This morning we read about Paul's testimony (Acts 22) and how he connected with the people he was telling it to by sharing his somewhat embarrassing past. If people didn't know us before we were Christians, sometimes they don't see our transformation. Paul told the Jews in Jerusalem that he was once just like them. Paul even stood by the clothes, in approval, of the martyrs who stoned Stephen, the very first Christian to be killed for his faith in Jesus. Paul hated Christians what seemed like even more than he loved God.
But Paul also said he was boldly converted to Christ. After going blind on the road to Damascus to persecute even more Christians, he decided to believe in and follow Jesus and The Way. He didn't have to though. He could have lived the rest of his life blind and without true peace, joy, and hope. Thankfully he didn't. He asked Jesus' Holy Spirit to come into his heart and transform him. Now Paul isn't persecuting Christians; the pendulum has shifted: he is the one being persecuted for his faith and walk with Jesus.
We were asked this morning if we would describe our own conversion to Christianity as well as Paul did. I said I wouldn't. Although, I believe that I can, however because the same Spirit lives in me. Let us learn from Paul and share our testimonies with humility, truth, and love.
Many of you know I didn't meet Jesus until I was in college, in what I thought was, my lonely sorority dorm room. I don't however always share the facts leading up to my rock bottom night. I was sitting in that dorm room on a Saturday night studying for an O-Chem test not because I needed to (although I did need to). I was studying by myself on a Saturday night because the weekend before I screwed up...big time. It was the beginning of my sophomore year at college and I was drinking and hanging out at a friend's house. The opportunity arose to smoke pot and I did. We soon left looking for another party (aka more trouble) when I was cornered by a cop with his flashlight shining into my eyes. The next thing I know, I'm sitting in his cop car telling him I'm 21 (I wasn't 21). He asked me for my I.D. and I said I could go get it (my fake I.D.) at my house. By the grace of God the cop ended up writing me an M.I.P. instead (not sure what happened, I either told him the truth or I'm a really bad liar).
Needless to say this was my blinding moment. I remember best sitting in that cop car and asking myself, "how did I get here?" Now mind you, I wasn't an angel in H.S. but my parents must not have done enough to blind me. Saul (later to become Paul) also had a rock bottom. I wonder if in those first moments of darkness he similarly asked himself "how did I get here?" That is where he met God. God spoke to him asking him, "why do you persecute me?" God spoke to me too. As I sat so lonely, lost, and sad in my room just days later, God told me "you're never really alone, I am always with you." Here is where my testimony differs from Saul's. Where Saul believed in Jesus, repented and wholeheartedly followed him the rest of his life, it took me longer. This part I have shared, but not in this way. If any of you are in this place, not having wholeheartedly made the decision to give God your best and your all, I hope my story will help change your mind.
After hitting rock bottom and having my biggest fear relieved by the words of my Almighty Creator, God and Father, I somehow managed to fall back into my normal routine, except now I knew the truth and that there was more to life than this. Imagine a drink you absolutely despise. Mine's Mt. Dew. Call me crazy but I never could catch on to "doing the Dew". Literally, you would have to pay me a supstantial amount of money to drink a whole can of Mt. Dew. What I learned that night in the cop car was this: I didn't like my life. I didn't like who I had become. Although I still continued to live that way, it was repulsive to me. I knew it was wrong. I continued to drink Mt. Dew. Although as much as I hate dew, by living my life of sin, I was constantly drinking it. Pursuing sex, drinking, and bad company...bad music, movies, books...the list went on and on.
Now imagine a drink you love, love, love! Mine's milk. I know I'm not you're average duck but what other drink can you pour over your cereal, add cocoa to, and saturate cookies with? Seriously, don't "do the dew", "got milk"! Although I didn't know a lot of truth about Jesus yet, the peace I experienced the night I hit rock bottom was unsurpassable. I can still remember it like it was yesterday. And even though milk doesn't make me feel that wonderful, it's the best analogy I can compare. When I first met Jesus, I knew He was who I wanted to be living for, I just couldn't figure out how to do what Paul did. Paul met Jesus, believed in Him, made a 180 degree turn and followed Him. He discovered milk, gave up Mt. Dew and drank milk for the rest of his life. I met Jesus, believed in Him whenever my life continued to fall flat, and asked Him to follow me. Instead of giving up Mt. Dew or my life of sin and drinking milk or living righteously, I tried to add milk to my dew. I pursued College ministry, Bible study, and Church. Trust me when I say, Mt. Dew + dashes of milk = worse than Mt. Dew.
I continued to do that for a long time, until my life became more milk than mt. dew. This is where most of us live. We're carnal Christians. We have enough world in us to be unhappy in Jesus. In other words, there's enough Dew in our milk to make it taste bad. Bottom line: don't mix any dew with milk! If dew is sin, every time we fall into temptation and give in to the desires of the flesh, we add dew to our milk. Although milk with just a little dew is better than 100% dew, 100% milk is better. Not only is it better, it's possible with our Helper, the Holy Spirit. He gives us wisdom and discernment to see the temptations of dew, and He will always provides a way out when we are tempted. The more and more we see this way out and take it, the less dew tempts us. But when we do succumb to mixing dew into our milk, be convicted of your sin, repent, and turn back to Jesus. He already paid the price for our sins: past, present, and future. Take His free gift, He paid a very high price indeed and to not accept it is a slap in His face.
If your life just doesn't taste right. Sin is robbing you of true peace and joy. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what sin is in your life. Don't become complacent living a somewhat tainted life. God intended you to live a pure and holy life. This kind of life is the most glorifying to Him because your focus isn't taken from Him and His will from your life. Live wholeheartedly for Jesus. Drink 100% milk. Once you do, nothing less than perfect tastes good. Taste and see that the Lord is Good.
No comments:
Post a Comment