Acts 26: 14 – 16 “And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, I am Jesus whom, you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.’”
Dear God,
How beautiful is the way You seek out those who will be great warriors for You, despite the reality that presently they were/are acting under Satan’s power. Even when I am claiming to be Your child, and not be under the control of Satan, You come and reveal to me/us, that there are issues in the Christian walk that we individually need to make right, such as to be more ‘switched on’ by Your power, and thus able to widely proclaim You and salvation for all. I am privileged to be able to read Your word freely again this morning. I give thanks, for Your inspiration of those who contributed to scripture.
I pray that through Your Spirit it will be revealed to me, when there is any below the surface meaning from the recorded words and historical events that I am reading from scripture, and the lessons I should take from the passages for myself. It is truly a heart beautiful experience, to be led and nurtured by the ‘Comforter’ that Jesus sent into the world when He left, to prepare to bring us to Himself in heaven. It was Jesus who revealed Himself, as He stopped Saul in his tracks and turned him around from being a persecutor of Christians to being a converted, powerful missionary to the Gentiles; as well as a humble, Spirit filled insightful Christian. The proud accusing Pharisee was forever gone; though thankfully his zeal and energy was not!
Because You are the God Almighty, You can see the heart of man. This ability is not available to mankind, for we see what is manifested on the outside, and too frequently assume we know what is going on in the persons heart, or just ‘write them off’ because of their behaviour. God could see the worth of Saul, and knew that Saul had been conditioned by his upbringing and training and was honestly deluded in his beliefs about Jesus, and His mission, and thought he was doing God’s work.
As soon as Jesus appeared to him in dazzling light from heaven, he was convicted unreservedly that Jesus was God and the long awaited Messiah. True to his nature, Saul did not hold back from witnessing about His divine intervention. Telling of what Jesus had said, and “of the things which I will reveal to you.” Saul in sync with his new life began to be known as Paul.
They like me, and every other person, were not forced to become a Christian, and instead out of conviction, chose to accept Jesus, and receive forgiveness for every sin and “an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”
Jesus has all my praise, because of His loving sacrifice and for never giving up on any one of the human race.
Amen