Daily Bread 2011 - Acts 22
Daily Bread 2011 – Acts 22
6 “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ 8 “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 9 My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. 10 “‘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.’ 11 My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.12 “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. 13 He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.14 “Then he said: ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’
What Does This Mean?
As Paul is arrested and brought before the Roman commander, who eventually found out Paul was a Roman citizen. Before these verses, Paul explains that he was born in Tarsus as Jew, and actually was brought up under the tutelage of Gamaliel (one of the most honored Jewish rabbi’s in the first century) in Jerusalem. As Paul was carrying out the persecution against Christians and on his way to Damascus to carry out more, he encountered Jesus through a bright light that blinded him.
It was Jesus himself telling him that it was He, the Lord; whom Paul was persecuting. Immediately Paul knew He was right and asked him what He should do. When he got to Damascus, a man named Ananias, prayed for him to receive his sight (which had been foretold to him to do see the story in Acts 9) and at that very moment he was able to see. Since Paul’s entrance back into the Jewish community caused so much turmoil, God told him in v. 21, “Go, I will send you far away to the Gentiles.”
What Does This Mean For Us?
Paul’s “road to Damascus experience” is often talked about as “the” conversion experience. And you have to admit going from someone who hated and persecuted and killed Christians, to being one of the greatest missionaries of all times is pretty provocative stuff. Though lots of bad stuff happened to Paul, we see that God’s hand was in it all. And through each and every situation it is an opportunity for Paul to preach the Gospel.
Maybe that is why in 1 Corinthians 10:13 Paul says, “No temptation/trial has overtaken you that is not common to man. But God is faithful and will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will provide the escape, so you will be able to stand up under it.” Paul could speak to this because of all he had gone through and how God used his experience as a platform for the Gospel.
So the question I have for you today is how might what you are going through today, be used by God to advance the Good News? How can your particular trial be an evidence of God’s grace working through you, even if you might not be able to see that right now! I pray that you are encouraged by Paul’s story to see that God never wastes an experience and even when we feel like everything is against us, God is always for us!
Thank you Heavenly Father that you work all things together for good for those who love you and are called according to Your name. Help us to see you hand in our current circumstances that we might see it as a way we can testify to your love and grace despite our situation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
6 “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ 8 “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 9 My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. 10 “‘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.’ 11 My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.12 “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. 13 He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.14 “Then he said: ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’
What Does This Mean?
As Paul is arrested and brought before the Roman commander, who eventually found out Paul was a Roman citizen. Before these verses, Paul explains that he was born in Tarsus as Jew, and actually was brought up under the tutelage of Gamaliel (one of the most honored Jewish rabbi’s in the first century) in Jerusalem. As Paul was carrying out the persecution against Christians and on his way to Damascus to carry out more, he encountered Jesus through a bright light that blinded him.
It was Jesus himself telling him that it was He, the Lord; whom Paul was persecuting. Immediately Paul knew He was right and asked him what He should do. When he got to Damascus, a man named Ananias, prayed for him to receive his sight (which had been foretold to him to do see the story in Acts 9) and at that very moment he was able to see. Since Paul’s entrance back into the Jewish community caused so much turmoil, God told him in v. 21, “Go, I will send you far away to the Gentiles.”
What Does This Mean For Us?
Paul’s “road to Damascus experience” is often talked about as “the” conversion experience. And you have to admit going from someone who hated and persecuted and killed Christians, to being one of the greatest missionaries of all times is pretty provocative stuff. Though lots of bad stuff happened to Paul, we see that God’s hand was in it all. And through each and every situation it is an opportunity for Paul to preach the Gospel.
Maybe that is why in 1 Corinthians 10:13 Paul says, “No temptation/trial has overtaken you that is not common to man. But God is faithful and will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will provide the escape, so you will be able to stand up under it.” Paul could speak to this because of all he had gone through and how God used his experience as a platform for the Gospel.
So the question I have for you today is how might what you are going through today, be used by God to advance the Good News? How can your particular trial be an evidence of God’s grace working through you, even if you might not be able to see that right now! I pray that you are encouraged by Paul’s story to see that God never wastes an experience and even when we feel like everything is against us, God is always for us!
Thank you Heavenly Father that you work all things together for good for those who love you and are called according to Your name. Help us to see you hand in our current circumstances that we might see it as a way we can testify to your love and grace despite our situation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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