Acts 22:10 – “What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.”
Paul first question to this powerful presence that had overwhelmed him “Who are You Lord?” (V4:8) The Lord told him that He was Jesus whom Paul was fighting against. Paul understood that He was in the presence of divinity and surely he knew what people of the way had been saying, most importantly that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah and that He had risen from the dead. So surely Paul needed no more proof than what he was now confronted with. So now Paul was in the infant stages of learning about Jesus but he now longer resisted or persisted. The next question seems obvious, what did Jesus want him to do? This was the first time that Paul said this to the Lord, but it was something he would daily ask for the rest of his life. And Paul would be faithful and loyal to do, go and say what the Lord would have him do, have him go to, and have him to say.
Just as Paul came to saving knowledge of Jesus, and as he immediately submitted to the Lord and continued to do so, so should we have done so and for all our earthly lives continue to do so. In an age where people don’t know what to do in life and so they seek out advice from books, radio, television and even movies, here is the answer: We need to every day ask Jesus what He would have us do. We must remain open to His guidance every moment. Trust and He will lead. Remember The Karate Kid movies? Remember “wax on, wax off?” Remember how the lesson was learned. Obey the simple and if not immediately understanding the why, the master will lead us to greater skill and understanding. After spending time with the master than the why become unimportant and only obedience and, yes love, become necessary. Yes, it takes effort. But not the effort that we need to succeed in this world. It takes the light effort of one who wants to see and spend time with their beloved at every opportunity. (Matthew 11:28-30) Of course, loving comes first. (Mark 12:18-20) It is best to start one’s day in God’s Word being led by His Spirit. Leave time to hear from Him and talk to Him. Talking with Him is like calling someone whom we love on the phone, it is easy if we really want to. If we will do that, He will lead us into our purpose in life. We will be fulfilled in why we are here and what will make us most happy. Expect the unexpected. We may think we know what is best for us and what would make us most happy, but the Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. (Proverbs 16:9, 19:21)
Family, be dedicated to spending time with God and reading His message to us (the Bible). It is as hard as loving one who loved you first and loves you most. It is as simple as the old saying “Know Jesus, know peace. No Jesus, no peace.” Growing in Jesus is easy because He wanted it to be. Let us be with Jesus every opportunity we can and love for Him and praise to Him will flow. Thank You Lord for making it easy. Keep it simple, like God has told us Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God. Love God. Seek God. Know God. Know peace. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withActs 22:8 – “Who are you, Lord?” I asked. “I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,” He replied.
Paul, after being overwhelmed by the Lord first asked “Who are you, Lord?” When we come to Jesus that is a very appropriate question and He has given us the answer. We can look in the Old Testament and New Testament Scriptures about who He is. The Old Testament has prophecies about who the coming Messiah. Isaiah 11:1 says of the coming Messiah, who would be Jesus, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” The coming Messiah will come from the root of Jesse, who was King David’s father and so the Messiah Jesus would be born a Jew. Micah 5:2 tells us the Messiah Jesus would be born in Bethlehem “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Isaiah 7:14 prophesied that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, as Jesus was, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Zechariah 9:9 tells us that the Messiah Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, and Jesus did. So we know that Jesus was born of Jewish heritage (Matthew 1:1-17). We know that Jesus came first to God’s chosen people Israel (Romans 1:16), but was rejected by them (in large part), and so and in His omniscience, He knew that He would also, after coming to the Jews, would also come to save the Gentile. Jesus came to save the world (John 3:16).
But where did Jesus come from? He came from His throne which is next to God the Father (Philippians 2:5-11). And what did He come from His throne as God to? He came to earth to suffer and die for the sins of all mankind (Philippians 2:8)
Where is Jesus now? From the testimony of Stephen (The first Christian martyr) we know that Jesus is again in Heaven next to the Father (Acts 7:56). Hebrews 10:12 also reveals that Jesus is seated next to God the Father.
So who is Jesus? He is the second person of the Triune God. He is God the Son. He stepped down from His throne in Heaven, in obedience to the Father and of His own will, to take on the form of man, to suffer and die for the sins of mankind, and to rise again to be on His throne in Heaven where His single act of dying for our sins perpetually and eternally exists for the compensation and mediation of all of our sins (Hebrews 10:12, 1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 9:15).
