By Greg Laurie
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new
creation has come:[a]
The old has gone, the new is here! 2
Corinthians 5:17
During a visit to
the Pacific Northwest a few years ago, I met a man who told me he had been
heavily into alcohol and drugs, and his marriage, in his own words, had been
hanging by a thread. One day, he took a gun, loaded it, and was planning to
kill himself. Then, he turned on the TV. There on the screen was a Harvest
Crusade, where I was sharing a message called, "How to Get Right with
God."
He said, "God
began to speak to me. When you led those people in prayer, I prayed and asked
Jesus Christ to come into my life." After he found Christ, he realized he
needed to reconcile with his father. So, he rode his motorcycle across the
country to see his dad. That's a long, long ride on a motorcycle. It shows me
that he had really met God, and there was a change in his life.
When God healed Naaman of his leprosy, the Syrian general wanted to show his gratitude with a gift. Saul, at his conversion, said to the Lord, "What do You want me to do?" (Acts 9:6). The Philippian jailer, after becoming a believer, washed the backs of those he had previously whipped. And Zacchaeus, after he became a believer, wanted to restore what he had stolen from others.
If you have truly found a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, you will change. That doesn't mean you need to change your life before you can come to Christ. But it does mean that when you come to Christ, you will change and your priorities will change.
When God healed Naaman of his leprosy, the Syrian general wanted to show his gratitude with a gift. Saul, at his conversion, said to the Lord, "What do You want me to do?" (Acts 9:6). The Philippian jailer, after becoming a believer, washed the backs of those he had previously whipped. And Zacchaeus, after he became a believer, wanted to restore what he had stolen from others.
If you have truly found a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, you will change. That doesn't mean you need to change your life before you can come to Christ. But it does mean that when you come to Christ, you will change and your priorities will change.
