"Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." Acts 9:6
Jesus gives Saul a clear directive. No discussion, no need to ask any more questions. Just do what he was told. Wow! I gotta say I like this kind of stuff. In a world that tends not to deal well with authority or directives, it is nice to see subordination exercised appropriately. This is one of those statements that brings back some memories for me; seems that more than once my Dad gave me similar directives.
"Who are You, Lord? Saul asked." Acts 9:5a
Just like falling down can be humbling, answering your own question can be revealing, also. In a way, Saul does answer his own question, but there is more to it than that. The Lord, God is indeed who is talking to Saul, but more specifically it is the Lord Jesus, His Messiah that he has to answer to. Jesus is who Saul is persecuting. Jesus is who Saul must deal with and meet.
"He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Acts 9:4
After Saul (Paul) saw the light from heaven, he fell to the ground. Sometimes in life, it is not enough to see the light or have an epiphany. Sometimes, we need to eat the dirt. Falling down physically is humbling. It usually is a shot to the pride. Some of our falls are moral failures, some pride adjustments, and some just clumsiness. I have experienced all three to some degree. Never easy, often can be tremendous learning opportunities.
"Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength; we will sing and praise your might." Psalm 21:13
We certainly should Praise the Lord when we experience victory in our lives. We should thank Him and exalt Him and glorify His name for His strength. Every time, all the time, and anytime we see the hand of God, we should burst into song, poetry, dance, rap or whatever format that best describes the amazing-ness of His Sovereign Majesty. We could virtually, never endingly be glorifying God because of how wonderful, perfect, holy, loving, gracious, merciful, and righteous He is and always will be. But we don’t. Hey life gets busy, we work, and go to school, and clean the house, and take care of children. We play and shop, and take care of most of our duties and responsibilities. We drive, sleep, eat, watch T.V., daydream, and chit chat. We worry, stress, waste time, complain, and cause trouble. We help, serve, attend, listen, endure, and wait. Life is very full of emotions and activities and needs and issues and all kinds of stuff.
"Lord our God, you answered them; you were to Israel a forgiving God, though you punished their misdeeds." Psalm 99:8
Though this is written about the Israelites it pertains to us also. Let's talk about consequences. God is to us, also, a forgiving God. As a matter of Biblical fact, He removes our sins from Himself as far as the east is from the west and buries our sins in the deepest sea, to be remembered no more. These are His promises to us. Just think about how far the east is from the west. It is totally and completely far. As far as it can get. And the deepest sea we have not even seen, explored measured or figured out. Pretty deep I think. These wonderful pictures allow us to realize how forgiving God is and just how much he loves us and how far His grace extends.
"Meanwhile Saul was till breathing out murderous threats about the Lord’s disciples." Acts 9:1
The Christian life is full of vivid illustrations of the contrast between good and evil. While Phillip is being supernaturally transported and the disciples are witnessing, ministering, and doing miraculous signs, simultaneously, Saul, whom we later know as Paul is up to no good. He is persecuting believers as fully as possible. He is incensed with the up start religion that wants to change things and he has become the champion of bringing Christians under scrutiny and sending letters to Synagogues to expel any who dare to promote Jesus as the Messiah. He is threatening death and anything imaginable to instill fear into those who are threatening Judaism. He is on a mission of a different kind. He is driven and motivated, zealous and vengeful. Can you imagine his feelings about his past after he pens Romans 8:1, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”? This is a long way from “murderous threats” huh? What an amazing change of heart that is about to happen. He has no idea God is coming after him. He is arrogant, self-righteous, indignant, and full of hate. He is the perfect example of what Jesus is describing on the cross when He says, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” Saul (Paul) in his own mind is totally justified and full of himself. Do you know the feeling? To be so wrong, when you were so sure you were so right. What an epiphany. What a huge wake up call, shocking to him, to his fellow Pharisees, to believers, and to everyone.
"As he neared Damascus on his journey suddenly a light from Heaven flashed around him." Acts 9:3
Saul was indeed a man on a mission. He had letters to help him persecute believers and he needed to get to where he was going because he had business to do. Can you imagine his reaction as he nears Damascus, thinking about his letters, who they were for, how he would expose the followers of the Way and shut down this new religion? How powerful as he rode proud on his horse with a plan in his heart to do what he must do. Then, out of no where, suddenly, with out warning…BOOM. A light from heaven flashed around him. Was it a flash of lighting from a clear sky? Was it a falling star? Saul (Paul) did not know what it was, but it came from above and it knocked him off his horse, to the ground. Suddenly he saw a light. You could say “he saw the light.” He knew something was happening, something he had not experienced before. It happened suddenly, and came from Heaven. What did it mean? Why was it happening? Why now?
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35, 38, 39
The most important need we have as humans is knowing that we are loved. When this emotional need is met we can continue to grow and mature into the people that God had created us to be. At a Promisekeepers Conference I went to many years ago, I remember the keynote speaker talking about love and its viral impact it has on our development. The one key point he made was if a baby was denied love it would perish and die. (And this was based on a study done at an Ivy League School.)