Who is Jesus? He is the promised Savior to the World. He said of Himself “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) As Jesus stated and Peter later taught, there is no true salvation for mankind other than through Jesus (Acts 4:12).
There is so very much more to say, however to do that this would not be a daily writing but a book. We are all called to consider who Jesus is. Not only when we move from being a non-believer to a believer and follower, but throughout every day afterward. We must keep in mind who Jesus is and what He had done for us. When we keep in mind those two things, we will, with confidence be able to approach the Father with our prayers and know that we are lovingly welcomed by Him. When we keep in mind who Jesus is and what He has done we can be bold and confident because He loves us and protects us. When we keep in mind who Jesus is and what He has done then we will have peace deep down in our spirits that bubbles out of our hearts and past our lips in songs of praise to Him. When we keep in mind who Jesus is and what He has done then we will continuously praise Him. And that we do! Praise God! Praise our God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withLuke 11:28 – He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Yesterday I posted a post stating “I’m learning to love the sound of my feet walking away from things not meant for me.” I thought I would like you to know what I was thinking. The post below, which I hope you will read and which I did not write, wonderfully states what I meant by the previous post. Family, we are called by God. Do what God calls us to do. If he says “go”, then go. If He says “don’t go,” then don’t go. Either way, “go” or “don’t go” follow God despite what others say, even the well intentioned. Obey God, even despite what we think is reasonable. Follow God. If God leads us to it then He will see us through it. Follow God, listen to the guiding of His Spirit. In doing that, the lives around we will be blessed, and of course, we will be blessed. Follow God.
This is the post by Charmane Macomber that I read today.
The little boy put on his clothes for the cold and then told his father: “Ok dad I’m ready”
His Dad, the pastor, said: “Ready for what?”
“Dad, it’s time to go outside and distribute our flyers.”
Dad replied: “Son, it’s very cold outside and it’s drizzling.”
The child looked surprised at his father and said: “But dad, people need to know about God even on rainy days.”
Dad replied, “Son, I’m not going outside in this weather.”
With despair, the child said: “Dad, can I go alone? Please!”
His father waited for a moment and then said: “Son, you can go. Here’s the flyers, be careful.”
“Thank you dad!”
And with this, the son went out into the rain. The 11-Year-old walked all the streets of the village, handing out the flyers to the people he saw.
After 2 hours walking in the rain and in the cold and with his last flyer in his hand, he stopped in a corner to see if he saw someone to give the flyer too, but the streets were totally deserted. Then he turned to the first house he saw, walked to the front door, touched the bell several times and waited, but no one came out. Finally the boy turned to leave, but something stopped him. The child turned back to the door and began to touch the bell and pound the door strongly with his knuckles. He kept waiting.
Finally the door was opened gently. A lady came out with a very sad look and gently asked:
“What can I do for you, son? With radiant eyes and a bright smile the child said:
“Lady, I’m sorry if I upset you, but I just want to tell you that God really loves you and that I came to give you my last flyer, which talks about God and His great love The boy then gave her the flyer.
She just said, “Thank you, son, God bless you!”
Well, next Sunday morning, the pastor was in the pulpit and when the service began he asked:
“Someone has a testimony or something they want to share?” Gently, in the back row of the church, an older lady stood up. When she started talking, a radiant and glorious look sprouted from her eyes: “Nobody in this church knows me. I have never been here, even last Sunday I was not Christian. My husband died a while ago leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday was a particularly cold and rainy day, and it was also in my heart; that on that day I came to the end of the road, since I had no hope and didn’t want to live anymore. Then I took a chair and a rope and went up to the attic of my house. I tied one end of the rope to the rafters of the roof; then I climbed onto the chair and put the other end of the rope around my neck.
I then stood on the chair, so alone and heartbroken, I was about to throw myself off the chair, when suddenly I heard the loud sound of the door being knocked. So I thought: “I’ll wait for a minute and whoever it is will go.” I waited and waited, but the door knocking was getting louder and louder every time. It got so loud that I couldn’t ignore it anymore. So I wondered, who could it be? No one ever comes close to my door or come to visit me!
