Good morning to all on this Father's Day 2014. My heavenly Father is with me always and has made it possible to see my earthly father, Emorrie again one day. Emorrie has passed and I miss him every day. I didn't quite appreciate how smart he was during his life time; I didn't fully appreciate the wisdom he impacted to me and all his children. I reflect on what he said daily; little snip-its come to mind when I need it. I have followed this same practice with my children and grandchildren and even though at times I don't feel like my children or grand children listen, I say it anyway so that when they can and need to hear what I tried to impart, it will be in their memory. Happy Father's Day to all of the Father's in my family and in the circle of friends I have. The father of my children is doing what he likes to do best--playing golf. We had a great morning and my prayer is that he enjoys himself immensely!
I am continuing my journey in Acts, chapter 22 verses 1-30". Paul is speaking, "Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.” When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.
Then Paul said: I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ "Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of Him who was speaking to me. ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me. A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him. Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear Words from His mouth. You will be His witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’
When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ He said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’ “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’
The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!” As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.” The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered. Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains. The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them. Amen and may the Lord ad a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.
What were the Jews so afraid of ? They stoned Stephen when he proclaimed the Gospel and now they wanted to stone Paul. What were these people so afraid of. The Jews had been looking for their Messiah for millennium and yet when He came, they rejected Him as was prophesied in the Old Testament. In Psalms 118: 22 "The stone which the builders rejected Has become the Chief Corner Stone." The truth is that for the Jews to accept Stephen and Paul they would have to admit that they were guilty of rejecting the One who had been sent to provide a means of Salvation. The Jews had their own version of "salvation"--they wanted to be free of the Romans. How short sighted. God sent the Bridge across which when you cross, you are free from original sin that blocks our ability to live one with God. They rejected this free Gift, called Jesus and remained blinded by sin. That's the whole point of Satan's mission. To keep enough of us blind through sin so that we 1) don't accept the Gift of life, and 2) if we do then we do not enjoy the abundance of Life that is offered as we walk in faith with God through Christ.
Paul saw the light. He could have ignored it but it was a life altering experience for him. All of us have that opportunity. Many of us do and when seized upon our life changes--period! You may ask then why do I go back to my old ways. Just habit. We do the familiar because it takes faith and courage through faith to do the unfamiliar. I struggle with these issues my self, daily. What is familiar is to allow frustration to anger me. I can give into this or take a deep breath and allow Christ to blind me from my old ways and guide me onto a new path. Some folk may fall back into their addictions, what ever they may be. Some folk may fall back into doubt. There are many pitfalls on our own road to Damascus, HOWEVER just like Paul God will blind us with His love and we need only give in to the 'Blindness" so that we can be lead back to our purpose--to love God with all of our hearts and to love one another just like God loves us!
To know Him is to love Him. To love Him is to serve Him. To serve Him is to love you. Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Stephanie
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