"To Be Converted"

"And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." (Luke 22:31 & 32) 'Converted': the Greek word is 'epistrepho', and it means to turn; to turn upon, or toward. The real question that arises, is whether man turns to God, or does God turn man to Himself. This I believe is quite significant to understand, because I can remember all the times that I turned to God before I actually accepted Jesus into my heart, that, my turning to Him was not sincere; but it was more of a act of desperation. However, the day that I received Christ into my heart, it was God that turned me to Himself; for at that time I was very content with where I was; and although I was in jail, I did not think that I needed to be saved from my condition. But, then came the 'Call'; as I laid there in my bunk, just planning to do my own thing, there came that voice over the loudspeaker, saying, 'Come'. Why do I say that this is quite significant? Because I was not converted out of desperation, as if I needed to be saved from a particular circumstance, or hardship. And had I received my conversion based upon needing to be saved from a certain ordeal, when the ordeal was over, I might not have stayed committed to the Lord. Instead, I was saved based upon my true need of salvation, and not based upon my need to be saved from my predicament. I think that I would liken this to what happen to Moses, as he was tending the flock of his father-in-law, God appeared to him in the form of a burning bush. Moses was content with where he was, and God appeared; then Moses was converted to God. Or like Paul; who, when he was Saul, and on a quest to go to anywhere that Christians were gathering, to persecute them and bring to justice; God appeared, and Paul was converted. Man left at his own devices, will serve himself; and when we are turning to God because of our earthly needs, we are doing so to try and better our situation, and not necessarily to give our life over to the Lord. Peter and the other disciples had went back to what they were doing before they meet Jesus; and after Jesus rose from the dead, and appeared to them at the shore, there was a real conversion. Peter especially had received this conversion; because, for Peter, his seeing the Lord risen from the dead, was more than he needed to turn him back to the Lord: Jesus appeared to Him and turned him back!!! "Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest? And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of The Book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. The meek shall increase their Joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel." (Isaiah 29:17-19)