I released the rope from my neck and went to the door, while the bell was still ringing and the door was still being knocked on. When I opened the door, I couldn’t believe what my eyes saw, in front of my door was the most radiant and angelic child I’ve ever seen. His smile, ohhh, I can never describe it! The words that came out of his mouth made my heart, dead so long ago, come back to life, when he said with the VOICE OF CHERUB: “Lady, I just want to tell you that God really loves you.”
“When the little angel disappeared between the cold and the rain, I closed my door and read every word of the flyer. Then I went to the attic to remove the chair and rope. I didn’t need them anymore. As you see. Now I am a happy daughter of the King
As the directions of the boy, when he left, was to this church, I came personally say thank you to that little angel of God who came just in time and, in fact, to rescue my life from an eternity in hell. And replaced it with an eternity in God’s presence.”
Everyone cried in the church. The Pastor came down from the pulpit to the first bench of the front, where the little angel was sitting; he took his son in his arms and cried uncontrollably.
Don’t let this message die of cold; after reading it, pass it on to others.
Remember, God’s message can make a big difference in someone’s life, never be afraid to spread it.
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withMatthew 5:11 – Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Romans 5:1-2 – Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God.
I still remember the astonished look on his face and the subsequent look of disappointment and, maybe even pity, as listened to my response on whether or not I believed in evolution. He was more of a friend than an opponent and I believe his disappointment and pity came from a regard for me. He had asked me if I believed in Evolution and I had responded that I did not. He sincerely believed I was wrong. He could not believe that I didn’t.
Yet he is not the first or the last time I would see that look on people’s faces and, or, one who felt bad for me, believing what I believe. Some people make a god of science, or philosophy, or their own cognitive or reasoning ability. If anyone believes the Bible that God gave to us more than what they believe then they believe that person is either a fool or acting foolish. At the very least, they believe that the person who takes God’s Word first and always is sadly wrong and, or, deceived.
What they often don’t realize is that many who believe in Christ don’t believe on “dumb faith.” Faith, yes. Even when we don’t understand all the thousands (millions) nuances or arguments against the faith it is not “blind faith” or “dumb faith.” We believe “…because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. (2 Timothy 1:12b) We know that we know God personally. We have walked with Him, we have talked with Him, we have heard Him and we definitely, daily, have received from Him. God, whom they cannot see or hear, we do (Hebrews 11:1). So our faith is yes, based on the Word of God, but it is also based on the very real relationship with God. Those who don’t have that relationship don’t understand. They think we are deceived or delusional. They just don’t understand and they cannot because they are separated from God (at the moment). (1 Corinthians 1:14, 1 Corinthians 1:18) But, in and through the Spirit, the very real Spirit of God, 1 John 1:1 the reality of our God is palpable and tactile. Though the Apostle John wrote as one who physically experienced Jesus, we who now live have no less an experience of hearing, seeing and touching and being touched by God than He. (John 20:29) This is all nonsense to the non-believer and the neophyte, but those who walk with God via His Spirit, know and understand the truth and reality of our experience with Him.
Stubbornness. Usually considered a bad trait. But properly applied, it is a great trait. To stubbornly hold on to truth regardless of a multitude opposing it, is a praiseworthy trait that God will bless and reward. Therefore, let us stubbornly hold onto the truth because of the reality of God in our life. And what is the truth? Jesus famously said “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:6) Family, we do know God, we know Him personally and intimately and that through Jesus. Praise God! Yes! Praise God! He indeed has done great things!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withActs 22:6-9 – “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.
“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.” There is often some questions about what happened at Paul’s conversion, here being related by Paul. Let’s address some questions.
In Acts 9:3-7 it states that the men with Paul, after he had fallen to the ground, could hear a “sound” but did not see anyone. It does not say that they even saw the light that surrounded him. Doubters have seized upon this and said that the whole experience was some sort of delusion or mental breakdown of Paul. However this is easily resolved. Here in V9 of chapter 22 Paul sates that his companions saw the light but did not understand the voice of Him (Jesus) who was speaking to him. So we see that his companions all both saw the light and furthermore, heard the voice but couldn’t understand what the voice said. It is very unlikely that any group of several men are going to instantly and simultaneously have a mental breakdown or physical seizure at the exact moment and see and hear the exact same thing (though his companions did not fully discern or understand what was happening as they were not the intended recipients of the calling). So we see that the companions of Paul did see a light and they heard a sound, and likely at least discerned it as a voice speaking to Paul, but could not understand what the voice was saying. They also had no idea who the light was.
