He was sincere, blameless, a good man--but dead wrong! Had he searched the Scriptures, as he should have, he would have seen passages like Isaiah 52:13-53:12 and Psalm 22:1-31, and would have known that JESUS was the promised MESSIAH, that JESUS was (and is) GOD. Had he meditated on the Old Testament, he would have understood the necessity of the Cross.
But he did not search the Scriptures as he should have, but believed what he had been taught, what everyone else believed, and did what he thought was right. Thus, this sincere, blameless, good man became "the chief of sinners" (1Timothy 1:15; Acts 26:9-11) who sought to destroy the people of GOD.
GOD, in mercy, stopped him on the road to Damascus. Our LORD, our GOD, JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF knocked this man off his horse, blinded him (so that he could see), and said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me" (Acts 9:4)? Dumb-founded, he asked two questions: (1) "Who art thou?" to which CHRIST replied, "I am JESUS whom thou persecutest" (Acts 9:5) and (2) "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do" (Acts 9:6)?
That second question shaped the rest of Saul's (later Paul the Apostle) life. From that day on, he delighted to call himself the servant--literally the bondslave--of JESUS CHRIST! As such, he changed the world!
We too must constantly ask, "LORD, what wilt thou have me to do?" GOD will answer us (as HE had Saul even before his conversion) in HIS Word, the Bible. If we ignore the Book or "read our chapter" carelessly and thoughtlessly, we will end up as ignorant and mislead as Saul was when he sought to destroy what GOD was building. If we devote ourselves to hearing it, reading it, studying it, meditating on it, memorizing it, and living it out, our lives too will count in the cause of GOD and HIS Truth.
Dear Heavenly FATHER, Thank YOU for not leaving me in the darkness of my own intellect (ignorance) and emotions or at the mercy of others who are sinners also. Thank YOU for revealing YOURSELF to me along with the Hope of Eternal Salvation found in YOUR Infallible Word, The Holy Bible. Please LORD, help me to drink in The Truth as one who has wandered long in the desert drinks from a stream, and then help me live The Truth out and pass it on to others. I Praise & Glorify YOU. I Lift YOUR Name on High. I Pray to YOU, LORD JESUS CHRIST, in YOUR Mighty, Powerful and Precious Name. Amen.
Reading Psalm 119:153-160 this morning
But he did not search the Scriptures as he should have, but believed what he had been taught, what everyone else believed, and did what he thought was right. Thus, this sincere, blameless, good man became "the chief of sinners" (1Timothy 1:15; Acts 26:9-11) who sought to destroy the people of GOD.
GOD, in mercy, stopped him on the road to Damascus. Our LORD, our GOD, JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF knocked this man off his horse, blinded him (so that he could see), and said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me" (Acts 9:4)? Dumb-founded, he asked two questions: (1) "Who art thou?" to which CHRIST replied, "I am JESUS whom thou persecutest" (Acts 9:5) and (2) "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do" (Acts 9:6)?
That second question shaped the rest of Saul's (later Paul the Apostle) life. From that day on, he delighted to call himself the servant--literally the bondslave--of JESUS CHRIST! As such, he changed the world!
We too must constantly ask, "LORD, what wilt thou have me to do?" GOD will answer us (as HE had Saul even before his conversion) in HIS Word, the Bible. If we ignore the Book or "read our chapter" carelessly and thoughtlessly, we will end up as ignorant and mislead as Saul was when he sought to destroy what GOD was building. If we devote ourselves to hearing it, reading it, studying it, meditating on it, memorizing it, and living it out, our lives too will count in the cause of GOD and HIS Truth.
Dear Heavenly FATHER, Thank YOU for not leaving me in the darkness of my own intellect (ignorance) and emotions or at the mercy of others who are sinners also. Thank YOU for revealing YOURSELF to me along with the Hope of Eternal Salvation found in YOUR Infallible Word, The Holy Bible. Please LORD, help me to drink in The Truth as one who has wandered long in the desert drinks from a stream, and then help me live The Truth out and pass it on to others. I Praise & Glorify YOU. I Lift YOUR Name on High. I Pray to YOU, LORD JESUS CHRIST, in YOUR Mighty, Powerful and Precious Name. Amen.
Reading Psalm 119:153-160 this morning
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