The Importance of Reading the Bible- Part 3
The Importance of Reading the Bible – Part 1 The Importance of Reading the Bible – Part 2 Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4: 12-13 has some good insight for us regarding the importance of reading the Bible! First, the word of God is alive and active! The Bible is an old, old book and an inanimate object, so for the writer of Hebrews to say it is alive and active is revealing! The words in our Bible will come alive to us as we read them! They pop from the page and speak to our hearts if we let them! Sometimes when we first start reading the Bible for ourselves it can seem dull, boring, and hard to understand but as we persevere and continue in His word it very quickly becomes active in our hearts! It causes us to come alive, to move and be moved! God is always moving, and His word is always speaking; His word is active and alive! You need that in your life! You need the very words of God to strengthen, sustain, and speak to you! It’s so important you read the Bible for yourself! Sharper than any double-edged sword This isn’t the only time we see the word of God referred to as a sword. In Ephesians 6, Paul writes that we should put on the full armor of God and he outlines each piece of the armor. He finishes by telling us to take up “…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17b Now, here in Hebrews 4, we see that the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God) is actually sharper than even a double-edged sword, this weapon is powerful! In fact, it’s so powerful that it can penetrate even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow! It’s able to divide our human self from our spiritual self, parts of us that are inseparable the word of God can break apart to reveal what’s there. We see this as well when it says it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Those are private- my thoughts and my heart are mine alone- I may choose to reveal them through my words or actions but if I wish to fake it, no one but me knows what’s in there… well except for God! The word of God will judge my thoughts and attitudes of my heart. The word of God can get right to the real issues. The word of God can go right to the core and reveal what’s there. Because nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. God knows it all. Even things we don’t realize about ourselves, God sees and He knows! On our journey to seek God and to become more like Jesus we need the word of God to come in alive and active and speak to our hearts! We need the word of God to penetrate deep, dividing who we are from who we want to be, to separate us from ourselves so we can see the thoughts and attitudes in our hearts that are not as He wants. We need to be laid bare before the One that created us in order for Him to continue to mold us into His image and likeness! We need to read the Word- the Bible! We need to let that sword do its work in us!! Reading the Bible is so important! I hope this series has encouraged you on your journey of seeking Him! I hope you see that it’s more than a religious requirement but that we need His word for our growth! God has preserved His word through all these generations for our benefit! If you’re someone that enjoys a good checklist consider checking out this post and free checklist attachment to keep you on track in reading, prayer, and thinking about God! Do Checklists Keep You On Task? Be blessed as you seek Him! ~A.E.
The Importance of Reading the Bible – Part 2
2 Timothy 3:14-17 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. As we continue to look at the importance of reading the Bible let’s outline what this passages states scripture is useful for in verse 16. If you missed part 1, you can find it HERE All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for: Teaching Rebuking Correcting Training in Righteousness So that we (as servants of God) make be equipped to do good work! There’s another point in this passage, in verse 15, that states what the scriptures can do. The Bible is also able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus! We need all these things in our lives as we seek to be more Christ-like and grow in faith and knowledge of Jesus! I need Jesus to teach me! I need Jesus to rebuke me when I’m wrong! I need Jesus to correct me when I’ve gone off course! I need Jesus to continually train me in righteousness that I may most clearly reflect Him to everyone around me. I need wisdom to keep my eyes focused on Jesus that I might obtain salvation through faith in Jesus alone! All these things that I need come from the scripture, the Bible! It’s vitally important that I read my Bible for myself daily so that Jesus can continue His good work in me! It’s important to note that the scriptures Paul is referencing here in his letter to Timothy are of course only our Old Testament scriptures. The New Testament of our Bible hadn’t been assembled yet, as Paul was unknowingly writing some of it! How blessed we are to have such free access to the scriptures! With free bible apps and webpages, it has never been easier to read the Bible. But it’s still a decision we must make. It’s still a choice and an action that we must do. Make a decision today that you will get in the word of God a bit more than you currently do. If you never read the Bible, make a commitment to yourself that you’ll start reading once per week. If you read it once per week choose to increase that to twice a week. Wherever you are, take a tiny step to pursue Him just a tiny bit more! He will reward you by molding you a tiny bit more into His likeness! And that’s the greatest reward of all. To following Him and being unwilling to remain the same! Be Blessed! ~A.E. If you find you need some help understanding what you read or knowing where to start reading, consider checking out my 40 Day independent study! It’s specifically designed to help you understand what you’re reading with thought provoking questions to make you think. You can check it out HERE
