Wednesday, March 3, 2010

John 1: 40- 42

Two disciples of John the Baptist followed Jesus that day... One of them, Andrew, went and found his brother Simon Peter and told him they had found the Messiah, the Christ. Andrew then brought Simon Peter to Jesus.
  • He first found his brother-- I remember when I first got saved, even though I didn't fully understand what had happened to me and what it all meant, I couldn't wait to tell my family and friends what had happened to me. I knew something had happened- something inside me changed! I knew I had been forgiven of my sin- I felt clean, pure, free- and I wanted my family to experience this also. I wanted them to come to Jesus because Jesus had done this for me. My family did not come as Simon Peter came. They thought I was crazy. Eventually two members of my family came to meet Jesus. One of them followed for awhile and then stopped following, stopped believing, stopped obeying His Word. The other is still following, still believing, still seeking to obey His Word. My friends forsook me but God gave me new friends, a new family and how I praise Him.
  • Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter. He gave him a new name, a name which represented his new nature.
Our part is to bring people to Jesus. We are God's witnesses. When He does His work in us the natural overflow is to tell others about Him. We are to point the way to Jesus. We tell them He is the only Savior who can forgive their sin rescuing them from the power and bondage of sin, which tells them they are in need of His saving power. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin- makes them aware of their sinfulness, of their judgement because of the sin. The Holy Spirit convinces them of Christ's righteousness as the only One who can forgive them, showing them He is the only Savior. When this happens they are genuinely born again. If the Holy Spirit does not do this work in them it does not matter if they pray a prayer, go to an altar, or get baptized. They may be able to clean themselves up for a while in the excitement of the moment but in the long run they cannot continue the facade. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit living Christ's life in us that we can continue to follow Him. I wish people understood this vital truth- it would help them not try to do so much in the flesh.
Jesus changed me, He gave me a new name, a new position, a new purpose, a new life.....
from sinner to saint
        lost    to found
       dead   to  living
       fickle   to faithful
       slave   to  free
       dark    to  light
get the picture?
all to the praise of the glory of His marvelous grace...

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