Jesus Changes Everything: A 5-Day Devotional With Randy AlcornSample

From childhood I’ve loved astronomy. I grew up in an unbelieving home. Night after night I’d gaze at the stars, clueless about a Creator, but yearning for something much greater than myself.

One night, as I stared through my telescope at the great galaxy of Andromeda, 2.5 million light years away with its trillion stars, I was filled with awe. But my wonder was trumped by a sometimes unbearable sense of loneliness and separation. In retrospect, I think I wanted to worship, but I didn’t know what or who to worship. I wept not only because I felt so insignificant, but also because I felt so disconnected from the Significant One I did not know or know of. 

Several years later, at age fifteen, after attending a church youth group, I opened a Bible and saw these words for the first time: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” And then I read verse 14, the greatest understatement ever: “He made the stars also.” 

I quickly realized that this book was about the Person who made the universe, including Andromeda and Earth—and me.

I had no reference points when I read the Bible. All of it was new, intriguing, sometimes confusing, and utterly disorienting. But when I reached the Gospels, something changed. I was immediately fascinated by Jesus. I’d been an avid reader of fiction, but I knew this wasn’t fiction. I knew Jesus wasn’t just a character in a story. I soon came to believe that He not only lived two thousand years ago, but that He still lived. Everything about Jesus of Nazareth struck me as completely believable. And, somehow, I knew He was the One my heart had always longed for. 

By a miracle of grace, Jesus touched me deeply, gave me a new heart, and utterly transformed my life. Forty-five years later, He’s still unveiling Himself and changing me into His image and likeness. I couldn’t be happier that He’s every bit as real to me now as the moment I met Him—but now I know Him better, and therefore worship Him more deeply. 

For me, Jesus didn’t just change everything back then. He still changes everything today.

Eternal Perspective Ministries invites you to learn more about Randy Alcorn’s book Face to Face with Jesus: Seeing Him as He Really Is, with 200 brief meditations, Scripture readings, and inspirational quotes that help reveal the rich identity of God’s Son.