Fields United Methodist Church

Jesus Along the Way: Words of Grace and Hope.                     Pastor Tom Joyce

October 14, 2020

“And immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’ All who heard him were amazed and said, ‘Is this not the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among all who invoked this name?”  Acts 9:20,21

God is a God of second chances! The story of the conversion of Saul is one not only of God’s call but of God’s redemption. Saul was a man despised, hated, and greatly feared by those along his way. He was threatening to many people and just an all- around bad guy. There is a saying that,” you cannot change the spots on a leopard,” implying that people cannot change and once a bad person always a bad person. Yet the One who created the leopard has the ability, and the desire, to cleanse and transform anyone who seeks another chance; in Saul’s case God, through Jesus Christ, was a bit more persuasive.  For some it may take a gentle nudge to accept the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and for others an eye-opening realization that there is a profoundly better way to live. Fact is Jesus is Savior for a reason; to save us from all the things we may say or do that hurts others and ultimately ourselves. In other words, Jesus is offering you another chance along the way to get this thing called life right, to become new in spirit and cleansed in soul. The grace (God’s unwavering love for you) of Jesus Christ is offered to you today and all that needs to be done is to accept the grace that can and will go to the extreme, even death on a cross, to transform your life and make all things new in you. Your past does not have to define your future. There is hope today for you to live in the abundance of grace, and to witness the same to all you meet along the way. Do not give up, because Jesus will never give up on you.