I'm not the person I was!

As we continue to live through a time when large meetings are, legally, unavailable, I am reminded of a woman who, some years ago, was contacting her Secondary School classmates about a reunion to mark 35 years since they had left their school. Many were excited about renewing old friendships. One man apparently wrote back to her: "I have the 5 Bs - baldness; bifocals; bridgework; bulges; and bunions." Being, as he must have been, still in his early 50s, I dread to think of the lifestyle he had been leading! A woman quipped: "I wasn't half the woman then, that I am today." - apparently referring to her physical size and weight!

However, another woman wrote: "I can't wait to see everyone. I've changed completely.  At school, I was the class 'tramp'. I had no standards, and everyone knew it. But just a few years after I finished school, I received the Lord Jesus as my Saviour. My life was transformed! Because of Him, I'm not the person I was, and I want my classmates to know it."

In the New Testament, and in the Gospel according to Luke, we read of a man named Zacchaeus.  He was a chief tax-collector at a time when tax-collectors were really hated. The ordinary tax-collector demanded more than he was entitled to do, and pocketed the difference. Of course, he would have been accompanied by a couple of Roman soldiers when he came to your door - and it would not have been either wise, or healthy, to try to get away with paying what you believed to be a just amount! However, a chief tax-collector like Zacchaeus made even more money. He was cold-hearted, and money-loving. He demanded a greater sum than was due, from each of the tax-collectors below him. Even worse, was the fact that he was a Jew, working for the Roman Occupying Power. 

Many will be familiar with the story - indeed, some will still be able to sing the song about him being a "very little man". He was so short in physical stature that, when he decided that he wanted to catch a glimpse of the travelling preacher, Jesus of Nazareth, Who was making such an impact on the population of Judaea and Samaria, and other areas, that he climbed a sycamore tree by the side of the roadway, in order to do so. 

However, Jesus did not simply pass by - He stopped, looked up, and uttered the well-known words: "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today." (Luke 19:5).  Zacchaeus didn't think twice!  "... he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully." (Luke 19:6). The Saviour followed Zacchaeus home and, the next thing that is recorded are his amazing words: "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold." (Luke 19:8).

What a transformation! When we come to the Lord Jesus, in repentance, and faith, we commence a brand-new life. That is why it is referred to as being "born again"! Then, as we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, sinful attitudes are replaced with godly traits. Selfishness gives way to caring; greed gives way to generosity; lust gives way to purity. It's a work that is referred to as "sanctification" - basically, making us more like Jesus, day by day. (By the way, there is a chapter in "Great Words of the Faith", on Sanctification, if you would like to learn more! You will also, by your purchase, be helping those in the persecuted church. See the link above).

Has the Christ transformed your life? Can you truly say: "I'm not the same person I once was."? Someone has written: "God formed us; sin deformed us; Jesus can transform us." Will you permit Him to do so, for you? Will you?!

He hears me!

Having spent a goodly number of years in the classrooms of various State Secondary Schools in central Scotland, I have observed different kinds of pupils. Reading an article earlier this week reminded me of one particular type, who might well be referred to as the "There's only the teacher and me in the class" pupil. This pupil has a personal conversation with the teacher - almost as if there was no-one else in the class. For example, even a rhetorical question posed by the teacher will illicit an immediate response from this pupil. While the classroom is filled with his/her peers, this pupil lives in a little world of his/her own - and the teacher!

However, I would suggest that a pupil like that has something to teach some disciples of Jesus about the important subject of prayer! I wonder if you have ever thought that, with millions of other believers praying as you pray; speaking with Father God (to Whom, by the way, all prayer should be directed! We pray to the Father, in the Name of the Son, by the leading of the Spirit!) at the same moment that you are speaking with Him; your prayer is perhaps less important? After all, I know that my personal prayers, while important to me, and to those for whom I pray, are not in the same "class" as those of a brother or sister in the Lord Jesus who is undergoing torture.

That, of course, is totally wrong! As we talk with our omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, God we may be confident that He is giving us - each and every one of us - His full attention! Sometimes, in class, I would ask a general question, and twenty hands would be raised. I am but a human, and could ask only one pupil to provide the answer. Our God is far above and beyond our human capabilities. He is God! He hears, and can listen, to each one who comes to Him in the name of the Son. He directs single-minded attention towards our praise; our petitions; our concerns.

When you pray, it is as if you are the only person in the world who is doing so! Even although millions are "bending His ear" in prayer, He listens to each one, individually! Quel Dieu! (What a God!). May we take full advantage of this wonderful opportunity to commune with the Creator of all that exists.

Let us pray!