"When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer!" Acts 9:26
Most recently, I had an 'old' Facebook friend and running buddy send me a 'new' friend request. But since his new profile picture looked very professional and different from his old one, I was just sure his account had been compromised and so deleted the request. However, when I received another request a few days later I decided to ask him about it, texting "Did you get a new Facebook page or have you been hacked?" His exact response? "I made a new one. My old page had a lot of old material that didn't represent me anymore."
And you know, when it comes to leaving our past behind and starting fresh, the Bible is clear that anyone who chooses to follow Christ immediately becomes a 'new' person and their old life is gone. So why do many of us find that hard to believe then? Consider the apostles. After Saul's conversion, "he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer!" And aren't we so much like those “believers”? We are hesitant to believe that some people can be changed too. But if God can change Saul, he can change anyone!
So may you and I remember that the anyone the Bible speaks of that can be made new by accepting Christ means everyone, no matter their past. James McDonald says it this way, "No matter if a person was a murderer, adulterer, liar, cheater, or thief, we all have equal access to become a new creation." Believe it my friend because it is true.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the reminder that You have the power to change even the worst of sinners. Help us to look beyond a person's past that we might see the new person that they have become when they chose to follow You. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!!!
New Creation - Leeland
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