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July HeartBeat

By JAY Wilber

means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun”( 2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT).

A new life or as NKJV says,“ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”( 2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV).

The question is, are we different from before we accepted Christ? Are we different from who we were last year? I never focused on it until recently. Yes, I know who I was before I accepted Christ, and I know I’ m different. It did not happen overnight, but it did happen. For the first time, I took the opportunity to join the local HOG Chapter. I decided I needed to expand my outreach more in our local motorcycling community. I knew the director, and they were making breakfast for the employees of the Harley dealership. I filled out all the paperwork and information to join, and while I was doing it, someone walked up and said,“ Are you Jay from West Terrace Neighbor-hood?” I said,“ Yes.” I came to find out that she was someone I had grown up with. Now I am 65, so how did she know who I was? It was not because I looked the same; she recognized my name. We laughed and talked about old times, shared about parents and family, and got reacquainted

. This encounter made me wonder how often people say,“ You have not changed a bit.” People often comment on our appearance, but can they say anything about our behavior or the fact that it has or hasn ' t changed?

I want to focus on whether we have truly changed and become a new creation in Christ. When my friend and I were younger, I was not the person I am today. However, what do others see? I turned my life over to Christ in October of 1994, but it took time for me to recognize how God had transformed me.

Do people notice a change in you? Are you different? I know what God has done in my life, but it really made me think: do the people who know me see that change? And even more importantly, do the people we encounter every day see us differently?

One of the biggest things that has impacted me in my life was when my dad died, and we were at the funeral home. Someone that Dad worked with for many years said,“ Your dad was someone special.” I said,“ I know,” but he said,“ No, really. Your dad was someone who could walk into a room and not be noticed, but everyone would know something was different about the room.” The person said, not that Dad was an important or outgoing person but because he was special in a way that was different from everyone else.

My dad was an amazing man of

God; people saw it in his walk and how he carried himself. Do people see that in us?

“ Don’ t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’ s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect”( Romans 12:2, NLT).

I strive for this: to be different in a Godly way and to be transformed from who I was to what God wants me to be. So, I encourage each of us to reflect on what God is doing in our lives personally and how that comes across to the world. So, are you a new creation? CMA

Jay and Jane Wilber oversee the North Central Region as National Evangelist.