Jesus Changes Jerks

I have acted like a jerk before. I may have been tired or frustrated. I may have been irritated by something. It isn't an excuse for acting like a jerk. There is no real justification. It is the action of a person who does not care how he acts when he is less than comfortable. However, acting like a jerk does not make me a jerk.

The trouble is that some people aren't acting. They are jerks. They are merely expressing what they have in their hearts. It may be fear, pride or selfishness that makes them jerks. It may be hatred of events in their lives or hatred of people in general that keeps them current among jerks. Loneliness may make someone a jerk and keep them as such.

I ask myself why a person is presenting himself as a jerk. Did I do something that makes people act like this or is this something deep in their hearts. Most of the time I will never know. None of my friends are jerks. I haven't had much desire to hang around jerks. I don't think they would want me to anyway.

The only way to change a jerk is to change his heart. That is not something that we can do. We neither have the right nor the ability to change another person's heart.

God said He wanted to give us new hearts. That would certainly change a jerk into a new creation.

Have you ever thought what kind of jerk you would be if not for Jesus changing your heart? Have you ever thought what you might have become?

I heard a preacher ask his congregation to stand if they had participated in the sins Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians. I decided to do the same thing is my own congregation. I read the scriptures and ask if they would stand if they had participated in any of those sins. The whole congregation stood at once. (Even those asleep stood up but didn't know why!)

Yes, Jesus changes us. . .even jerks.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NIV)
⁹ Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders ¹⁰ nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.