Blinded by the Light
Scripture: Acts 9:1-3,8
"1 Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord's followers. So he went to the high priest. 2 He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.
3 As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him...8 Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind..."
Observations:
The Bible records the conversion of one of the most hard headed individuals in history- Saul of Tarsus. Full of pride and self righteousness, he sought to inflict punishment on those with whom he disagreed. He was a prominent and rising star in Judaism but was as far away from God as they come. On the outside he had it all amd didn't need anything- especially another religion. He had his mind made up and he wasn't about to change. He'd die first. But from God's perspective, Saul was spirtully blind and misguided and it took an act of God to knock him off his high horse and get him to recognize his need for Christ. God blinded him physically so that he would begin to see spiritually.
Application:
We all know people who are a lot like Saul. Stubborn, judgmental, prideful, hard hearted, cruel, and very far from God. We often think to ourselves "it would take an act of God to get them to Christ". Fortunately, we serve a God who specializes in such acts and desires for everyone, yes even them, to be saved (2 Peter 3:9). Instead of writing these people off as lost causes and disqualifying them from God's grace, God still asks us to represent Him to those people many consider unreachable. But in the Kingdom of God there is no such thing as unreachable. The very story of Saul coming to Christ is a prime example of the fact that if God can save the very worst sinner, then He has no problem saving everyone else too. The deciding facor though is whether or not we choose to see people from God's perspective as candidates for His grace or as objects of His wrath. The eternal fate of those professional "sinners" in your life is being decided by our response to them. Do we spend more time praying for them or criticicizing them? Are our action communicating God's acceptance or His judgment? Would Jesus be doing anything different to reach them?
Prayer:
Father, give us Your perspective and grace for those in our lives who need it most. Help us to care about people and communicate Your acceptance that invites them to Christ instead of our own judgments that keep them away. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
"1 Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord's followers. So he went to the high priest. 2 He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.
3 As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him...8 Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind..."
Observations:
The Bible records the conversion of one of the most hard headed individuals in history- Saul of Tarsus. Full of pride and self righteousness, he sought to inflict punishment on those with whom he disagreed. He was a prominent and rising star in Judaism but was as far away from God as they come. On the outside he had it all amd didn't need anything- especially another religion. He had his mind made up and he wasn't about to change. He'd die first. But from God's perspective, Saul was spirtully blind and misguided and it took an act of God to knock him off his high horse and get him to recognize his need for Christ. God blinded him physically so that he would begin to see spiritually.
Application:
We all know people who are a lot like Saul. Stubborn, judgmental, prideful, hard hearted, cruel, and very far from God. We often think to ourselves "it would take an act of God to get them to Christ". Fortunately, we serve a God who specializes in such acts and desires for everyone, yes even them, to be saved (2 Peter 3:9). Instead of writing these people off as lost causes and disqualifying them from God's grace, God still asks us to represent Him to those people many consider unreachable. But in the Kingdom of God there is no such thing as unreachable. The very story of Saul coming to Christ is a prime example of the fact that if God can save the very worst sinner, then He has no problem saving everyone else too. The deciding facor though is whether or not we choose to see people from God's perspective as candidates for His grace or as objects of His wrath. The eternal fate of those professional "sinners" in your life is being decided by our response to them. Do we spend more time praying for them or criticicizing them? Are our action communicating God's acceptance or His judgment? Would Jesus be doing anything different to reach them?
Prayer:
Father, give us Your perspective and grace for those in our lives who need it most. Help us to care about people and communicate Your acceptance that invites them to Christ instead of our own judgments that keep them away. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
The thing I always look at is what an amazing tool they will be for God if they get it going in the right direction. It is hard to keep up with people who are running with passion!
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