HE'LL CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK

Acts 10:33 “Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”

Have you ever believed something, pictured something one way, only to find out that it was completely different? I think that’s how it is, quite often, when people start to learn more about God. “I always thought God was this way. I always pictured him this way.” But then, after spending some time in the Bible, reading God’s Word, you find out that he’s different, not the way you had pictured him. Is it possible, that you have always believed something about God, even though it’s not really true?

That happened to a person in our scripture – a member of the Roman army. He had pictured God one way, only to find out that he was very different from how he had pictured him in his mind.

Cornelius was a centurion in the Italian regiment of the Roman army. These centurions were in change of 100 men, and they were always men of very noble character. The Bible describes Cornelius and his family as God-fearing and devout. He was always donating money to the poor, and he prayed to God regularly. Cornelius was a great guy, but something was wrong – he wasn’t going to heaven. Why? He seemed good. He followed the religion of the Jews. He prayed and he donated to the poor; he tried to live a good, clean life. In his mind, that’s what God wanted – that’s the way to heaven.

But something was wrong. Something was missing in his heart, something big, and so God sent an angel to Cornelius, and told Cornelius to find the Apostle Peter. And so he does – Peter comes to his house and shares with Cornelius the true way of salvation. Something was missing in the heart of Cornelius, and that something was more important than all the good works in the world. And without that something, no matter how hard he tried, Cornelius wouldn’t be going to heaven. That something was faith in Jesus Christ. Cornelius had heard of Jesus before, how he died. He knew that people were saying good things about him. But he didn’t understand that Jesus was his Savior.

Can you relate to this Roman soldier? I always thought that I could live “good” enough to make it to heaven. In a performance driven society, it can be so easy to think that way. And then, you find out, no, that’s not how it works. Through his Word, God changes the way you think. You find out that no matter how good you are, you’ll never be good enough, you’ll never do enough to earn God’s favor. Through his Word, you find out that even the nicest person in the world still has his faults, still has his shortcomings, and because of those short comings, you can never be nice enough to earn your way to heaven. That’s what God tells us in his Word.

But then you find out who Jesus Christ really is. You find out that he’s more than just an example of how to be a good person. You find out that he has done something for you, something that you really need. You find out that he has taken all your faults, all your shortcomings, all your sins, and has washed them away, by dying on a cross. You find out that Jesus has risen from the dead, to prove to you that God really does love you and forgive you for all the mistakes you have made in life. You can stop trying to earn your way to heaven, and you can start trusting in Jesus Christ as your Savior.

From time to time, just like Cornelius, we need to allow God to change our thinking. Be open to his guidance that is found in scripture. Don’t get bogged down by the same old thought patterns. Get a new revelation today and live free.