Saul, Saul

On November 17, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Acts 9: 1 – 2

Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them in shackles to Jerusalem.

In yesterday’s Word of the Day, I attempted to persuade you not to judge people, Catholics specifically but people generally, based on their religious affiliation. Today, I am hoping we can take a step further.

Imagine, if you will, that you were a Christian living in the time of Paul, but before his conversion. Survival alone would cause us to be wary of him. He was passionate about pursuing and killing Christians. At that time, Christians were called followers of “The Way” because Jesus proclaimed himself as the way (John 14: 6). Saul was not a person you would wish to encounter. In fact, he participated in the stoning of Stephen. The Bible says, “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death” (Acts 8: 1). So, who would want to be around this guy? Moreover, how could you help but judge him as dangerous and a hater of Jesus and all who followed him? And yet, God saw something in this man that few of us would have. God saw passion and love for the God of the Jews. Sure, Saul was dead wrong in denying Jesus as the Messiah, but God saw in him something He liked, something He could use. Although Saul went from town to town persecuting Christians when God struck him it was to convert him, not kill him. It seems, then, that being wrong isn’t a sin. Failing to seek truth is a problem, but if one seeks, he shall surely find.

Do you think Saul was a man of prayer? I kind of think so. He was devout in the ways he knew. We know he was a Jew’s Jew and a keeper of the law, so I imagine he gave himself to prayer and was generous in his offerings. Without a doubt, he was a tither. He thought he was serving Yahweh when he rooted out Christian groups and subjected them to harsh, even lethal penalties, for their religious beliefs. I bring this up because it was said of Cornelius that he was a man of generosity and prayer. Both Cornelius and Saul received visitations, so I extrapolate from the passage about Cornelius and what we know about Saul that both men were generous in their giving and that they both were people of prayer.

Second, we can see that Saul was passionate in his service to God, even if he was misguided. Passion and devotion in prayer and offerings seem to be common factors in these two men’s lives. So, my first point is that we too should consider being as devoted as they; that we should give generously and devote ourselves to prayer. Now, this is not the current American Christian culture so we have to make our own concerted efforts in these directions for you will not be able to follow the crowd.

The second point I would like to make is that even though many of us consider Muslims our enemies, an idea which became more pronounced after the 9/11 disaster, we should be praying for them. When I say pray for them, I mean to pray from a heart of compassion. Think again about Saul. I am sure there were people of that day praying against him. I wonder, though, if there were some praying for his eyes to be opened so that he might see the truth. I think so and here is why. When Saul was knocked off his donkey, he arose blind. Well, many of that day would argue he was already blind, otherwise he wouldn’t persecute the followers of Jesus. Anyway, Jesus spoke to a believer named Ananias telling him to go to Saul, lay hands on him and pray. Ananias didn’t want to go because he knew Saul and was afraid of him, but Jesus told him to go revealing that right at that very moment Saul was praying to him. Jesus revealed that he had given Saul a vision of a man named Ananias praying for him. So, I wonder, were people praying for Saul to receive a true revelation of Christ or was it his own passion for God that stirred the trinity?

Truthfully, it doesn’t matter. The conclusion of the story is that Ananias obeyed God, prayed for Saul and with the laying on of his hands, Saul’s vision was restored. Metaphorically, it could be said that Saul began to see for the first time. His life completely turned around, later to be imprisoned himself for his belief in Jesus, the Christ.

Whether we like how someone believes or even fear their zealous service to their faith the best thing we can do is pray for them to have an encounter with Jesus. We can pray that the shingles will fall from their eyes as was so with Saul. God can do more with one person of passion than with a boatload of lukewarm Christians. The passion of Saul might have been misdirected, but one touch from Jesus can turn around even a Saul. Our job is to stir up that kind of zeal in our own hearts so that we become people of devoted prayer. Second, pray for those who persecute us so that they may see the truth and be transformed from Sauls into Pauls.

