Sunday, May 11th - Acts 9

Jump to Comments

(Over 60 blog readers now…we’re picking up steam! Thanks for checking in!)

Before reading today, think in your head about those people who you wish could become believers, but you think God could never break through their hard hearts. Offer a prayer for them — because, as you’ll see, God can save anyone, even the toughest of customers.

INSIGHTS

Just how evil was Saul? He oversaw the executions of Christians (7:58, 8:1), he organized religious death squads that went house to house (8:3), and now he’s working the legal system to pave the way to legalized extermination (9:1-2). “A person who terrorizes or frightens others; a person, usually a member of a group, who uses or advocates terrorism.” That’s the definition of a terrorist. Saul was a Jewish terrorist.

Saul was literally on about to enter Damascus, where he was going to go from synagogue to synagogue, looking for Christians to extradite back to Jerusalem. Do you suppose the churches in Damascus were praying for some relief? (We see in verse 14 that they knew Saul was coming.)

The voice of Jesus interrupts his gruesome agenda with His first post-ascension revelation. He says, “Saul, why do you persecute me? I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Not the Christians, not the church, but “me…Jesus.” In God’s eyes, shots taken at the church are equivalent to direct shots at Jesus Himself.

Paul never answers this question, and I wish he did, because it’s a question I have for so many antagonists to the faith. Why do you take on Jesus? If he’s a deceiver or a crazy man, why not just leave him alone? Saul’s entire life was dedicated to eradicating a belief system that he had to have determined was ludicrous. Seems like a waste of valuable energy – especially in light of Gamaliel’s wisdom in chapter 5.

Paul’s bout of blindness reminds me of Jesus’ words to the Pharisees in John 9:41: “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” It seems every person who goes from death to life needs to pass through a season of blindness…where we realize that, on our own, we simply can’t see our way through.

And what a call to Ananias! “Go to ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.” Right! Kind of like a word from God saying, “Go visit with Osama Bin-Laden – he’s waiting for you to lead him to Christ.” How eager are you to obey that call?

Interesting…when Saul does get saved, it says “At once he began to preach.” Not a lot of training, schooling…just call and giftedness! And soon, the Jews were trying to kill him – quite a role reversal! The basket escape shows that the ingenuity of the church can often be used by God to help continue His plan.

Barnabas…you’ve got to love Barnabas! He’s the one who decides to venture out into the relational choppy water that would become his friendship with Saul/Paul. They will have their issues in the future, too.

Finally, a season of peace for the church, which featured internal and numerical growth…and a healthy dose of “living in the fear of the Lord.”

CHALLENGES

1. Are we praying about things as though God can truly and radically changes lives and circumstances? Or, if Jesus was here, would he say to us “oh, you of little faith”?

2. We have been experiencing a season of peace in the American Church for over 200 years. Peace yes…but stronger? More Spirit-driven? More reverent? Surely we could be growing stronger during these peaceful days!

Next up – Peter’s big lesson from God about the gentiles! See you tomorrow. Make sure you post your insights if you’ve got ’em!

- - - - - - - - - -

1 Comment

Filed under The Book of Acts