True Transformation

2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (NKJV)

I continue to rehearse some of the thoughts that God placed in my heart to share during the message this past Sunday. I believe the Spirit placed the word "transformation" in my heart during prayer this morning. Aren't you thankful that God has the ability to see you as the person you can become and not just see you as the person that you are at this present moment? God is in the business of transformation. He takes a life that is marred and scarred by the sins in his/her life and turns them into a beautiful life that reflects His glory in this world. Did I just hear someone lift a "Thank You Jesus" toward Heaven as they thought about the process of transformation that has taken place in their life? I shout a resounding AMEN as I type these words sitting at my desk reflecting on the goodness of God.

I would like to share a portion of a story that I shared during the message on Sunday. It gives us a brief glimpse into the life of a man who desperately needed transformation BUT it also gives us a true glimpse of the heart of God for lost humanity. Would you take a moment and read these words but would you also take a moment and remember your own personal story of conversion?

Pressed into service in the Royal Navy, John Newton was dismissed for insubordination and turned to a career trafficking in slaves. Notorious for cursing and blasphemy, Newton served on a slave ship during the cruelest days of trans-Atlantic slavery, finally working his way up to captain.

A dramatic conversion on the high seas set him on the path to grace. He always felt a sense that he did not deserve his new life. He became a rousing evangelical preacher and eventually a leader in the abolitionist movement. Newton appeared before Parliament, giving irrefutable eyewitness testimony to the horror and immorality of the slave trade. We also know him as the author of the lyrics of perhaps the best-loved hymn of all time, “Amazing Grace.”

Newton described any good in himself as an outworking of God’s grace. In doing so, he stands with these great heroes—a murderer and adulterer (King David), a coward (the apostle Peter), and a persecutor of Christians (the apostle Paul).

This same grace is available to all who call upon God, for “in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians. 1:7). 

You may remember a verse of one of Newton’s song.

"Amazing grace—how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found, Was blind but now I see."

We can rejoice in the "Amazing Grace" of God. Your story may not be as dramatic as the story of John Newton. BUT you and I do need to share our story when God provides the opportunity. Each of us need to always be open to those opportunities to share our story with others.