The Importance of Reading the Bible – Part 1
Sometimes reading the Bible can feel like just something else we have to do. The demands on our time and energy are endless and something easy to skip is reading our Bible daily. But it is truly to our benefit to read our Bible daily. We are called to be like Christ, so we must know what Christ is like. We must know what His example to us is to grow in our faith and relationship with Him. The other day we talked about how God will use our struggles if we let Him. You can check out that post here. God wants to make us into His likeness. That doesn’t happen automatically. Automatically we are selfish and self-centered. Jesus is not. We must read His word and spend time with Him in prayer to know who He is and who He wants us to be. If Jesus, while on earth, saw the value understanding the scriptures for Himself then we certainly should too! Luke 2:41-52 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” 49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them. 51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Even as a child Jesus had a desire to sit with those who taught the scriptures, to listen to them and ask them questions. He knew the importance of knowing those scriptures. We should follow the example of Jesus by striving to know those scriptures as well by reading them ourselves as well as faithfully attending a Bible believing church and learning what we can from the pastors and teachers; we should seek to ask quality questions and grow in understanding. Life is hard. Life is incredibly hard. Knowing the truth of God’s word can help you through the toughest of times. We need to know God’s word to be able to discern truth from lies. Jesus did. If He did, we certainly do. Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. Jesus was tempted by the devil himself! The devil even threw scripture at Him! But Jesus knew the scriptures and He knew when they were being used incorrectly and He was able to respond with truth! When we are walking through a difficult season, we must be able to discern the truth of God from lies regardless of who the lies come from or how good they sound. We can only do this if we are spending time in the Bible and we know the truth! It’s a powerful resource for us as Christians and we take it for granted! We don’t invest the time we should to grow in truth! Start today. Be encouraged. We all struggle. We all fail. We don’t do everything we want or need to. Don’t put an unrealistic expectation on yourself but begin to seek and strive for a bit more! One tiny nugget at a time! Be blessed. ~A.E.
Are You Struggling Today? God Wants To Use The Struggle
We all live in uncertainty; the future is unknown. None of us know what tomorrow will bring. We all go through struggles. Most of us have had a time that we feel we’ve run straight into a wall. There’s so much brokenness in this world. So many difficult things we face: death of a loved one, loss of a job, loss of a dream, broken marriage, and many more that you may think of. You know how we can all read the exact same scripture and it will speak to us all differently? Or how a scripture will pop out at you at a certain time in your life even though you’ve read it many times before with no special impact. God wants to use our struggles similarly. We may go through the same struggle as someone else, yet God wants to use our experience in a unique way, specific to us. God wants to use our struggles to change us, to grow us. He wants to mold us and make us, refine and perfect us. But even though it’s the same struggle, same uncertainty, same wall for us all – He wants to work in us each differently and in a unique way. Just as His scripture speaks to us each differently. What struggle are you facing today? What is God doing in your life? What does He want to mold or perfect in you through this time? So many possibilities. Take some time and ask Him today. Ask Him, “God what do you want to change in me? What are you showing me or speaking to me through this struggle?” Then work on that thing alongside Him and allow Him to do His perfect work! And once completed ask Him again. Because this is a lifelong journey we’re on. We should be changing under the work of His hands continually until we meet Him face to face on the streets of gold. Be Blessed! Nothing goes to waste with God! He uses it all. Keep your eyes focused on Him through the struggle and seek what He’s doing in your life. He will use it, if you let Him! Isaiah 64: 8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Psalm 66: 8-10 Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.
Paul Was Prevented From Visiting Rome But God Used It!
