WHAT’S YOUR CONVICTION?

“Therefore, . . . be assured of this: God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36 NIV)

When the famous Hollywood personality, Sidney Poitier, left the Bahamas and came to New York as a teenager, he had no plans to be an actor. He simply stumbled into it because he had already tried: “Dishwashers wanted”, “Porters wanted”, “Janitors wanted”, “Drivers wanted.” At long last what got him established was a matter of conviction.

Perhaps you thought you had arrived when you decided to follow Christ. Yes, in a sense you had! But it was just the start of a long race. A race that demands devotion and dedication. This was the lesson the new converts learned. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, in breaking bread and uniting in prayer.” (Acts 2:42) So, the Bible teaches: conversion is a starting place for training instead of a destination.

At times, familiarity robs us of awe and wonderment. This can happen in both simple and profound events in our life. As believers, we are familiar with Jesus’ resurrection. But what would the impact have been if you were among the first who heard of it? The apostle Peter in his first sermon boldly declared, “You . . . put him to death. But God raised him up again.” (Acts 2: 23-24) What a revolutionary statement! The people knew of Jesus and His miracles, but some may have been those who cried out: “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” (Matthew 27:22) Now here is one of Jesus’ own boldly declaring that Christ could not be held by the power of death. It was not simply an idle tale. Pentecost changed all that when God visited mankind in an amazing way. The historic event was witnessed by crowds who heard the gospel in their own language. (Acts 2:8 -11) Faith was born in 3,000 penitent hearts that very day, at the eye-witness report of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. They made a public declaration of their conviction and were baptized. It is an attitude of the heart to follow the Lord wherever He leads. Believing in Christ is a matter of conviction, a course of action – spreading across the world transforming lives, traditions, and cultures in our day.