Jesus and sin

Does God really have the power to change lives?

1 Sam 17:43-46

It is God who has the might to save his people. Nothing can stand in God’s way.

People get very set in their ways and many adults seem to be lost causes. Does God really have the power to change lives? How about a gang leader like Casey Diaz, a hardened violent criminal renowned for ordering hits on people?

There are two accounts in the bible that encourage me, that yes God certainly does have the power to change lives. The first is the story of David and Goliath. I know the story is often told to children, an epic battle inspiring them with courage in the face of bullies and hardships. But as an adult, I challenge you to take another look, because there is a much deeper message here – It is God who has the might to save his people (1 Sam 17:43-46). Nothing can stand in God’s way.

The second encouragement is the death and resurrection of Christ. Whether we are willing to admit it, our selfishness and wrongs that we have done to others have serious consequences, dooming us to eternal destruction (Matt 25:46). Sin is a bigger giant than Goliath ever was. None of us have the power to overcome it - but God does. When the Son of God died on the cross and rose again to life, he defeated sin and death forever (1 Cor 15:56). Casey Diaz’s life was completely turned around the night Jesus appeared to him in a vision in his prison cell. Casey says, “I marked people for death, but God marked me for life”. To Christ be the glory for he has the power to change our lives forever.

Pastor Ben