Acts 7: 23 “Now when he was forty
years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of
Israel. 24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and
avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. 25 For
he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them
by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men,
you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’ 27 But
he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me
as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 Then, at this saying, Moses fled and
became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.
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“No thank you”
was my reply to the normal question “Do you want to hang out in bars tonight?”
I was trying something new and wanted to see what a different life would look
like. I interacted with a lot of people and they all seemed to ask me similar
questions. People knew me as a bar hopping, flirty, fun guy and I wanted them
to know I had changed.
- I stopped doing habits that I learned were not pleasing to GOD.
- I stopped doing some known sins so I could listen to GOD.
- I stopped doing what I used to do as a surrender to GOD.
Moses had
changed. While he was considered an Egyptian, he was really an Israelite. Stephen
explains how Moses killed the Egyptian, thinking everyone would know his honor
for his people. They could not see how he had changed, for only GOD knew his
heart.
- GOD wants me to change to serve HIM.
- GOD wants me to seek HIM without worries of what people think about me.
- GOD wants me to sincerely live for HIM in spite of the perception people have of me.
Having a personal
relationship with GOD changes people. I mean HE gently guides me away from things
I thought were pleasurable, knowing they were harmful. When I explain my change
to those who participated in the pleasure with me, they look at me as if I have
become some kind of judge, questioning if I have become yet another hypocrite.
BUT GOD sees my
heart. HE painfully and gently pries the harmful habit or people from my hands
and places HIS love in them. HE shows me grace when no one else will. HE is my
forgiver. In HIM I place my trust.
- Are you scared to change because of what other people will think?
- Have you walked away from GOD because of a hypocrite?
- Will you return to GOD so HE can heal your broken heart and give you a loving purpose today?