Romans 1: 8-13 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. 11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. This is a passage from the Book of Romans, a letter that Paul wrote to the church in Rome. Paul traveled far and wide but he had not been to Rome yet. Paul tells us in verse 13 he had planned to visit the Romans many times but it hasn’t worked out. Paul is hoping to finally get to travel to Rome and is sending this letter in advance. Actually Paul says he’s been prevented from traveling to see them- not that he has changed his mind, not that he was feeling lazy, his plans didn’t change, he didn’t decide to do something else instead, ect. No, he’s been prevented from doing so – some sort of a roadblock. I’m going to put myself in Paul’s shoes for a moment and assume it has been really frustrating for him. I think of myself – I’m trying to make plans for a noble purpose, and for some reason the pieces just won’t come together. It’s infinitely frustrating! “Why??”, I would ask God. “I don’t understand!”, I would tell Him! But consider this: if Paul hadn’t been prevented from traveling to see them in person, this book of Romans may never have been formed the way it was. If Paul was there in person he wouldn’t have needed to write them a letter. God used this frustrating situation in Paul’s life to give millions of people, over the span of a couple thousand years, the wealth of knowledge and learning that comes from this letter. AMAZING!! God used this roadblock in Paul’s plans to formulate this letter that would continue to be read for the remainder of time! God is still at work doing things like this! God is still working for the good of those that love Him! The frustrating things in your life may be the very things that God uses to help others, to bless others, to make His name great in some big or small way. Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Another quick observation: Paul had no idea his letter would be preserved for thousands of years. He didn’t know the scope of its influence. We may never see the things God does through us in our lifetime either- but we walk by faith believing that if we are faithful to follow Him He will take care of the rest! It puts me in the mind of all the giants of faith referenced in the faith chapter – Hebrews 11. All those people were commended for their faith, yet none of them received what was promised – they didn’t see the reward but they believed God’s word anyway (v39)! Are you facing frustrating roadblocks in your life? Commit to walking by faith; commit to trusting that God is working for good right now! He’s not finished! Hold on tight to Him!
Paul Follows God- Part 2
Today, let’s continue to look at the life of Paul. If you haven’t read Part 1 you can find it here: God Follows Paul- Part 1 You may also be interested in reading how it all started for Paul. You can find his conversion here: A Look At The Conversion of Saul When we left Paul he was getting ready to travel to Jerusalem. He is well aware that trouble and hardship await him. He has been told through the Holy Spirit, friends, and a prophet that he will be persecuted but he knows that God has called him to preach in Jerusalem. He doesn’t have all the details but he has chosen to follow God’s direction, so off to Jerusalem he will go. When Paul first gets to Jerusalem things are going quite well. Paul is received warmly! How wonderful! But there are some rumors floating around about him so to contradict the rumors Paul participates in the 7 day purification rites, all seem pretty peaceful! Acts 21: 17-26 Acts 21:27-40 27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28 shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.” 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.) 30 The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31 While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. 35 When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. 36 The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Get rid of him!”37 As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?” “Do you speak Greek?” he replied. 38 “Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness some time ago?” 39 Paul answered, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.” 40 After receiving the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic: … Paul goes on to give his testimony in front of all his accusers. You can read it in Acts 22: 1-21. The crowd listens intently to Paul’s story until he says God sent him to the Gentiles, then this happens: Acts 22: 21-29 21 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ 22 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!” 23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 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. 25 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?” 26When 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.”27 The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered.28 Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. 29 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. To recap the whole thing: Paul is dragged out of the temple and beaten – they were trying to kill him (v.31) not just give him a beating to remember. Paul is falsely accused of bringing an Ephesian into the temple Then it’s falsely assumed that Paul is an Egyptian terrorist I can’t imagine the pain Paul would have been in after a beating like that yet Paul asks to speak to the crowd, he’s going to share his testimony and preach Jesus! He’s not going to miss an opportunity. But when Paul says God sent him to the Gentiles the Jews will have none of it! The commander is totally confused so he’s going to use what is probably his normal tactic: beat and question in order to figure it out. But Paul throws the commander a curve ball: Paul is a Roman citizen. Romans have certain rights as citizens. One being how they are to be treated before being found guilty. So Paul escapes a second beating and the commander is a bit concerned about having arrested Paul and how close he came to having him flogged. There’s A LOT that happens in the following chapters! Feel free to read it all for yourself, it’s so interesting and who knows what the Lord may speak to you through it. But I’ll recap! The next day the commander assembles the chief priests and the Sanhedrin (a Jewish council) to try to figure out what exactly they’re accusing Paul