Let’s note how bright this light was. This light was so bright that at noonday it was tremendously brighter than the noonday sun, so much that Paul was engulfed by it and it knocked, or shocked, him to the ground. It is mentioned that it happened at noon for a reason and that reason was so that all would understand that what happened was a supernatural event.
“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.” Only Paul himself understood the words that were spoken to him. This verse should be of great value to all who call themselves by His name. Jesus is not asking Paul why he is persecuting the people of His church, He is asking Paul why he was persecuting Him! Awesome! In this we are reminded of how much Jesus loves us. He considers us one with Him and to attack or harm us is to attack and try to harm Him, woe to those who harm us and don’t repent of it! (Luke 17:1-2, 1 Corinthians 6:17, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 12:5, 2 Samuel 22:3-4, Mark 12:1-9) God loves us and to attack us is to attack Him. Wow! Let’s think about that!
Paul is thinking “who are you and when have I persecuted you?” Paul does not yet know who was speaking to him. He was probably trying to quickly think of all the people he had persecuted. Certainly none of them had the kind of power to appear to him like this. But Paul knew that he was not speaking to a mere man, but someone supernatural. He may have even had the thought that he was speaking to the divine. The word that Paul used here is “kyrios.” It could be used in addressing a man who has complete authority over another, like a master over a slave, as in Matthew 6:24. It is often used when referring to the Lord God (Matthew 4:7). Was Paul begging to get a thought that he was speaking to divinity? Perhaps? But he definitely knew that he was speaking to a being who was far beyond himself and he had better give due respect.
““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.” Imagine the shock of Paul when Jesus revealed to Paul that it was He whom Paul was on the ground terrified of? At that moment in Paul’s life it reminds one of Hebrews 10:31 “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Paul wrote this verse with the full knowledge of Deuteronomy 32:35 and that Paul was understanding to persecute Christians was to battle against Christ. This verse in Deuteronomy would have been very frightening to Paul right then; “It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.” If I had been precisely in Paul’s shoes, I would have been physically shaking and emotionally bare and exposed. Terrified does not adequately explain what Paul likely was.
Family, we who are in the Lord have all had that experience. When we knew that all we had been doing was nothing without Jesus. In fact, we had been in very nature opposing God. We knew that we needed to be right with Jesus. The world has a very common expression of having a “Come to Jesus” moment in their life. It is a time of knowing one has been absolutely wrong and needs to do an immediate and complete round-about or consequences shall follow. That applies both spiritually and otherwise. Even those raised in the Lord have had that moment when they knew that all they do without Jesus is wrong. There comes a moment of self-assessment when we take account of ourselves and realize that the end result of all of our life amounts to nothing without Jesus. When standing before the throne being a good person, a great parent, a wonderful child, a supporting and loving sibling, a great citizen of our country and of the world amounts, all of that without Jesus amounts to filthiness before God (Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:10-12, Isaiah 6:5) come judgement day. We know that His holiness and righteousness is absolutely pure and He will not allow anything impure to live in His presence. (Revelation 21:27) It would be antithetical to all that He is. The more we personally know Him and dwell with Him the more we understand. All who love Jesus have had a time of coming to Him and dropping on to our knees in complete humility and asking Him to please save us. Of asking Him to be our very personal Savior. Also we want Him to be our Lord and Master. We ask Him to have complete control, all control over our lives. Family and Friends, if we have not done this, we are on very perilous ground indeed. This is not a matter of being completely righteous in our walk, but of being complete submission so that in God’s accounting of us, the only one who eternally matters, He sees us as perfectly sinless because of the cleansing sacrifice of Jesus. All who have submitted to Christ belong to Him and no-one and nothing can pry us loose from His love and salvation. (John 10:28-29, Romans 8:31-39) How wonderful to be leaning on the everlasting arms of Jesus and therefore being eternally safe and eternally secure! (https://youtu.be/DObsJ1PSdnQ) Praise God all you saints! Praise God! All who lean on the everlasting arms of God are always and forever safe. Oh how wonderful! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withGossip:
Exodus 20:16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” (One of the Ten Commandments)
Proverbs 6:19 “a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.” One of the things that God “hates.”