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Judgements Aside

On November 16, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Acts 10: 1 – 3

In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment . . .

If you lived in the Apostles’ day, what would you say about a Roman soldier? How would you judge him? The Romans did string up Jesus like a Christmas goose after all! They did torture, berate and mock him. Moreover, the Romans occupied the territory as an unwanted conquering force. Who could like the Romans? They ruled with an iron fist and almost unimaginable cruelty.

I went to a bike ride in the Shenandoah Valley in October. Quite a few of the riders camped and eventually we all had tent neighbors. Because we were camped in the green spaces around a sponsoring church, people put up their tents wherever they could find a bit of space. I ended up with a neighbor named Andy who drove all the way from Arizona to participate in this event.

Clearly Andy is an avid cyclist. It didn’t take long for me to find out that he is passionate about something else. He is a sold out, in love with Jesus, Christian. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, he is also Catholic. Is it hard to believe that a Catholic, or a Roman army officer, can also be a devout Christian? Look at today’s passage in its entirety:

In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said.

Wow! I like that. Jesus gave him a vision. Not only that, if you read the rest of the story, Jesus actually sent Peter to him. That’s pretty good for a heathen Roman. That reminds me of another chap. There was this guy named Saul. Unlike the Romans soldier, he had all the right credentials. He was a Jew’s Jew, educated in the law of Moses, trained by the most highly esteemed teacher of the Jewish faith. He, however, was the number one persecutor of Christians. He had the right robe, the right papers in his pocket, but he was about as far off track as a person can get. We can sit here today and judge him as harshly as the Christians of his day surely did. However, Jesus appeared to him in a vision too! I guess Jesus just doesn’t know who the saints are. He kept picking the wrong folks. What is wrong with him? Saul was on his way to Damascus with the permits in his pocket to arrest and persecute anyone professing Jesus as the Messiah. He was fervent in his pursuit of Christians, yet he became the great Apostle Paul.

It is interesting to me that there are two stories in the Book of Acts about people receiving visions and, in both cases, these men who received the visions were “heathen.” One was a Jew who didn’t believe in Jesus as the Messiah. The other was a Roman who did believe in Christ, but was a Gentile. Both were outcasts of the faith in one way or another, but Jesus bothered to visit each personally. What are we to conclude from this?

The moral of the story is that you can dress up in the right Christian garb and utter the proper Christian “speak” but be as much a heathen and just as lost as a Gentile. Alternatively, a person can look like the wrong sort, not have the raiment of proper Christianity and yet receive a visitation from Christ because of his devotion. Some people judge Catholics harshly, but I tell you this, Andy lived his faith in Jesus. Whatsmore, I didn’t hear him judging anyone. He was a good neighbor to have for the weekend and he vocalized his praise to the Lord Jesus for giving him a faith partner for a neighbor. The moral of the story is judge not! We are called to be believers in Christ, not judges and we better get our lives straight on that score lest we incur Jesus’ wrath.

Love all, judge none. Easier said than done, but the command of Jesus none the less!

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No Gloating

On November 15, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 24: 17 – 18            TPT

Never gloat when your enemy meets disaster, and don’t be quick to rejoice if he falls. For the Lord, who sees your heart, will be displeased with you and will pity your foe.

It is only natural to feel a little bit of happiness when your nemesis stumbles. That is human nature. Yahweh, however, demands more of us than acting like everyone else. He expects us to rise above the natural to live in the supernatural. We even get the sense that He will be more upset with us for gloating than He will be at the sin of our enemy. We should know better and are called to a higher standard.

God understands that baby Christians are going to make a lot of basic mistakes. They will continue in their unsanctified ways until they begin to mature. He has tolerance for them as long as they are trying and moving forward. Mature Christians, though, are expected to rise above the simple things and move to higher ground. That higher ground is where we are required to forgive, to pray for our enemies and put the needs and concerns of others before our own needs. This is far from easy and at times it doesn’t seem fair. Our baby Christian brothers keep doing stupid stuff, yet God’s patience for them endures. Meanwhile, he requires that we pray for them. There are times I really don’t like it and neither do you, but in the end, being with Father and having Him be pleased with us is the joy of life. After what Jesus did for the idiots in his life, I guess Yahweh isn’t requiring so much of us.

