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In Acts 8 we read about Simon the Sorcerer, a man who was somebody great in the eyes of many people and liked it that way! Then Phillip arrived, demonstrating greater power as he testified about Jesus Christ and the eternal life that He offers. Phillip believed, impressed by the wonders Phillip performed as a sign that God really was at work. He was even baptised to show that he'd left his old life behind and wanted to now live for God as His child. However old habits die hard, and when he saw the power Peter and John exercised in giving the Holy Spirit he offered them money if they would just give him that ability. He wanted to be someone great again, someone people followed as a power in his own right. Peter made it very clear that this kind of attitude and desire does not fit with God's people, urging Simon to turn away from his sin. It's this willingness to leave our old life behind that demonstrates true conversion. We cannot claim to follow Christ if we are also determined to keep going on our own path. Sure, we'll mess up - a lot! But each time we do God by His Spirit helps us to see the sin that is still part of who we are, confess it and leave it at the cross where it has been dealt with by Jesus. The divine transaction is then completed when we accept from Christ a purity of heart that helps us to move forward as people who are like Him, living by His Spirit instead of controlled by our own sinful tendencies. Then God will produce all kinds of great stuff in us and through us for His glory, our joy and the blessing of those we touch.
