Better than Finger Lickin' Good

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8, NKJV)

In his autobiography, Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain of stores says that he was always a God-fearing man. In every venture he had always given God a tenth of his profits. Yet he knew that if he died, God probably wouldn’t take him to Heaven.

One day, Sanders was walking down a street in Louisville, Kentucky, when he met a pastor who invited him to his services. Several days later, Sanders went. At the age of 79, he claimed God’s promise "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9, NKJV).

"When I walked out of that church that night I knew I was a different person. All my tithing and good deeds had never given me the sense of God's presence that I knew then." he says.

"This 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)

From DAY LIGHTERS - 365 Quickfire devotions - available from amazon.com

Have You Changed Yet?

Look, I am making everything new (Revelation 21:5, NLT)

Have you experienced changes since you became a Christian? Has there been a change in your thinking, in your habits, in your overall life?

The new birth brings changes to our outlook on life, our attitudes towards people, and our relationships with people. As Christians we can see things from God’s point of view, and we see history events in the world and life around us from a new perspective.

We begin getting along with people whom we previously disliked or even hated. We can see them through the eyes of Christ. Our relationships with other – husbands, wives, parents, children, employers, employees also begin improving as we begin following biblical principles for getting along with others.

This 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)

Excerpt from the book, DAY LIGHTERS by Nico Bougas - 365 Quickfire devotions to ignite your day. Available for download to your computer as an e-book from Amazon -Kindle store.

The Word Changes Lives

As reporter Clarence W. Hall followed American troops through Okinawa in 1945, he and his Jeep driver came upon a small town that stood out as a beautiful example of a Christian community. 

"We had seen other Okinawan villages down at the heels and despairing," he reported. "By contrast, this one shone like a diamond.  Everywhere, we were greeted by smiles and dignified bows.  Proudly," he continued, "the old men showed us their spotless homes, their terraced fields, and their prized sugar mills."

The newsman saw no jails and no drunkenness, and divorce was unknown in the town.

Why was this village so unusual?  An American missionary had come there 30 years earlier and had led two elderly townspeople to Christ and left them with a Japanese Bible.  These new believers studied the Scriptures and started leading their fellow villagers to the Lord Jesus.

The reporter's Jeep driver was equally amazed at the difference and exclaimed, "So this is what comes out of only a Bible and a couple of old guys who wanted to live like Jesus!"

That lone American missionary three decades earlier probably never saw the fruit of his work, and it is possible that he even became discouraged at times, but he steadfastly acted by love and faith in helping to fulfill the Great Commission to bring the gospel to these dear people in Okinawa.  He planted a seed for the gospel there, and God watered and nourished it, and brought it to fruition.  

"The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple." (Psalm 119:130, NKJV)
"This 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)