Should anyone believe a claim against a person without first talking to the “accused?”
Proverbs 18:17 “In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines.”
Harm caused by telling lies about another.
Psalm 120:2 “Save me, Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.”
Proverbs 26:28 “A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.”
Liars (Not in good company)
1 Timothy 1:9-10 “We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine.”
Revelation 21:8 “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Psalm 31:9-24 “Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. 10 My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. 11 Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors and an object of dread to my closest friends—those who see me on the street flee from me. 12 I am forgotten as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. 13 For I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side!” They conspire against me and plot to take my life. 14 But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” 15 My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me. 16 Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. 17 Let me not be put to shame, Lord, for I have cried out to you; but let the wicked be put to shame and be silent in the realm of the dead. 18 Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous. 19 How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you. 20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from all human intrigues; you keep them safe in your dwelling from accusing tongues. 21 Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege. 22 In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!” Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. 23 Love the Lord, all his faithful people! The Lord preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full. 24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.”
Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Jesus said that we are to forgive. First that blesses us as we forgive and leave it behind. Second, it is a testimony that we belong to Him. Third the person who has sinned against us may repent of what they have done and peace may ensue.
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withActs 22:2-5 – When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
“When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.” They became quiet because of a couple reasons. One is that there was an instant affiliation. He was one of them. Not only likewise a Jew, but an educated Jew. Many Jews from the Dispersion could not speak either Hebrew or Aramaic. In fact their reputed greatest scholar of the first century (Philo of Alexandria) could not read the books of Moses in Hebrew. So they were instantly interested in what Paul had to say. They recognized that not only was Paul a Jew, but an educated one. Since he was born in Tarsus and then raised in Jerusalem, he may also have been considered a Hellenistic Jew.
“Then Paul said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.” Paul’s defense, or explanation of his ministry will come in three parts: 1) His life before Christ. (Vs 1-5) 2) His encounter with Christ (submitting to Christ). (Vs 6-16) 3) His ministry in Christ. (Vs 17-21)
As previously mentioned Paul was born a Jew in the city of Tarsus. He later was raised and educated in Jerusalem. He states that he studied under one of the legends of his time and so was thoroughly trained in the law. Notice that He is saying that he was trained in the law of “our” ancestors. He is speaking in a language they understood and so that piqued their interest. Now he is relating to them about his impressive scholarship of The Law that they share as common ancestors. He is now shared his knowledge of the language and his education in the Law and certainly has done so to create a bond.
He notes that he was not a sit-on-the-couch-all-week person, but a zealous Jew who was a guardian of their beliefs. He said he was zealous as they are. Again, surely meant to unite and not to divide.
“I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.” Driving forward Paul said that in his great zeal to protect their common loyalty to the law, he persecuted the very people whom he now is associated with. As the mob was persecuting him, he had likewise done in an official capacity as the high priest and the Council had given to him letters (Acts 9:1-2) to arrest and bring those of the Way to Jerusalem for trial. In fact, Paul said, these people who are among you can testify of what I have said. Surely they were present with the mob. Now he has given them three reasons as unifying bonds, language, The Law and zeal for The Law.
Paul had formerly been convinced that to show his loyalty to God he must do his part to stomp out followers of the Way. Likewise, he was convinced that many there were also those who were zealous to please the Lord. They, like he, were fighting against God instead of for Him. Paul could understand how they could be zealous for God and yet so wrong in their conviction. He longed to change their minds so that they could be right with God.
