Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
For twenty years, we have hardly used any electricity in our home. Many years ago, I picked up the smallest laptop that I could find, and if we weren’t playing chess or reading a book, we had the option of gathering around the kitchen table and watching an educational or historic movie together. It only needed to be charged a few times a week, and the battery lasted a long time. But with modern day electronics, tablets require a lot less power to operate. Many times when we go on a short trip, I charge things off of our lighter adapter, and I normally keep an extra 12 volt battery in the back of the vehicle that is constantly being charged by the vehicle’s alternator. This has run our basic lighting and low wattage items since we first moved out here, but obviously a battery gets pretty heavy to be constantly lugged down to the house. I’ve also used small solar panels to charge batteries, but half of the day is dark, and it’s not always sunny out. More recently I discovered that I can attach a small thermoelectric generator (TEG) to our wood cookstove to create electricity. Wood is our primary source of fuel, and during the winter time, the stove is constantly hot because it heats our entire home. People have used these while camping by placing them over their campfire, or a bed of hot coals, and creating enough electricity to charge power banks for cell phones, laptops and other types of lighting.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
There are many different ways to produce electricity, from hydroelectric dams, to wind powered generators, or even a hot wood stove. All it requires is converting one form of energy into another. This is exactly what the Apostle Paul did with his life, converting people from the power of sin, to the power of God.
Acts 26 ¹⁶ But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; ¹⁷ Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, ¹⁸ To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Convert means to cause to change in form, character and function. Consider this, a few weeks ago a local businessman wanted me to pick up an old change machine that they had replaced in their car wash. The more than I looked at it, the more I realized that it had been used for the same reason, to convert dollar bills into quarters. Maybe you have gone to a foreign country and needed to change your American money for foreign currency, so they converted it for you. The process of conversion is all around us. A drill sergeant will convert a new recruit into a soldier. A piano instructor will convert a young student into a seasoned pianist. Likewise, men of God convert sinners into Saints.
James 5 ¹⁹ Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; ²⁰ Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
In order to become converted, we must become a child all over again, which is hard for many people to do because the older that you get, the harder it can be to change. To become a child of God we must humble ourselves before Christ and His teachings.
Matthew 18 ¹ At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? ² And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, ³ And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Conversion is changing over from the sinful man that we once were, into the man of God that He wants us to become. This requires a change from flesh into Spirit. In our flesh, each of us have been born into this world through Earthly mothers, but to become a child of God we must be reborn through faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.
John 3 ¹ There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: ² The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. ³ Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ⁴ Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? ⁵ Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. ⁸ The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
To those who desire eternal life, they must be converted from lies to the truth. Jesus is the truth, and the only way that we can access Heaven is through Him. Many people have been involved in all types of different religions, but the Apostle Paul explained that it was high time for people to repent.
Acts 17 ²⁹ Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. ³⁰ And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Converting others is ultimately to get them to change their beliefs and philosophies, which at times can be very difficult because they have been ingrained in their minds since their youth. In order to obtain eternal life, one needs to convert from one’s own concept of what God is to them, to the truth of who God really is, which is found in Jesus Christ and throughout the teachings of scripture. God wants people to repent of their sins, but it will require a change of one’s heart, and a renewed mind.
“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;” Ephesians 4:23
If you desire eternal life, you will have to be converted from the power of darkness, to the power of light, so the strong current of God’s Holy Spirit can flow through us like electricity from an outlet. Whether it’s water running down a river, or a summer breeze turning a windmill, to create electricity will require a conversion from one power source to another, just like throwing a few more logs on the fire, and hooking up the….
……..Thermal Electric Generator
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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