Shakala Turns to Jesus

"Repent and Turn to God" (Acts 26:20)

If we love people, we will ask them thoughtful, precise questions to find out if they are truly born again Christians whose eternal destinies are secure and whose names written in the Book of Life (Rev. 21:27).  According to Proverbs 20: 5, "The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out."  We learn to draw out a clear understanding of where a person's heart is at by knowing God's Word and by following Jesus in speaking with people about their eternal destinies (John 4).

I met Shakala for the first time the other day.  I offered Shakala a gospel tract and she accepted it.  I asked Shakala if she had ever heard of the gospel.  "No," she answered.  I asked Shakala if she believed in heaven and hell.  "Yes," she said.  I asked her who gets to go to heaven.  "Those who repent," she replied.  "What does it mean to repent," I asked.  She responded without hesitation, "ask God to forgive you of your sins."  Interesting answers for a person who had never heard the gospel.  I then asked her who she believed God is--"My Lord and Savior," she affirmed.  "So you believe Jesus is God's Son who died for your sins and rose again the third day to prove He is really God's son?"  "Yes," Shakala answered.  "That's great," I said.

Because James 2:19 says even the demons believe in Jesus and shudder, I asked Shakala a very important follow up question to draw out where she really stood personally with the Lord.  "Shakala," I asked, "have you ever turned to follow Jesus with your life?"  "No," she confessed, "I haven't."  Shakala believed in Jesus.  Shakala had probably asked Jesus to forgive her sins on multiple occasions.  But, she either did not know she needed to turn and follow Him with her life, or she had not chosen to do so yet.

"Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done'" (Matt. 16:24-27).


Shakala believed in Jesus, but she had not yet decided to come after Him.  Jesus said we must not only believe in the gospel, but also we must repent (Mk. 1:15; Lk. 13:5; Lk. 24:46-47).  Like Jesus, Paul preached that those who believe the gospel "should repent and turn to God" (Acts 26:20).  Those who believe and repent--turn from going their own way to the living God, Jesus Christ--are born again, saved from the wrath to come, and eternally freed from imprisonment to their sins through the finished work of Jesus Christ (1 Thes. 1:4-5, 9-10).  Repentance is not a work of man that enables one to earn his or her salvation.  Rather, repentance is a work of God by the Spirit of God, causing the believer to turn to Him for eternal life and follow Him (see John 1:12-13).


I asked Shakala if she knew what Jesus said to do in order to know that her destiny will be heaven.  She didn't know what He said.  I told her that Jesus said to do two things:  believe and repent (Mk. 1:15).  I explained to her that repentance is like a coin, it has two sides.  She knew one side of the coin--asking God to forgive our sins.  But she didn't know the other side--turning from all else in her life and in the world to the living God (1 Thes. 1:9-10).  

I asked her when she was going to turn to follow Jesus with her life.  Her answer:  "Today!"  I asked her if she knew how to follow Jesus.  She didn't.  I explained to her that Jesus said in John 8:31-32 that his real followers are those who abide or continue in his word so that they will know the liberating truth--Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6).  I explained to her that following Jesus is as simple as spending time reading the Word each day, asking Jesus to help you understand what you read, and asking him to help you obey it.  I gave her a gospel of John and encouraged her to repent and follow Jesus.  I pray she did.


What will you do to follow Jesus?  Will you begin to follow Him by allowing him to teach you to fish for men (Matt. 4:19).  Nothing is more important.  Some one's life may be on the line.