Family, we can share our faith in the same way manner that Paul here shares. We read a short statement of his life before Christ. He will, in the succeeding verses, share how he came to Christ and how his life has changed since coming to Christ. We can do that! Here is a short version of how I have done that: Before I was a Christian many people thought I was a very happy person. I always had a smile on my face. I was not faking happiness, in a way, I was happy about much of my life. My childhood was very good! But into my teens an awareness crept into my life and I began to become depressed, though I did not share that with people. I still smiled and laughed but I knew I was missing something. I even contemplated suicide. I even began conditioning myself to be able to do it. I knew that I needed to know that someone loved me not because I was born to them, but because they chose to love me. So I concluded that I needed a girlfriend. However, even after finding the girl who loved me greatly and who would become my wife, her love could not take away that awful feeling. I still was hurting for something and I did not know what it was.
Then, at my place of work, I met some Christians who were on fire for the Lord. They shared Jesus with me and my aunt and uncle presented the Gospel to Teresa and me. We also began attending a Bible teaching church. We gave our lives to Jesus.
After coming to the Lord I realized that the love I had searched for was only available from God. I learned that God who created me had created me had created me with a desire for a love so great only He could fulfill it. No parent, no sibling, no girlfriend, nor any other relative or friend could soothe my hurt. As it has been often said, there was a God sized hole in my heart and only He could fill it. So, though I was once so hurt that I was suicidal, now that hurt is gone away. I live to serve the Lord. Though I can be separated from anyone on earth, He is with me always. He is the companion, the love, the One for whom I was meant to spend eternity with. Now, my spirit, my soul, is at peace…forever!
Family, we all have a story, to the praise of our God, let us tell the story of our relationship with Jesus! Let us always praise God! Thank you Jesus! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob with2 Corinthians 13:14 – May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ…” What is the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ? We commonly, and rightly, understand grace to be unmerited favor from God. What does “unmerited favor” mean? Simply that we don’t deserve, or merit, His grace. What is it the result of the Lord’s grace upon us. It means that we receive favor from Him. What does that mean? It means that we are moved from being enemies of God, which we all were at birth due to the sin passed down to us from Adam (Romans 5:12), to being daughters and sons of His. At birth we were all on a huge horizontal escalator (moving sidewalk) with the end of the ride (that is, death) being hell. Jesus came to change our final destination from hell to heaven. When one accepts Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord, Jesus takes us off that moving sidewalk that we all cannot get off of by our own ability. John 3:18 states “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” So we see that salvation from our Adam inherited damned destination is changed only through Jesus. Yet it is important to notice that those who reject Jesus stand (remain) “condemned already.” This is one of the verses that illustrates that every person born, even our own children, are all born infected and ravaged from sin. Because of this we are all born with an end destination of hell. I know, awful to think of, but we can thank Adam and Eve for that. But in the preceding verse we see that Jesus saves us from the path we were on. He snaps the chains of our bondage to that moving sidewalk, lifts us off of it and sets us on the moving sidewalk to Heaven. And the thing about it is that we don’t deserve it, but God has done it for us anyway.
Grace is the noun that describes the how God has given to us, though we have done nothing to deserve it, unmerited favor.
Remembering that all that God does comes from the essence of who He is (He is faithful to who He is [2 Corinthians 2:13]), then grace is an essential element of God. Grace lives in God. Digging deeper we know that a prime attribute of God, along with righteousness, is love. It is His love that is all encompassing, cannot be defeated, will never tire, and is intended for all created beings, but finds its home and bears fruit only in those who embrace it as given to the world through Jesus Christ, Savior and Lord. Does God love the unsaved? Of course He does (John 3:16)! But Jesus clearly taught that unless the grace of God is received in the way God has ordained it to be received, it falls on the hard ground and bears no fruit, but if one has a soft open heart to God, then the love is received and bears fruit in accordance with the very nature of God. (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23) Everything God does is from who He is. Love and grace are part of who He is and entirely who He is. So as He looks on us from the core of His being He loves us and offers to us this unmerited favor that is called “grace.”
“and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” The reference here is to our Father God. As we have previously reviewed. Those who love the Son have the love of the Father and those who do not love the Son do not have the love of the Father (1 John 2:23). Father God sent His Son Jesus to the earth suffer horribly and die so that we may have peace with God and therefore also have His love, His very self, live within us. How will we He allow anyone who rejects His Son, who has in obedience to Him suffered and died for all, to enter into His house? He will not! If anyone rejects our children, we know they are not welcome in our house.
