“They told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad.” Acts 15:3
When traveling to countries abroad, you will need to convert American currency into the currency of the country you are visiting. There are automobiles that you can convert from a hardtop roof to no roof. In fact that car is even called a convertible. To convert means to turn from one thing to another.
The word convert takes on a very important meaning when we look at its religious connection. Conversion is actually a beautiful miracle that takes place when the Holy Spirit works faith in a person’s heart. The early church rejoiced to hear of someone converted to Christianity. “They told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad” (Acts 15:3).
We also saw this happen to Saul (Paul) on the road to Damascus. Saul took joy in persecuting every Christian he could find. He admitted, “I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it” (Galatians 1:13). But on the way to Damascus, Jesus visited him, and the Holy Spirit worked faith in his heart. It was a marvelous conversion.
We are thankful that we have been converted. Everyone who believes that Jesus died and rose for them is part of God’s work in converting lost souls. Peter tells us that, “You were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:25). Second Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) puts it this way: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
From Precious Words of the Bible by Reynold R. Kremer