So, when your enemy meets with disaster, wipe the smile from your face and imagine the heart of the Father. Pray for your foe. They will never thank you but God will. Seeing the Father smile at you will be worth the price.

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High Way

On November 12, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 8: 2

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

The first phrase of the above sentence is just glorious good news. You have been set free. The Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of life, has set you free from all bondage by the power of love and life in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah! Whatever has bound you in the past no longer has power over you.

Taking the whole sentence together gives us another perspective. In Jesus we were set free from the law of sin and death. Do you see there are two paths here? The Holy Spirit, through Jesus, has set us free so that we can walk in the law of the Spirit of life rather than walking in the law of sin and death. So, there is a path of life and a path of sin and death. Formerly we were trapped on the path of sin and death. We had no choice, no escape. But then Jesus came and broke all the chains that bound us so that we could be free indeed.

Here is the point that we need to understand though. When Jesus broke all those chains that held us captive, we were no longer bound to the path of sin and death. We, however, no longer being slaves but rather free people in Christ have a choice. While Jesus paid the price of your ransom and set you free, He did not make your choice for you. That would only be another form of slavery. The scripture says that whomever the Son shall set free shall be free indeed (John 8: 36). In other words, Jesus did not trade your bondage for another form of slavery when He ransomed you. He didn’t buy you as a slave that is bartered and traded. He ransomed you out of the hands of the oppressor so that you can live as a truly free person with all the rights and responsibilities that inure thereto. Therein lies the rub. Where there is freedom and rights, there is responsibility.

Jesus didn’t redeem you so that you can run around in the darkness, a slave to the law of sin and death. Rather He shed His blood so that you would have the right to choose. He is not going to pick you up and put you on the path of life. He is not going to chain you to the correct road so that you don’t go wandering off like a lost sheep and fall back into the pit. He has purchased your complete freedom and is not going to take it away from you even if you make an absolute mess of your freedom.

You must choose. Are you going to walk on the path that is paved with the law of liberty in Christ Jesus, the path that love bought? Are you going to live the way of the path of life? Or are you going to keep dancing along the path of good intentions fallen short, the path of compromised ethics? Are you absently mindedly or even intentionally going to stay on the low path that leads ultimately to death and destruction? Look, you don’t walk the High Way without purpose and intent. You must make conscious decisions every day to come up higher. The road leading to life and liberty is one of choice and deep commitment. Your right to walk on it was guaranteed by Jesus but you must still choose to come up to the higher life. Little compromises along the way are going to create potholes in your road. Do not let inattention to the details of life damage your path. And do not forsake your values for convenience or benefit. Choose to walk on higher ground. It is the best and safest path.

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Triumph

On November 11, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Corinthians 2: 14

But thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ.

The most important word in this sentence for us may be “always”. We don’t have a hard time believing that God causes people to triumph, but we do have trouble with always. Always includes every time and every person. That means you. It also includes whatever situation you are facing right now. God has already created the victory in that situation. Only when we first embrace this truth will we see it manifested though. He has created the victory, but you have to receive it. You cannot have what you cannot believe. It is just impossible. That is why you see Christians who are not triumphant. We have yet to accept God’s victory for ourselves.

Think of it this way. You know that Jesus has overcome the trouble of the world. For whom did He fight the battle and claim the victory? It was for us, right? If not, He could have just stayed in heaven and lived forever in paradise. He came to this earth in order to bring the victory to you. He was already successful, but we were suffering and going down for the third time. Now that He has triumphed over the devil, we don’t have to be beaten up by every little scheme the devil and his minions can think up. When the devil comes at you with trouble and aggravation, remind him that you are of God and already have the victory that has overcome the world.