The Holy Spirit is a full member of the One Holy Triune God. He is not less than God the Father or God the Son. All three, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all equally God in will, intent, power, divinity and stature. It is prevalent for modern Believers to be taught about God our Father and about Jesus our Savior and Lord, but not of the Holy Spirit and His works within us. Family, God does not give us two thirds of Himself, but He gives us the entirety of Himself. Do we tell God, who is all three, that we only want to love and fellowship part of Him but care not for the other third of Him. Let it be known that we cannot do that. God is One and He is not divided and no-one can divide Him. If we don’t love the Son then we will have neither the Father nor the Spirit. If we don’t love the Father then we don’t have the Son or the Holy Spirit and if we don’t love the Spirit, then we don’t have the Father or the Son. In fact, the Holy Spirit is the very proof that we belong to God through Jesus. (Ephesians 1:13) Family, do we love and talk (pray) to the Father and the Son but ignore the Holy Spirit, then we are in error and are losing out on having the fullness of the blessing of fellowship with God. Let’s remember that Jesus said that if a person speaks against Jesus that can be forgiven, but one who speaks against the Holy Spirit is in danger of never being forgiven (Matthew 12:31-32) Now Jesus spoke clearly here and yet many would say of this verse that it does not mean what Jesus clearly said. Yet these same people will quote that the golden rule of Bible interpretation as “When the plain sense of scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense…” Jesus was not speaking in a parable and was not giving an esoteric teaching. Also, nothing about what he here said contradicts anything else in scripture. He said do not speak against the Holy Spirit. With such a warning we are reminded of the preciousness, the holiness and the divinity of the Holy Spirit. Brothers and Sisters, if one of us does not personally know and fellowship with the Holy Spirit, well then, it’s time to start.
The whole and full triune God loves us, that is, every part of us. Shouldn’t we love the fullness of Him as He loves all that we are? All of the triune God has a role in every part of our salvation. Doesn’t God deserve us to love Him in full and not in part? Family, let us relish the grace of God and the full fellowship of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Let us praise God that we have the honor to do so. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withActs 22:1 – “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”
“Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.” The word here translated as defense is the word from which we today get the words apology and apologetics. It is same word translated as “answer” in 1 Peter 3:15. It is to give a reason, an answer, or a defense for something said or done, or not said or done. When we think of this word we often think of great apologists of our time such as C.S. Lewis, Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, Ravi Zacharias and more recently J. Warner Wallace. The erudition that these men possess is daunting and it can make us despair if we could ever know as much as them. They know so much how can we ever be a witness for Jesus? We can believe that since we do not know as much as our pastors, or any of these men, than how could we freely be a witness of the Gospel. Yet we must remember what Peter says in 1 Peter 3:15 “…Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…” Stress the fact that all believers have a reason for our hope. I remember being a neophyte in the Lord with perhaps under a year of maturity. I would tell anyone who would listen and would even witness on the street. Certainly I was no vault of knowledge in the Word but two things I knew and with that, and with the excitement of the love of the Lord within me, I was excited to share the Gospel with people. We know what we believe about Jesus and we know what God has done in our lives. And though I was a neophyte with a neophyte’s knowledge, I was blessed to lead some to the Lord.
What knowledge do all believers have? We all know the basics. We know that we were (are) sinners (Romans 3:23) and we know that Jesus died to save sinners (Luke 19:10, 1 Timothy 1:15. We know that we responded to the call from God (2 Peter 1:3, John 15:16) to come to Jesus and when we did we repented (turned away from) of our sins (Acts 3:19, Romans 2:4, 2 Corinthians 7:10) and knowing that only by faith in the person and works of Jesus can one have peace with God (Ephesians 2:8-9). We know that we love Jesus and deeply desire to live our lives in a way that would honor and please Him (Colossians 1:10). We know that one day we will be with God in Heaven (John 14:1-3, Revelation 3:5, 1 John 5:13). Now the verses here are for those who already know them, but want to memorize them. They live within us and are the foundation of our faith. And they are for those who would like to one in the fold of Jesus.
