Brand New
I love to talk to new Christians. They inspire me and remind me of the fire I experienced as a new believer. I felt set free and everything was new uncomplicated, and my speech and actions were all about Jesus as He changed me into a new creation as child of God. I was enthusiastic, eager to learn about my faith, deeply committed to my newfound relationship with God, actively sharing my testimony with others, and experiencing a meaningful change in my outlook on life with a powerful sense of purpose and joy. I loved being at church and loved being around Christians. As a child of the Father, I wanted to find what God had called me to do every day!
I wrote a song soon after about my experience as a new believer called:
“Changed Lives”
You will know by the words that come out of their mouth.
You will know by the things that you hear.
You will know by the peace that you feel when they are near.
You will know if it’s counterfeit or real.
We change our hearts.
We change our minds.
We change opinions all the time.
We change our jobs.
We change our minds.
But only Jesus changed lives.
I thank God for changed lives, not counterfeit disguise.
I thank God for changed lives, not arrogant or proud.
Lives changes by accepting the perfect gift of life.
Oh Lord I want to thank you!
As the “Old man Dies, the New man cries.”
I want to thank you Jesus for changed lives.
The early Christians described in Acts 2:42-47 had come under the teaching of the apostles, shared in communion, fellowshipped with common purpose, seen miracles and wonders, and shared life together. It is from the “change in their lives” and not only their thinking that God displayed his power to the people around them and people were coming to Christ.
Their new life “changed” them in dramatic ways
· They were now peace-loving people who were giving up their rights.
· They were willing to sell their possessions to help with the needs of others.
· They were displaying a new level of care and kindness that was spilling over into their daily walk.
· Their behavior affected their every action and people could not help but notice the change.
· They gained the favor of people non-believers all around them.
· They were living in fellowship as genuine Christians and this living changed others.
Why should a non-believer accept the changing power of the Gospel when those who claim its power are not displaying care and concern for one another? That is why Jesus said, ‘love one another as I have loved you’ and John states that we will be known by our love for one another. One of our greatest sources of evangelism is how we share our lives together.
The Fellowship
When the Holy Spirit of God works in power in a congregation, and the blessings begin to flow, all the walls that divide us disappear and we have fellowship one with another. There is a sense of authenticity. There is a sense of honesty. There is a sense of openness in which it is okay to be fragile, frail, and hurting because suddenly we realize that we are all the same.
The strength of the early church was that Christianity came, and it reached out to everyone, uniting people based on a different principle: the fellowship. The word fellowship means” more than “being together.” The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia. It means “having in common.” It means that they shared something in common. It means that we have something that unites us that is stronger than anything that might divide us.
Listen to “Changed” by Jordan Feliz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYWTf7KaqJE
~ Steve Byers and his wife Debbie have lived in the Charlotte area since 2017 and have been attending LIFE Fellowship for five years. Steve is a musician and songwriter and sings in the Oxygen Choir. Steve and Debbie, have one son, Josh and a daughter-in-law, Avery. They are grand parents to Jaxon and Grayson.