convert the pervert
"I have been sent by the Lord Jesus Who appeared to you on the way here, to help you recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." —Acts 9:17
Like Paul, we are either converted or perverted. Jesus bluntly stated: "The man who believes in it (the Gospel) and accepts baptism will be saved; the man who refuses to believe in it will be condemned" (Mk 16:16). We either love Jesus, the crucified One, or we continue "crucifying the Son of God" and "holding Him up to contempt" (Heb 6:6). We either exist as pawns of the powers of darkness or live free in Jesus (see Jn 8:36). There is no in-between with Jesus, for He vomits the lukewarm out of His mouth (Rv 3:16). If we are not with Jesus, we are against Him (Lk 11:23).
Thus, we need a conversion to Jesus and not just an improvement. We need to be hot in our love for Jesus, not merely warmer. We need not only to touch Jesus but to surrender ourselves totally and unconditionally to Him. We must give more to the Lord than our tithe, alms, time, and energy. We must give all and crucify our "flesh with its passions and desires" (Gal 5:24). Like Paul, we must say and live: "I have been crucified with Christ, and the life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me. I still live my human life, but it is a life of faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal 2:19-20).
The Lord is seeking to make perverts into converts. The Lord is seeking each of us. Convert!
Prayer: Father, send the Holy Spirit to teach me so that I may know myself.
Promise: "The God of our fathers long ago designated you to know His will, to look upon the Just One, and to hear the sound of His voice; before all men you are to be His witness to what you have seen and heard." —Acts 22:14-15
Praise: Jesus temporarily blinded Paul to enable him to open the eyes of the Gentiles, so they would turn from darkness to light, from Satan to God, obtaining forgiveness of their sins (see Acts 26:16-17).
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert J. Buschmiller, June 11, 1998
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, July 20, 1998