May 13, 2008 – 6:10 am
Johnny comes lately
This post is coming to you late but, last week was a hectic one and mother’s day being on Sunday and all caused the delay.
Change
This past week one key thing that stood out to me more than anything else was the idea of change and I do not mean the stuff jingling in your pockets. I mean real honest to God change in people. During my bible study this past week I was reminded of how the Apostle Paul, who became one of the most prolific writers in the bible, had a life altering event that changed him forever. His change was so drastic that he went from being a feared persecutor of Christian believer’s to being one greatest defenders and missionaries of the Christian faith. Now Paul’s situation was very unusual because he was directly visited by the spirit of the Lord and spoken to by Jesus. The following are the passages from Acts 26 in the bible that tell of this event:
Acts 26
1 Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded to make his defense: 2 “In regard to all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today;
3 especially because you are an expert in all customs and questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently. 4 “So then, all Jews know my manner of life from my youth up, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem; 5 since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion. 6 “And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers; 7 the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by Jews.
8 “Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead? 9 “So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 “And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them.
11 “And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities. 12 “While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13 at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. 14 “And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 “And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 ‘But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; 17 rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you,
18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’ 19 “So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance. 21 “For this reason some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death. 22 “So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place;
23 that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” 24 While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad.” 25 But Paul *said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of sober truth. 26 “For the king knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner. 27 “King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you do.” 28 Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.”
29 And Paul said, “I would wish to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains.” 30 The king stood up and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them, 31 and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying, “This man is not doing anything worthy of death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Making sense of this
Paul was a man of conviction and initially believed he was doing the right thing. Until he was exposed to the power of God and shown the true light he did not see the folly in his ways. I can relate to this story. Back in 1993 I was living a life apart from God. I had grown up in a home that did not attend church or have any type of understanding of what Christianity was all about. It was not until I went away to college and started reading the bible for myself till I realized that the current way I was living was not the life God intended for us. I soon realized he wanted so much more for me and my future. Ultimately, I meet a guy on campus that was a deacon at his church. We had long conversations about who Jesus was and what living a life of faith meant. Soon after this I decided to dedicate my life to Christ. I became a Christian.
Slowly, God has molded and shaped me into the man he has wanted me to be. I am always learning and growing and willing to change in his hands.
Conclusion
Paul is an example of a life changed by the power of God. It is hard to express the magnitude of it all in a blog post. Ever since I committed my life to God and started a personal relationship with Jesus Christ it has been a great journey that I have never regretted. And God wants the same for you. If you are interested in learning more about having a personal relationship with your Creator please follow this link.
Scripture
John 3:16-17
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
Thanks to YourVersion.com for the great website! It’s a great site to use for bible study.
Posted in Blog, Christian, Inspirational, Scripture, Weekly Reflection | No Comments »
New Firepruf Web Design & Marketing Blog
