Life Lessons From 25 New Testament CharactersSample

Transformed and Ready To Be Used

Paul became a changed man after he met Jesus Christ. Paul was a known persecutor of Christians, a zealous Jewish religious leader, and he hated the growing followers of Jesus Christ. He was even the one who approved the murder of Stephen in the book of Acts. Then, he met Jesus. Don’t move too quickly past that line. Meeting Jesus and surrendering to God’s Son will change everything about your identity, the meaning of your life, and what your purpose is. Paul was transformed (his former name was Saul). Paul was saved from his sin and grew in the true knowledge of Jesus Christ being the Messiah for whom the Jews had been longing for centuries. His identity and purpose were now completely found in Christ. He went from being the chief hater of Jesus and His Church, to the chief lover of Jesus and His Church. God used Paul to take the Gospel to Gentiles all over the world, and he still plays a major part in why we know Christ, having written the majority of the New Testament we read today.

THINK and PRAY:

There is so much to learn from Paul and his walk with Jesus, but here is just one reminder and one sharpening challenge. Reminder: God can transform anyone who surrenders to Jesus and receives new life and forgiveness for their sins. Also, God will use anyone, no matter their background of sin, to grow and become His servant to be used for His purposes instead of their own. This takes submission to God’s ways over our ways. So, here is the challenge. When you look at your life right now, how do you make decisions about what you value? What you do each week? Where you go? What you put your time and effort toward? Does Jesus have any part of your identity and purpose? If not, is He really Lord over your life? In comparison, if Jesus is a part of your daily purpose, how so? How do you see the Lord transforming and using you for His purposes?