Before . . . Then

“Before I met Christ, sin was fully in charge. It pulled my strings like an evil puppet master, causing me to dance like a helpless marionette. Enslaved to his dark choreography, I flopped here and there, going through the motions of life. On the outside I appeared as though I was in control, but in reality I was a powerless captive. A slave. Addicted to self-love, pain avoidance, and pleasure, I did sin’s bidding–beating myself up for my failures and slapping myself on the back for my accomplishments. I was a one-person Punch and Judy show. Then Jesus came. When I said yes to Him, the Puppet Master, He cut the soul-strings that tied my soul to sin and allowed me to truly live. I was no longer a wooden Pinocchio wishing and longing to be real. Christ breathed His breath of life into me and set me free to be all I was created to be”–Joanna Weaver, At the Feet of Jesus.

“Therefore, . . . remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who one were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ”–Ephesians 11-13.

“Right at that moment, I seemed to meet Jesus for the first time. I understood the meaning of His death as a substitute for my wickedness, and so in prayer, I requested Him to forgive my sins and change me from a bitter, disillusioned ex-pilot into a well-balanced Christian with purpose in living. That date, April 14, 1950–became the second ‘day to remember’ of my life. On that day, I became a new person”–Mitsuo Fuchida, the leader of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

” ‘King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.’ Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’ Paul replied, ‘Short time or long–I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains’ “–Acts 26:27-29.

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