable and had just recently purchased a Beta VCR (which cost over $800, if I remember correctly).  Rocky IV was not only the first film that made me weep for joy, it also gave me a huge adrenaline rush making me believe I could run a four-minute mile.  Other than giving me those unique emotions, it was the first movie that when I finished watching it, I immediately rewound the movie and watched it again.  The film had many memorable moments, but Rocky’s final speech at the end, defeating the Russian, gets me every time.   After the fight he says, "During this fight, I've seen a lot of changing, in the way you feel about me, and in the way I feel about you. In here, there were two guys killing each other, but I guess that's better than twenty million. I guess what I'm trying to say is, that if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!" His point was, it doesn’t matter who you are or how strong your convictions might be, change is possible.  Acts 15 gives us a perfect example of that happening.  Earlier on in the ministry of Jesus, the Bible tells us that not even His brother believed in Him (John 7.1-6). One of those brothers that didn’t believe in Jesus was James.  When Jesus is resurrected from the dead, I Corinthians 15.7 tells us that Jesus specifically went to see James to visit Him before He ascended.  My guess is that something about the meeting with Jesus caused James to completely change his reasoning.  We know this because in Acts 15, James it a major player in the church in Jerusalem.  He is also the one responsible for writing the book of James.  The resurrection changed Him from being an unbeliever, to a believer.  The devotional thought for us today is this: the time you have lost in not believing in Jesus doesn’t matter, nor how wicked and sinful you may have been; when you come to understand the true nature of the resurrection, it has the power to change you.  If it changed James, it can change us as well.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Colors of Christmas: Green

  Discussion:                                    Evergreen plants, like holly and mistletoe have been used for thousands of years to decorate and brighten up buildings during the long dark winter. They also reminded people that spring would come and winter wouldn't last forever! The Romans would exchange evergreen branches during January as a sign of good luck. The ancient Egyptians used to bring palm branches into their houses during the mid-winter festivals. In many parts of Europe during the Middle Ages, “paradise plays” were performed, often on Christmas Eve. They told Bible stories to people who couldn't read. “The Paradise Tree” in the Garden of Eden in the play was normally a pine tree with red apples tied to it. Today, think about the newness of life we have because we are in Christ. The old man could represent the dark winter and the barren trees. Then think of the bright Christmas trees that are so easily seen! … Help brighten someone’s life this week! Inform
Read more

“Blow-out in Boston”

BIBLE READING: Luke 14 DISCUSSION                                                                                       Boston Globe's account in June 1990 of a most unusual wedding banquet… Accompanied by her fiancé, a woman went to the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Boston and ordered the meal. The two of them poured over the menu, made selections of china and silver, and pointed to pictures of the flower arrangements they liked. They both had expensive taste, and the bill came to $13,000. After leaving a check for half that amount as down payment, the couple went home to flip through books of wedding announcements. The day the announcements were supposed to hit the mailbox, the groom got cold feet. "I'm just not sure," he said. "It's a big commitment. Let's think about this a little longer." When his angry fiancé returned to the Hyatt to cancel the banquet, the manager could not have been more understanding. However, concerning the refund, she h
Read more

“Is there Joy in your Heart?”

  DISCUSSION:                              There are so many things going on in this world today that it is easy to let worry have more room in our heart than happiness. In the medical world, we are constantly being reminded of the preventive medicine we need. Unlike 60 years ago when health only entered our minds when we got sick, today we are told continually of so much that can happen to our health if we don’t have this test run, take this pill, or get this shot to prevent some type of virus infecting us. If you allow it, you can give this too much attention. Of course, it is important to have good health. As we get older it really seems to get a lot more of our attention. Don’t let worry about your health take your eyes off the cross. The words of God given wisdom from Solomon in Proverbs 4, we see that a physically healthy heart is important, but to keep focused on good things to keep our spiritual heart clean and healthy. There is no medical test in place to make sure we are
Read more