Now some may protest that it is hard for them to memorize scripture. Though our memory is not as weak as we may protest. If we think of sports, or recipes, or directions, or many other parts of our lives, we witness to ourselves that we are capable of memorizing much if it is important enough to us. Still what is most important about scripture is not if we can quote book, chapter and verse, but whether or not we know it in our hearts and live it out in our lives. So, if someone asks us a reason for the hope that is within us, we can tell them without using verses. We can tell them what was missing from our life before Jesus, we can tell them how we came to the Lord and we can tell them how much better, how much different our lives are now that we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord. We don’t need to memorize verse to do that, we just need to remember what God has done for us. So we, all of us, can do that. Being a good witness is telling about your relationship with Jesus and what He has, and is, doing for you. No-one can contest your story, or the validity of it, after all, you are the one who had lived it out and who does live it out.
When Paul gave his defense, he shared what he knew. Now he could quote scripture, but much of what he here quoted was from the experiences of his life. We can all do that. Let us all do that! Let us be great witnesses of God by telling others how wonderful, how great God has been to us and how He can be the same for them. Let us tell people how God has saved us to an eternally better life. Let us tell people that our hope, based on His promises, is that we will never see hell but will live forever with Him in heaven. When we do that, people will come to the Lord. That is what Jesus calls us to do in His name. Tell others what God had done for us. We are a living epistle of the greatness of God. Let’s share our story and glorify God. Praise God! Thank you Jesus.
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withActs 21:37-40 – 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:
“As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?”” Paul had a mob materialize with the intent of killing him. They had been beating him when the Romans rescued him. If the Romans had not rescued him this hate filled mob would have killed him. Yet the Jews who responded so explosively and in a united way, who did not have the true facts, thought that they did have some reason to react to Paul as they did other than a rejection of the Gospel message itself. One of the lies said about him was that he had brought a Gentile (Trophimus) into the temple. They were told that he had done so and that would have been, in their mind, an attack against their very beliefs. What the Jews most valued was “the people, The Law, and the Temple. Bringing a Gentile past the established boundary would have been considered not just a mistake, but an attack against all three of what they cherished. Besides it was clearly written at the entrance gate, and archaeology has verified it, that for a non-Jew to pass into the temple demanded death. The Jews zealously guarded that demand. So the fact that it was being yelled out that Paul had defiled the temple certainly would have spread like yelling fire in a theater. It was instant reaction with no further evidence needed.
““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?”” The question do you know Greek was likely not asking Paul if he spoke Greek, but was a surprise statement that may have also be understood as “Oh, you know Greek!” After all, when Paul asked the commander if he may speak to him he likely asked the commander in Greek, and Paul would have known the commander spoke Greek as he likely had already spoken Greek in front of Paul.
The commander told Paul that he had took Paul to be a previous trouble maker who had led a failed revolt around A.D. 54.
“Paul answered, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.”” Paul let the commander know that he was not an Egyptian but a Jew from Tarsus, a well know and powerful city. Paul also revealed that he was Roman citizen and that would have certainly carried weight with the commander.
Paul asked to speak to the people. How the commander was probably amazed as this man Paul, who was going to beaten to death, or ripped apart by the frenzied crowd, wanted now to talk to them. We know the deep love Paul had for his fellow Jews (Romans 9:1-3) and he perhaps thought that if he spoke truth and reason to them, then they would listen. It is another example that those with a pure heart often find it hard to understand how others will not listen to reason and truth. Usually the pure at heart are the most gullible of all. (Titus 1:15) Not to their fault, but to their credit!
“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.” After receiving the commander’s permission Paul began to speak to the Jews, certainly he was hoping that a revival would sweep over the crowd that hat just tried to kill him. Paul loved even those who beat and wanted to kill him and thereby exemplified the very same love of Jesus his Savior and Lord. We are also told to forgive others in such a way (Matthew 6:14-15, Romans 12:14). After all Jesus forgave us. Near the death of His life Jesus called out from the cross “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” We should also realize that people who mistreat or persecute us may not fully know the ramifications of what they are doing. And if they do understand, and still want to harm and kill us, then they are most to be pitied because God will cause them to pay for what they do to us (Romans 12:19). Pray for them. Fear for them. Love them so that perhaps they might repent and be saved. In that way we show we are the children of God. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob with