She's always been that way. He's always been that way.
Look at where they came from.
They will never change.
It will take a miracle.
Have you ever said or thought this?
You may eat your words,
because the worst of the worst, the one who penned the words
“of whom I am the worst”(1Timothy 1:15)~ he was that way.
A forgotten detail that changes everything about his story,
that makes his story~
your story & my story.
How blind I am at times forgetting a detail~
a very important detail, that changes everything.
PAUL was that way, the worst of the worst~
~the one who wrote thirteen books of the New Testament
~the one who didn't physically walk with JESUS
~the one who didn't have any plans to walk with HIM
~the one who was never one of HIS disciples
~the one who said~“For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church” (I Corinthians 15:9).
Blind to the most important detail of his story,
that makes his story a story about the power of
JESUS.
Paul was against JESUS & whomever followed HIM,
yet he tells us to
“put into practice whatever he learned, received, heard seen in him” (Philippians 4:9).
Now wait, the worst of the worst is telling us to put into practice what he did?
Yes, but it is what he did after what he use to do & after what he did after he experienced the
RISEN LORD~
the ONE Who took over his mind, his heart & his soul;
the ONE Who stopped him in the middle of his tracks & blinded him
in the midst of his being blind~ “Saul, Saul why do you persecute ME?”(Acts 4:9).
Saul, who did not have to clean up his act before he met JESUS because he needed
JESUS to clean up his act.
And changed he did, as he became PAUL who
~Put into Practice (Philippians 4:9)
~Pressed Forward (Philippians 3:14)
~Put Off (Philippians 4:6-7)
&
~Put On (Philippians 4:8).
He is us, as I never physically walked with JESUS.
I never touched JESUS.
I wasn't one of HIS disciples.
I am the worst of the worst, yet I have experienced the power of the RISEN ONE.
I was blind, but now I see the RISEN ONE
Who enables me & enables you to Put into Practice
whatever we have learned or received or heard or seen from PAUL
so that we will experience
"THE GOD OF PEACE" (Philippians 4:9
just because JESUS came to Paul in the midst of his sin
& because JESUS came to me in the midst of my sin
& because JESUS comes to you in the midst of your sin~
“while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Therefore, whenever you delay going to
JESUS
because you feel like you have to first clean up your act~
instead run into
HIS arms,
because PAUL~
the worst of the worst,
JESUS died for & saved,
& now he will always be that way because he followed the ONE who is the Way.
If PAUL can do it, we can do it,
so that we will always be this way.
Today is the day to Live in the Moment with
PEACE, HOPE, JOY & LOVE
as you make
The Great Exchange
so that
JESUS will take you
FROM RAGS TO RICHES!
******
PUT OFF + PUT ON + PUT INTO PRACTICE = PEACE