“The New Creation” Day 20: Jesus changes your story.

Paul, after describing his call from the Lord to King Agrippa, declares that he had accepted the call of Christ, and had remained faithful to it.

“Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭26‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Now bear in mind, Paul had a past that could have haunted him, that could have prevented him from following after what the Lord called him to do. By his own admission, Paul was a persecutor of Christians.

““I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭26‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

But when Jesus called him out, Paul accepted the call, and seemingly never looked back. Indeed, we see in Paul’s exhortation to the Philippians, that he had made the decision to leave what was behind and reach forward to what Christ had for him.

“that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We have been talking about becoming a new creation through the work of Jesus Christ. As we leave this topic (for now), let us be reminded that the work of Jesus Christ, not only redeemed us so that we could receive the Holy Spirit and be transformed into the image of Jesus, He has also replaced our past with His work. That is to say, whatever we did that is now been put under the blood of Jesus Christ, whatever that terrible picture may be, has been replaced with the perfect image of the Lamb of God. Indeed, when God looks at us, He sees us through the sacrifice of His dear son.

Now, the devil tries to make us look back at what we were, look back at our failings and our sin. But make no mistake, we are not that same person anymore. We are a new creation in Christ Jesus. Don’t allow the enemy of your soul to show you a mirror that’s reflecting back who you once were before Jesus Christ changed you. Rather, through the power of the Holy Spirit, allow the Lord to show you how you look now. Indeed, you will see that the reflection He shows you, is of Himself. Your old life story has been replaced with a story of victory, the story of Christ’s victory, the victory that He now shares with you!

Remember, God is the One Who has made you new. And, as you follow after Him, He will see to it that your transformation into His own image, will be completed, and fully realized at His appearing!

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!