"Those who had been scattered preached the Word wherever they went." Acts 8:4
I have been known to appreciate simple profundities. One of my favorite quotes kinda goes like this....."Always remember, wherever you go, there you are." Not too difficult to understand, right?
"When Simon the Sorcerer saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." Acts 8:18
God's power can only be used for God's purposes. When there is power that is not for God's purposes, it comes from somewhere else. The devil was the first charlatan. He is the King of Charlatans. He is a fake and an impostor, a liar and deceiver. People are attracted to power and want it. Everybody wants to do the magic trick. Everybody wants to impress. It is tempting to have power and have people be impressed by you.
Ready for more sharing from one of my recent devotionals from A Devo for Women on the Go? Well, here goes. The subject was "Sticks and Stones”. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but…" I'm sure that most of us can finish this phrase because you probably heard this more than once or twice in your adolescent years [or maybe even after that in your adult years - hopefully not]. It ends with "words will never hurt me." The reason that we're not likely to hear this much as an adult is because by the time we've reached adulthood, one thing we all know for sure is that "words really hurt." In fact, in some ways words hurt us in ways that sticks and stones can't, because once the bruise from a thrown stone heals, the physical sign of the stone's injury is gone. But, when someone speaks words that are cruel, hurtful, and demeaning, the damage that ensues remains for a long time because there is no taking the words back. You've heard the old adage that "once you ring a bell, you can't unring it", and no one would argue with that.
"When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea." Acts 8:39-40
In my first study of this passage ever, when I was a youth director in Canoga Park, I immediately contacted my Pastor and asked him if what I read was as if it appeared. He assured me yes, Philip was transported by the Spirit to Azotus without traveling on the land to get there, before airplanes. Wow! Miraculous! Do you believe it? I do. As a matter of fact, I have seen and experienced a number of miracles in my life and the longer I walk with Him the more comfortable I am with time and space not being an issue. I have seen angels; I have witnessed miraculous healings, conversions, and provision. I have seen the power of God change people and overcome and overwhelm groups of people and individuals. I have received and heard things revealed by the Spirit that had no other way of being known. I am not trying to impress you; I just can confirm that this type of thing is not exclusive to the events in Scripture. God's miraculous hand and the Spirit's work is still active today. God has a divine purpose for why He does what He does. God is at work in our midst and sometimes outside of time and space.
"Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus." Acts 8:35
The passage of Scripture being referred to is Isaiah 53:7-8. One of many specifically prophetic passages that illustrate who the coming Messiah would be. Philip was following the directive of an angel of the Lord who had instructed him to head south on the road, and he met an Ethiopian eunuch in a chariot (interesting rabbit to chase, but I won't here). Anyway, this guy has been reading the book of Isaiah and comes to this passage and is baffled about who Isaiah talking about? So Philip is there at the right time, doing the right thing, and explains to him that it is Jesus, and who Jesus is, and one thing led to another and Philip baptized this Ethiopian as soon as they came to some water.
"You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!" Acts 7:51
When I read this indictment from Stephen, I immediately was reminded of a line from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , where after a tirade from Butch, Sundance says, "Don’t sugarcoat it Butch, just tell ‘em straight." Again, Stephen is just quoting Scripture where God’s frustration with His people had reached an apex, and He laid it out straight. Obliviously, stiff-necked refers to the inability and unwillingness to turn around or change. The hearts and ears refer to not listening and having an unnecessary covering that makes us deaf or hard-hearted.
"However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands." Acts 7:48
Stephen takes 47 verses to tell the story of the Jewish people, from Abraham to Solomon. He finishes verse 47 by saying that Solomon built the temple. Then, a concept that we all understand is shared in verse 48. Scripture says a number of times that God does not literally live in houses built by human hands. We know He lives in the hearts of believers and that we are the temples of the Holy Spirit. But, religion can confine God to buildings and make the trappings and traditions of the practice of spirituality more important than the relationship with a living God. I must say that this leniency towards “edifice complex” was still common 50 years ago.
Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Dolly:
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do." James 1: 22-25
My grandson’s third grade class at Grace Harbor School is learning James 1: 22-25 as their memory verse. Part of their assignment is to give examples that illustrate the meaning of these verses. I try not to do his homework for him, so it can be challenging to teach the concepts of a lesson without giving him the answer.
"On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria." Acts 8:1
That day was the day Stephen was martyred, murdered, stoned to death. The separation between Judaism and emerging Christianity was finalized. For fear of their lives, the early church in Jerusalem was reduced to only the apostles. Everyone else was scattered. God sometimes uses bad situations, even tragedies to accomplish His will. As the Bible says…"what the enemy meant for evil, God used for good."
"Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ." Acts 5:42
This is one of those verses that needs phrase by phrase brief illustration to make a few points.
Remember, this is taking place in the midst of persecution and immediately following Peter and John, and the other apostles being flogged. We should take this verse and what the apostles did to heart and imitate them.
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