JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Moment Of Celebration reflects on the life changing impact of God’s grace.

After Paul was converted to Christ, there was a noticeable change in his life. Instead of wanting to persecute the church, he wanted to build up the church in the qualities of faith, hope, and love. He had an earnest desire to see Jesus glorified in his life. Through his testimony, that is exactly what happened. He became a devoted follower of Jesus, which was a reason for churches to praise God. Not only did they lose an enemy, but they gained a friend, a true ally who would speak up for the Good News of Jesus Christ, and be influential in leading people to the Lord.

In Galatians 1:22, Paul was talking about his spiritual journey after coming to faith in Christ. He said, “I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report: ‘The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.’” Then Paul says, “And they praised God, because of me.”

This goes to show that if Paul can be converted to Christ, no soul is hopeless. When someone makes a sweeping life change like this, the body of Christ has the opportunity to surround that person with support and encouragement.

The life-changing impact of God’s grace is a reason to be glad in the Year of Celebration.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com