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GOD

On November 10, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 28: 19

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

We are comfortable with the idea of our triune God but how much do we consider the three persons separately or even think about what it means to be three in one. Actually, the term, or title, “God” belies the presumption that we understand the trinity because the word “God” comes from the German word “Gott” and represents a single entity, not a trinity. It reflects, I think, the confusion we have linguistically and philosophically with who God is.

In contrast to Greek theology, Christianity came along propounding that there is only one God. We are still of that mind. We do not have a catalog of gods, one for every segment of life. The Jews and the Christians of ancient times stood in contrast to those theologies and looked odd by comparison, but that there was only one God was a very important theological stanchion in the early church. So, I think you can see how a word which represents a singular God would have snuck its way into our Christian vocabulary. It is misleading, though, and upsets our deeper dialogue and understanding of who this god is that we serve.

Although we believe in the one God view of the universe, our God is actually three people, distinct and unique, each in their own way. I know this makes us sound a bit schizophrenic, but it makes sense when you think of ourselves being made in “God’s” image. We too are three in one. We are a spirit, housed in a body, and with a collective personality, thoughts and memories we attribute to our minds; spirit, soul and body, if you will. We recognize the separate parts of ourselves but still call all three parts “me.” God is that way though even more clearly accentuated.

There is God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit. Each is an individual, but also part of the whole. Many people call the Father “God” and that is okay, but Jesus is God too, as is the Spirit. Here is the real question, who is God to you? Do you have a relationship with the Father and the Son and the Spirit? Do you speak with each of them? Which do you worship? Whom do you love? Or whom do you love most?

As Christians most of us learned about Jesus and his status as our savior. Did our understanding continue to learn that when he said he was the way that he meant he was the way to the Father, that his mission was to reconnect us with the Father? Do some of us stop with meeting Jesus? I fear the answer is, “Yes.” And what of the Holy Spirit? Do any of us speak with this third member of the Triune Godhead? Do we pray to him? Worship him?

My intention with this Word of the Day is to get you to analyze your spiritual connection with “God”; to determine what level of relationship you enjoy with each of the three persons of the Trinity. I hope you continue to develop deeper relationships with all three and that those distinctive relationships help you grow closer to GOD.

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Perfect Peace

On November 9, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 16: 33           Amplified Bible

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world, [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you].

You are not alone because Jesus is with you and because He is with you, you can have supreme confidence and assurance that the world has no power over you. Jesus has defeated the power of the world and taken away any and all power that it had over you. Jesus has overcome the power of the devil and His ability to harm you.

Jesus tells us that the world has trials, tribulation, etc. but that we are not to be discouraged by the problems of the world because he has already defeated them for us. We are not of the world (John 17: 14) so we don’t have to partake of the world’s trouble. We are of Jesus, so we partake in His perfect peace. He says, “Be of good cheer.” In other words, cheer up. “Don’t worry; be happy” like the song says.

Here is the long and short of it. The devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10: 10). He is going to try to spread strife, destruction, anguish and every other sort of torment. But the thing is, we do not have to participate in all that. Jesus defeated Satan and all his schemes for us. The people in the world just have to fight through all of that the best way they can. You do not. One truly great thing about being a Christian is that all that junk has already been conquered for us. I am not saying that Satan won’t try to get at you, but you don’t have to succumb to his shenanigans. You really don’t even have to fight him because he is already a defeated foe. You do, however, need to start understanding your victory in Jesus so that you don’t allow the devil to deceive you into thinking that you are fair game for him. You have been purchased by the blood of Jesus and have the victory over every scheme of the devil and all the suffering of this world. So, the next time the devil tries to attack you or the distress of this world starts to get to you, remind yourself that you are not of this world and its problems but rather that Jesus has purchased you out of the world and given you victory over all of its problems. Reach out with your heart to the comfort of Jesus.

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