Acts 22:11-16\u00a0<\/b>–\u00a0My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.\u00a0 12\u00a0\u201cA man named Ananias came to see me.\u00a0He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.\u00a013\u00a0He stood beside me and said, \u2018Brother Saul, receive your sight!\u2019 And at that very moment I was able to see him.<\/i><\/p>\n
14\u00a0\u201cThen he said: \u2018The God of our ancestors\u00a0has chosen you to know his will and to see\u00a0the Righteous One\u00a0and to hear words from his mouth.\u00a015\u00a0You will be his witness\u00a0to all people of what you have seen\u00a0and heard.\u00a016\u00a0And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized\u00a0and wash your sins away,\u00a0calling on his name.\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cMy companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me<\/i>.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0How humbling and frightful it must have been for Saul to no longer be in control as he was led by the hand.\u00a0 Alone in his blindness, being led by men who had no idea what had happened or what was going to happen, must have been surreal.\u00a0 Ironically, Paul the physically blind was now being led by his companions, the spiritually blind (which he also had been).\u00a0 But now Jesus, the Light of World, (John 8:12<\/b>) was in control and bringing Paul in to a future he would have never guessed was coming. \u00a0These men who were leading blind Paul would later be needing Paul to lead them out of their blindness.<\/p>\n
\u201cA man named Ananias came to see me.\u00a0He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.\u00a013\u00a0He stood beside me and said, \u2018Brother Saul, receive your sight!\u2019 And at that very moment I was able to see him.<\/i>\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Here there was no mention that before Ananias came to Paul the Lord Jesus had appeared to Ananias to instruct him to go and minister to Paul.\u00a0 (Acts 9:10-19<\/b>)\u00a0 Ananias could hardly believe his ears that he was being instructed to go minister the man who was seeking to imprison, and even kill, people of The Way.<\/p>\n
Aside from the Word, is it rare that God reveals future plans to us.\u00a0 Not that He does not, but that is rare.\u00a0 If God leads us to something then we ought to do it.\u00a0 We probably won\u2019t know what God will bring out from what He has us do.\u00a0 Ananias was told that Paul was, not was going to be but was, a chosen instrument of the Lords, but he did not know the magnitude of the plans of the Lord for Paul.\u00a0 Trust God, obey Him and His Word, and enjoy watching God work!\u00a0 Praise God!<\/p>\n
We notice how Paul told his audience that Ananias was a man who observed the law and was highly respected by the Jews living there.\u00a0 We can be sure that Paul added this to assure those present that his was a very Jewish story.\u00a0 He did not tell them that Ananias was also a believer, if he had, they may have listened no further.\u00a0 Some may call this deception, a better word would be wisdom.\u00a0 It was better for them to hear more of what he had to say.<\/p>\n
Paul, at the time of his conversion, surely was amazed and wondered at all that was happening.\u00a0 He had been overwhelmed by the appearance of the Lord to him, he was blinded by the light, led by hand and was to wait for a man he did not know.\u00a0 The man, one of the followers of Jesus, prayed for Paul and his blindness was healed in a very physical, and spiritual way.\u00a0 The story is amazing!\u00a0 Think of how it sounded to these first century Jews, for whom it had been hundreds of years since they thought a prophet had spoken to them, before John the Baptist.\u00a0 At this point they were hanging on his every word.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u201cThen he said: \u2018The God of our ancestors\u00a0has chosen you to know his will and to see\u00a0the Righteous One\u00a0and to hear words from his mouth.\u00a015\u00a0You will be his witness\u00a0to all people of what you have seen\u00a0and heard.\u00a016\u00a0And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized\u00a0and wash your sins away,\u00a0calling on his name.\u2019<\/i>\u201d\u00a0 Family and Friends, let\u2019s take a minute to digest what Paul was told.\u00a0 What if the Lord sent a messenger to tell you that the one true God, the God of all, had hand selected you know His will.\u00a0 Wait, to what, \u201cknow His will<\/i>.\u201d\u00a0 How jaw dropping an honor.\u00a0 How exciting and how scary!\u00a0 What an auspicious honor and how can one live up to that privilege?