One Way Streets
Do you need to change direction?
I remember when I turned 16 years old and got my driver’s license, I found myself driving downtown. It seems like no matter what city you’re in, if you go downtown you’ll find One Way streets. On this particular day I made a wrong turn and all of a sudden I found myself going the wrong way on a one way street! What was worse? There was a police officer driving right towards me!
I quickly veered off the road into a parking lot so that I could turn around.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqwfwR0H-GY[/embedyt]My guess is that a lot of us have experienced something like this. You may or may not have driven the wrong way on a one way street, but there’s probably been more than one occasion where you knew your life was headed in the wrong direction and you needed to turn around.
Good News
The good news for all of us is that God has made a way for us turn around and to change the direction of our lives.
There’s a story about something that happened in the days following the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. His disciples were gathered in Jerusalem and, just as Jesus had promised, they received the Holy Spirit. This story is found in Acts 2.
When the Holy Spirit came on them there was the sound of a mighty wind. But that was strange because there was no wind. People all over Jerusalem heard the sound and wanted to know what was going on.
As they gathered around these disciples of Jesus, they started hearing the good news of the great love of God revealed in Jesus at the cross. And what was amazing was that they each heard this good news in their own native language.
The Holy Spirit was doing something special in and through these disciples in this moment!
As you might expect, as these people learned that Jesus of Nazareth, who had just been crucified, really was God’s one and only Son, and they realized that many of them had participated in the crucifixion… Many of them had been there on the day Jesus stood trial and they cried out, Crucify Him! Crucify Him!
When they realized what they had done, they were cut to the heart and they asked Peter, “What should we do?”
They realized they needed to turn around, change directions, they had crucified the Son of God. Was there anything they could do at this point?
Time to Turn Around?
Maybe you’ve felt that way. Maybe you’ve asked that same question.
Maybe you weren’t there the day Jesus was crucified but you’re fully aware of your sin, the decisions you’ve made and the things you’ve done that are against the heart of God and the will of God. For far too long you’ve been headed in the wrong direction and you’re wondering if there’s a way back, a way to change direction, to turn around, to start over.
Listen to what Peter said when they asked the same question you may be asking today, “What should we do?”
Peter said, “Each of you must repent of your sins…” To repent literally means to change direction, to turn around. “…and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
That day, 3000 people were baptized into Christ. It was the first Baptism Sunday!
Are you Ready?
Maybe you’re ready to be baptized, too.
When you do, it doesn’t mean you have to be perfect from this point forward, or that you’ll never go the wrong way on a one way street again. It does mean that the road you’re now on is paved by grace!
It means that you have the Holy Spirit to help you on your journey. And it means you’ll never go alone.
Because from this point on you can know that God is with you, God is For You, and God is leading you forward.
Want more about baptism… Click here.
