“Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you…to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:16,18).
For my birthday, my wife Renee gave me this new health book entitled, “Fit for Life.” In this book, they have an entire picture section of people that have been through the program this book offers.
You see all the “before and after” pictures of all these people. I love looking at before and after pictures of people that have purposed to change. It is so inspiring! In three to six months these people look completely different and so much better.
In the past, I’ve talked about the newness of life that God offers us. He empowers us by His Holy Spirit to live it out. His Word says we are to be transformed. As I was looking at the before and after pictures of these people, I had this thought…every one of us is working toward one of those two pictures.
We are either creating a before picture or an after picture of our current life. Have you ever thought which picture you are presently creating?
Paul’s Pictures
In the book of the Acts of the Apostle in chapter 26, the Apostle Paul is giving his testimony while on trial. He is verbally painting the before picture of his life and then the after picture once Jesus got a hold of him. It became his testimony.
Everyone who changes from a “before” to an “after” has a testimony. How powerful it is when our testimony is about what the Lord has done in us!
In some ways, I am living in my after picture. I say that because if anyone saw me now compared to twenty-five years ago before I knew the Lord, they’d tell you I was a completely different person. I am happy for that.
At the same time, internally I feel like I am in a before picture compared to what I believe the Lord still wants to do within me and through my life. I realize that’s good. Otherwise I would be sitting in pride of how great I think I am and probably look like a Pharisee.
The after picture is our on-going goal that we see in our hearts that God helps us paint. It is the shaping of our thoughts and desires to conform to His Word, His will, and His purpose for our lives. It’s a path and a process in which we will continue to be changed as we pray and seek Him and purpose to live according to what He speaks to us through His Word.
Acts 26 is the central focus for all of us as we walk out what God wants for our lives. Like Paul, we should become as a servant and witness of what has been seen and of what the Lord will show us…”to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (v. 18).
An aimless and purposeless life outside of the Lord will always result in a “before” picture. Pressing toward God’s will for your life will help create “after” pictures. An after picture is not the end. It is actually only a step to the next after picture.
What does your next after picture look like?
“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:4-6).
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Timothy Burt is a pastor, author, and writer. He is best known as the author of Fresh Manna, a daily devotional and online Bible study.
Pastor Tim became a part of the leadership team at Living Word Christian Center in 1984 and was an Associate Pastor from 1989 until May 31st, 2017. He and His wife Renee, also a Pastor at Living Word, resigned after being a part of Living Word for 33 years on May 31, 2017. They felt impressed by God to pursue the tremendous growth of their ministry "Fresh Manna," as well as teaching conferences and seminars and increasing their involvement in the mission field through Tim and Renee Burt Ministries. Tim has a Bachelor of Theology degree and is a Christian blogger who has been writing a daily inspirational and teaching devotion three days a week called "Fresh Manna" for the past 22 years. It has been read in over 227 countries (official countries and territories). Tim was named one of the top 55 blogging Pastors. He is one of the top Social Media influencers in Minnesota with a strong presence on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TimBurt with over 187,000 followers. Between Tim's Fresh Manna Devotional and Twitter influence, he virally averages reaching over 4 million people daily with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of God.
Prior to working at LWCC, he worked at Northwest Airlines for 13 years. In 1985 he founded and was President of American Infant Care Products which marketed his patented invention, the first fold-down commercial infant changing table now used worldwide in public restrooms.
In their tenure at Living Word, Timothy Burt and his wife Renee created a Small Group Ministry when the church was about 800 people in size. Under the leadership of Sr. Pastors Mac and Lynne Hammond, the church grew to over 10,000 people. Pastor Tim and Renee led a diverse Small Group Ministry of over 200 groups. Tim also led weekly men's groups and a monthly Men's Breakfast of 250 plus men called Manhood for 27 years. Tim's responsibilities also included oversight over the Visitor and Member Relations Department, Leadership and Volunteer Development, and the Pastoral Care Department. Pastor Tim was also the Minnesota State Director of Christians United for Israel from 2006 thru 2017.
Tim and Renee are the parents of four children and have seven grandchildren. Tim loves to write, golf, run, and walk, and is a master gardener. He is a five-time marathon finisher. He is also a three-time award-winning gardener winning the Grand Prize in his city for his beautiful home garden and is a Master Gardener for the University of Minnesota's Master Gardener Extension Program.