\u00a0 Wow!\u00a0 Would we want that?\u00a0 No one should say yes without knowing that this gift led Paul into many life threatening beatings and trials.\u00a0 He would be ostracized by his former associates for the knowledge he received.\u00a0 He would be beaten by them and they plotted to kill him.\u00a0 In the end, their persecution led to his beheading.\u00a0 Jesus said \u201cIf the world hates you, keep I mind that it hated me first<\/i>.\u201d\u00a0 (John 15:18<\/b>)\u00a0 Jesus was warning His disciples that because of their relationship with Him, because of their carrying out their assigned ministries, they would largely be rejected by their own people and also largely by the world.\u00a0 Jesus said to all of us that if we are to follow Him we will need to deny ourselves and take up His cross daily and follow Him (Luke 9:23<\/b>).\u00a0\u00a0 Family, Jesus did not tell us that to follow Him was going to necessitate us taking up \u201ca\u201d cross but to take up \u201cHis\u201d cross.\u00a0 His cross is essential to His message.\u00a0 It is a sign of His beautiful work and the horror that He went through for us.\u00a0 Yet He did not deter from His assignment but, in love, walked the straight path to the cross.\u00a0 If we love Him then we, as He, ought to walk the straight path He gives us and to do it from His love that lives within us.<\/p>\n
Jesus not only said take up His cross and continue to advance it till He returns, but He said to do it daily.\u00a0 Yes, daily!\u00a0 And once we pick up that cross we are to never let it down.\u00a0 I remember as a child having the high honor of being on the flag team at Point Fermin Elementary School which I attended.\u00a0 We were taught to never, not ever, let the flag touch the ground.\u00a0 It touching the ground represented dishonor or defeat to our country.\u00a0 It is to be flown high and proud by a people who love and honor their country.\u00a0 To set it on the ground is to defame the country for which it stands.\u00a0 That is what we were taught.\u00a0 It was a great lesson!\u00a0 Now if we give such great honor to the flag that represents our country how much more so should we honor the cross, the symbol of the work of our Lord.\u00a0 He has honored us to carry His work forward.\u00a0 The United States is a land of the free and it is our responsibility to keep it so.\u00a0 The cross of Jesus that we carry forward is the symbol of being truly free and it is our responsibility, as assigned by God, to carry it forward with a knowledge of the great honor to do so.\u00a0 To do it daily and to do it whatever the cost.\u00a0 The cost is never greater than the honor of serving the Lord.<\/p>\n
So those who have heard His Word, who have yield to Jesus and who love and serve Him have been washed in His blood, we have been baptized in His name, and we daily call on His name and seek His guidance for our day.\u00a0 Family, our cross, the cross of Christ, has weight, but we do not carry it alone.\u00a0 Carrying the cross comes with much responsibility and consequences, but we bear neither alone because He is always with us and helps and sustains us always.\u00a0 What an honor to call Jesus our Savior and Lord!\u00a0 What an honor to everyday carry His cross!\u00a0 What an honor to be known as His disciple.\u00a0 Thank you Lord!\u00a0 Praise and honor to You Lord!\u00a0 Praise God!<\/p>\n
Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/i><\/p>\n
Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear\u00a0me.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Numbers 6:24-26<\/b>\u00a0\u201cThe\u00a0Lord\u00a0bless you and keep you; 25\u00a0the\u00a0Lord\u00a0make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26\u00a0the\u00a0Lord\u00a0turn His face\u00a0toward you and give you peace.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Acts 22:11-16\u00a0–\u00a0My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.\u00a0 12\u00a0\u201cA man named Ananias came to see me.\u00a0He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.\u00a013\u00a0He stood beside me and said, \u2018Brother Saul, receive your sight!\u2019 And at…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[82,100,106,94,1874,17],"class_list":["post-2051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-acts","tag-john","tag-luke","tag-micah","tag-numbers","tag-psalm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2051"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2052,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2051\/revisions\/2052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}