Many Christian biographies are awesome stories of someone who comes to faith in Christ and not only is that peron's life transformed, but he or she goes on to change the world. Look at individuals like John Newton or William Wilberforce who helped take down slavery, Hudson Taylor and Amy Carmichael who dedicated their lives to teach the Gospel and personified compassion in distant lands like India and China. Or consider Dwight L. Moody who called a nation to revival and trained a new generation of leaders. And it all started with just one person--and Jesus.
What Does God Say?
Take a look at John 4. This is Jesus' famous conversation with a woman He meets at a well in Samaria. You can read their discussion in John 4:4-26. But let's focus on what comes next. This woman is so amazed over what Jesus knows about her, that she believes He's who He says He is--the Messiah, the Promised One who'll save her.
And she has to spread the news. "So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" (John 4:28-29, ESV). Based on her words, "the people came streaming from the village to see him" (John 4:30, NLT).
It was important for the townspeople to hear the woman's testimony. They needed to know what Jesus had said and why. But more importantly, they had to meet Him too. John 4:39-41 describes it this way, "Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, 'He told me all that I ever did.' So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word" (ESV).
Faith isn't built just on hearsay. It comes from a personal encounter with Jesus. Look at John 4:42: "They said to the woman, 'It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world'" (ESV).
These people had the advantage of seeing Him face to face and hearing His voice. Today, you can encounter Jesus through God's Word and listen as the Holy Spirit speaks through the pages of this inspired Book. And what starts with you--just one--can change your world too. Jesus told His followers (including us) that we are "the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16, ESV).
My Thoughts
It's often this personal one-on-one encounter with Jesus that changes the course of someone's life. God also uses other people to make introductions. Check out these four meetings.
John 1:43-51
John 20:10-18
Acts 8:26-29
Acts 9:1-19
- Who met Jesus? Was another believer involved?
- What changed for the person who met Jesus?
- What did he or she do next?
- How do you think this meeting influenced or changed each person's world?
My Part
It really only takes one to get things started--and that one could be you. Jot down your personal spiritual biography.
- How did you meet Jesus? Who introduced you?
- How has it changed your world?
- What are you doing to introduce others to Jesus?
You can't "make" someone believe, but you can share your own story and then help him or her find Jesus. That's what Philip did, and what the woman at the well did. And in one case it changed the life of a friend and in the other it changed a whole town.
As you pray today, thank Jesus for introducing Himself to you and ask Him to show you ways to do the same for others. You can change your world!
What Does God Say?
My Thoughts
My Part
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