A Changed Life

Have you ever wished you could have a changed life?  I am wishing it right now, so I am sure there are others who feel the same way.  So let's see what it takes to have a changed life and what can we do to help make that happen.  I'm in so much need of it, I can't wait to see what this study is going to be about.

When Jesus was here, he had twelve disciples and one of them was impulsive and acted without thinking and jumping to conclusions before he thought.  Can you guess which one it was?  Peter the impulsive one.
I would like to study Peter and how he became like Jesus, which he did but it was after a certain incident.
Remember when he denied his Lord and went out to the garden where Jesus spent a lot of time and he spent time there weeping because he had made such a terrible mistake and not only that, he had been warned that he would do it.  He just couldn't believe that he could stoop so low as to deny his Lord, but he did.

Peter was not only impulsive, he was a coward, how did he turn from cowardice to courageous?  Have any idea?  In those days they had what they called Pentecost, or Feast of Weeks or Feast of Harvest.  It was a time of consecration and work was prohibited during this time.  They were to concentrate on their relationship to God and commit totally to Him.

After Jesus resurrection, he met with His disciples several times and one of the times He met with them and commanded them in Acts 1:4 that  "they should not depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence"  And in verse 8, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

In Matthew 26, verse 58 it tells how Peter followed Jesus at a distance because he didn't want those in the court to know he was a follower of Jesus and this is when he denied Him totally that he didn't even know Him, so he was a coward.  By the way, Jesus forgave him of his cowardice and made sure his standing with the disciples was trustworthy again.

When the day of  Pentecost had fully come and they were altogether in one place and the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples according to the promise of Jesus, Peter stood up and with boldness preached Jesus risen to the people.  What caused the difference from being a coward to being bold for Jesus?  You will find this account in Acts 2.

The Holy Spirit being poured out on the disciples is what made the difference.  Will it make a difference in our lives?  Of course it will.  In John 15:26 says, "When the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me."  And in John 16: 13,14 says,  "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak;  and He will tell you things to come.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you."

We have this wonderful promise that we may have the Holy Spirit poured out on us and He will guide us in to all truth.  Do you want to know what real truth is?  Then ask for the Holy Spirits power in your life and you have the promise that you will receive it.  Don't just ask once, keep on asking the rest of your life and it will change your life like it did Peter's.  Are you a coward?  I am a real one when it comes to speaking up for Jesus.  I have done it lot's of times in the past when I was really in love with Jesus and it has made enemies for me, I don't know if that is when I became a coward or not, but I don't like it and so I am going to ask God to pour out His Spirit upon me to change me like He did Peter, How about you?  I want to be bold again for Jesus, don't you?  Let's pray for the outpouring of the Spirit upon us and our families and see what happens.  It has to be something great, I am sure of that.  I don't like being a coward.  Do you?  Let's let God change us through His Spirit.  Grandma Joan