Ordinary

Ordinary to extraordinary ~ that is what happens when you become a true believer in Jesus Christ.  The Lord chose ordinary people of different cultures, race and backgrounds and transformed them into extraordinary people.  All of Jesus’ disciples were ordinary men until the Master called them.

Some were so different that the people acknowledged the fact, as with Peter and John who had been with Jesus; in Acts 4:13 this is what it says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”

This took place after Peter prayed for the crippled beggar at the gate called Beautiful, when John was with him.  There had been such a transformation in Peter and John’s lives because of their relationship with Christ.  The Word says this in Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Peter and John experienced this transformation and so should we if we are true believers in Christ.  There are things we are expected to do and one of them is to renew our minds, but this will only happen when the Holy Spirit enters our hearts and minds, and renews and redirects our way of thinking.  Then we can be spiritually minded and start renewing our minds through studying the Word and hiding it in our hearts.  

When a person is born-again there is no way they can be ordinary people again because they are new creations in Christ, the old things will be gone and all things will become new.  Think about Peter and John, they were known by the counsel in their day and they knew they were uneducated men.  They were amazed when they realized what being with Jesus did for them.

Think of Peter, not long before this healing took place, he had denied the Lord three times because of fear, and think about how all the disciples scattered when Jesus was arrested, tried and crucified.  But here Peter and John are standing and preaching boldly before all the people plus the people knew about the healing of the crippled beggar and they were amazed and maybe a little tongue tied.  This is what it says in Acts 4:14, “And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.”  When the people who knew you and your lifestyle for years see such a change in your life and your speech, they might be somewhat shocked and even speechless momentarily.  

One of the greatest testimonies is a transformed life.  What about you, do people see you as extraordinary and are they amazed at the change that has taken place in your life?  Would they acknowledge the fact that you have spent time with Jesus?  If not, maybe you need to examine yourself to see if you are in the faith.  If you have claimed to have been a believer for a while and you see no change in your behavior then something is not right because there has to be a difference, maybe you are just going through the motions but have never truly repented.  Maybe you just had a religious experience, or an emotional experience, that didn’t result in a changed life.  If so, you need to repent, which means to have a change of mind toward sin, then to ask the Lord to forgive you of your sins and to be your Savior and Lord.  Don’t take this lightly, it may mean the difference of where you spend eternity, so don’t put it off and be very sincere when you pray.  God bless a have a great day!!