A Changed Life

Before and after photos can be fake or fascinating. An internet search shows everything from make-up transformations to jaw surgery, no hair compared to hair transplants, obesity to slim and trim, crooked teeth to perfect white teeth. Most photos are about human appearance and made me wonder what the changes did for the person who had been transformed. Did it make them kinder? More gracious? In many cases, confidence in themselves might change, but an outward change does not mean a new person, only a new look.

This was not true for Saul of Tarsus. He was a Jew who said, “I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.” (Philippians 3:4–6)

Scripture does not describe his appearance, but a clear before and after. In his zeal for God, he “was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.” (Acts 8:3) Then one day . . .  

While still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, he went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” (Acts 9:1–6)

The NT goes on to describe a changed man. After Jesus encountered him, instead of persecuting Christians, he preached Christ, edified his new family, and said:

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death . . . . (Philippians 3:7–11)

He still looked the same, yet he was a new person. He wrote:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:17–21)

And he told Christians, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9–11)

Their before didn’t matter; their lives were changed. He knew that God can transform anyone, even those deep in sin, and make them new, even treating them just as if they had never sinned.

He changed my life and now I pray with hope for others who seem without interest in Jesus, or are in cults, or who have lost their way in a sinful life. He turned Saul around; He turned me around; He can turn anyone around and bring them to Himself.

PRAY: Lord Jesus, You know those on my heart who seem hopelessly beyond reach, yet You also know how to draw them to Yourself. My faith is in Your grace and power, not in their character or lack of it. Nothing and no heart is too hard for You to soften. I’m so thankful for new life in Christ and that I know I am a child of God, no matter what I once was or did. Wonderful Jesus, wonderful Savior!

READ Luke 19:1–10. How did the crowd react when Jesus went to Zaccheus’ house? What prompted Jesus to say that salvation had come to Zaccheus?

 

 

The Good Shepherd’s transforming and never-ending care

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake . . . . Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:1-3, 6)

Before and after photos intrigue me. They might depict anything from old/new hairdos to old/new landscaping, kitchen renovations, repairs to a car or a face lift.

My ‘before’ picture is this: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way . . .”

The line / between it and the ‘after’ picture is cross-shaped with these words: “ . . . but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6)

The ‘after’ picture is this: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27–28).

In brief, this is it: “sinner |Jesus | saved sinner.” In the wonder of all that Jesus has done for me, I still often feel as if my ‘after’ picture looks too much like the ‘before’ picture. My heart longs for greater renewal, more and more to be like Jesus, yet I stumble and fall and see that I am not there yet.

However, God assures me that He is my Shepherd and I belong to Him. He is taking care of me. This morning I read three passages and noticed the beginning and ending of both. The first was the 23rd Psalm as written above. It begins with the Shepherd’s care and ends with living forever in His eternal home. I thought about those cows that I wrote about a few weeks ago. Their caregiver is not providing green pastures. They are dirty and unkempt. Jesus would never do that to His sheep. His goodness and mercy are our daily portion. We may not be without sin here, but all will be gone when we enter the perfection we long for and are in glory with Him.

The next beginning/ending is from Psalm 84 . . .

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. (Psalm 84:1–2)

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you! (Psalm 84:10–12)

The longing in my heart is often so strong that it becomes painful. Unless I can be all that God wants me to be, I feel as if I will perish, but God’s goodness and mercy is never withheld. He bestows good things on those who trust Him. Life has its ups and downs, but the Lord blesses His sheep and takes us through it all, giving us His light and His protection. How lovely.

The third beginning/end came from Hebrews . . .

 . . . Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:4–6)

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20–21)

How can I be content with what I have, money or otherwise? By remembering that God is with me, that He is my Shepherd and that He will equip me with everything good so I can do His will. It isn’t my work for Him that pleases God, but His work in me. This is the / between the ‘before’ and the ‘after.’

In the ‘before’ life, I lived my way and for me. In the ‘after,’ my life is lived for Christ, and is not for my glory but for His.

This is a long post, partly because what God says to me is rich and has more significance than I can give words to or fit into this space. The other reason is this is the last in a devotional series on the 23rd Psalm and I have been so blessed in this study. Tomorrow, I begin another two-month booklet on a different topic, but I want to linger here and think about all that the Lord, my Good Shepherd has done and is doing in my life.