Paul Follows God – Part 1
Let’s take another look at the life of Paul! A few days ago I shared about Paul’s conversion- what an incredible story! If you didn’t get a chance to read it, you can find it here: A Look At the Conversion of Paul Paul’s ministry is broken down into 4 main chunks of travel: 1st missionary journey, 2nd missionary journey, 3rd missionary journey Trip to Rome. Your Bible may have a map of these journeys. Much of the life of Paul is recorded in the book of Acts. Acts was written by Luke who was a doctor and a historian. He traveled with Paul, so a good portion of Acts is first hand. Luke, being a historian, would have thoroughly researched what he didn’t personally witness. This is the same Luke that wrote the book of Luke. Today, we’re going to be primarily in Acts, we will jump in the second half of Paul’s 3rd missionary journey. But to set the stage let’s start in Romans. Romans was written by Paul, to the church in Rome. If you read this letter, you’d think he knew these people well, but he hadn’t yet been to Rome when he wrote it. If you’re interested in studying the book of Romans, consider checking out the 40 day independent study I put together titled A Walk Through Romans Toward the end of Paul’s letter to the Romans he outlines his plans. Let’s look together: Romans 15: 23-28 But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord’s people there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem. They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this contribution, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way. Let’s recap: Paul has wanted to visit the Roman church for a long time. Paul finally has a plan to do so Paul has a gift for the saints in Jerusalem from the churches in Macedonia and Achaia Paul is going to Jerusalem and then on to Spain and hopes to visit the Romans on the way Now we’re going to hop to Acts 20. This is Paul’s 3rd Missionary journey. We are picking up at Miletus (in case you want to look it up on the map in your Bible or online.) Acts 20:17-25 17From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. 18 When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. 19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. 20 You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. 21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. 22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. 25 Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Acts 20: 36-38 36When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship. Acts 21:1-15 1After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. 2 We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail. 3 After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. 4 We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 5 When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. 6 After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home. 7 We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day. 8 Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. 9 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. 10 After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’” 12 When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready
A Look At The Conversion of Saul
Paul is hands down my favorite Bible character! His background and story are amazing! The way he lived his life is astounding. The impact he had on the gospel of Jesus being spread cannot be measured! Paul wrote 13 or 14 of the 27 books of the New Testament. He of course didn’t know he was writing books of the Bible. As far as he was concerned, he was writing letters to various individuals and groups of Christians. The 13 books Paul wrote are: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Philemon, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, & Titus. The author of the book of Hebrews is unknown and Bible scholars cannot agree if Paul wrote it or not. The first reference of Paul is Acts 7:58. Please feel free to read the full account in Acts chapters 6 and 7. What we see in Acts 6 is a man named Stephen, who was full of faith and power, the Lord was using him to perform wonderous signs. As was so often the case with these early Christians, some religious people didn’t like Stephen teaching Jesus, so they made up lies about him and said that he was speaking blasphemy. So they grabbed him and brought him before the High Priest. In chapter 7 we see Stephen has an opportunity to speak and uses it to preach! He calls them out for rejecting Jesus, the very Savior they have been waiting for. This makes them irately angry! They grab him and drag him out of the city where they stone him to death. This brings us to our first glimpse of Paul, or as he was known at the time Saul. (I will be using Saul and Paul interchangeably for a bit, so please understand they are the same person.) Acts 7:58-58 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. Paul was there at the stoning death of Stephen, giving his approval. Not the introduction we would expect for such a mighty man of God, is it? Acts 13:9 is where we see Saul’s name changed to Paul and from that point on he is called Paul. Let me share a few facts about Saul: Saul was a Jew. He was born in Tarsus of Cilicia which was a Roman province. Saul was trained as a Pharisee (a Jewish Religious group) which meant he was well trained on the Jewish law and knew the Old Testament very well. Saul was very zealous for God. Jesus and the rising of Christianity were a significant threat to his belief system as a Jew. These details about Saul and many more can be found in the book of Acts. Much of Paul’s life is recorded in the book of Acts. Paul didn’t write the book of Acts though. Acts was written by Luke who was a doctor and historian. Saul loved God and he wanted to please God. He didn’t believe Jesus was the messiah and Saul felt a responsibility to stop those who were saying He was. But Saul has an incredible encounter with Jesus that changes everything! The full story is recorded in Acts 9. Acts 9: 1-9 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Starting in verse 1, Saul is still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples. He goes to the high priest and asks for letters giving him authority to arrest anyone who follows the teachings of Jesus in Damascus and bring them to Jerusalem. He was given those letters, so a small group sets off for Damascus. When he’s almost to Damascus something happens that changes everything. He’s walking along and suddenly a bright light flashed around him! He instantly falls to the ground and he hears a voice calling him by name “Saul Saul why do you persecute me?” Saul asks who is speaking. The answer must shock him beyond anything I can imagine. The voice says “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting go into the city and you will be told what to do.” What was probably equally as shocking, when he opens his eyes he can’t see, he’s blind! As we continue on in the chapter, Jesus uses a man named Ananias to meet Saul in the city. As you can imagine Ananias was a reluctant; he knew about Paul and why he was coming to Damascus. As Ananias is sharing his concerns with the Lord, this is Jesus’ reply to him: But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Acts 9:15-16 Ananias is obedient and he meets with
It’s Time to Put Off Your Old Self and Put On The New Self
Ephesians 4: 17-24 NIV So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (emphasis mine) Let’s look at the segments in bold: You must no longer live as the Gentiles do… That is not the way of life you learned… You were taught to put off your old self…. put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. A gentile is anyone that is not a Jew. In the context of this letter of Paul’s to the church in Ephesus, he’s referencing those that do not have salvation through faith in Jesus. So, for ourselves, we can rephrase this as, You must no longer live as those who do not know Jesus live. Once we choose faith in Jesus, once we give our life to Him in surrender, admitting we are sinners, in need of Savior and ask Him to forgive our sins and grant us the Salvation that can only come through Him; once we acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead: we are a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come! We are not the same any longer! We cannot continue to live like we did before we made that confession of faith! We cannot continue to talk the way we talked before. We cannot continue to participate in the same behaviors that we did before! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. We are all still learning. We are all still a work in progress, but we are being taught that we must put off our old self! We must put on the new self! We have been created to be like GOD in true righteousness and holiness! It is not ok if we look just like the world! Those around us should be able to see that we’re different than those that don’t know Jesus! I’ve seen the line, “I love Jesus, but I curse a little.” Haha. Cute. No! No, it isn’t cute! That’s my old self! My new self has been created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. God is calling us to more than that! We are a new creation. Have you seen the one: “part holy, part hood”. What does that mean?! No, absolutely not. 2 Timothy 2:9a NIV He has saved us and called us to a holy life We are Christians! We are to be a little Christ! We should be different than those that do not have the revelation knowledge of Jesus Christ! To accept anything less for ourselves is a lie! You are more than your sin! I am not perfect! You are not perfect! But I’m not ok with where I am! I want to be more like Jesus ever day! Some days I’m less like Jesus than the day before but I will not excuse that with a cute saying as a way to make that behavior acceptable! I am a new creation and I will hold tight to the promise that the old has gone and the new has come! I will keep striving! It’s not easy but it’s worth it because that’s what Jesus wants from and for me! That’s what He wants from you and for you too! He’s worth the failing and the striving because in Him is the fullest life! It’s my prayer that you desire to reflect Jesus in your attitudes, behaviors, and choices each and every day! It’s my prayer that you take this scripture to heart and that you seek to be more like Him each and every day! This is a tough one! Struggling with it? Send me an email, let’s talk about it! -A.E.
Don’t Worry!
Matthew 6: 25a Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Matthew 6:26-27 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6:31-34 So do not worry, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. In the craziness of our current world, I’m thankful for the promise of God that I do not have to worry about my life. What’s more – it’s even a command not to worry about my life. I trust God’s plan for my life. And I’m thankful for his promise that he will take care of me. It’s not profound- and yet it strikes me as profound ‘Who of you, by worrying can add a single hour to his life?’ Not me. I cannot add a single hour to my life by worrying. The moment I was born and the moment I will die are both completely out of my control. All the anxiety and fear and worry I can muster will not change my appointed time to meet the Lord. Of course, that’s true. And yet there’s something about that verse that hits just the right spot – to convict me – how silly to worry. My heavenly Father knows I need food and drink and clothing. He is asking me to seek His kingdom and His righteousness and the things I need will be given to me as well! It’s an instruction for my benefit – he commands me not to worry about tomorrow – for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. You know that’s right! So today, when everything is turned upside down and the future is uncertain- this I know! God is in control, he is well aware of what I need, I cannot extend my life by worrying about it, and I’m told not to worry about tomorrow. So today I will hold on to the promise that God will take care of my needs! Today I will seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness. Today I will choose not to worry. Today I will walk by faith!
