At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
Acts 9:20-22
Apart from the amazing miracles of the Messiah, these verses tell one of the most amazing stories in the Bible.
Saul of Tarsus was a wretched man. He was the LAST and I mean THE LAST person in Israel who would’ve been saved. The disciples and all Christians feared Saul for he was responsible for murdering and slaughtering anyone who professed belief in Christ. He was infamous amongst the Christians – comparable to terrorists in ISIS today. Saul was the head honcho terrorist to the Christians.
And then he was saved.
Whenever I read about the conversion of Saul, I always like to immerse myself in what it truly would’ve looked and felt like to see a man who I so deeply feared, now confessing Jesus as the Messiah. To say I would be amazed would be an understatement. I wouldn’t believe my eyes, in fact, I could see myself rubbing them to make sure I was not dreaming – maybe even pinch myself. To the Christians AND the Jews living in Damascus, they couldn’t believe their eyes either. How could this man go from murderer to disciple in a matter of days?
The answer? His amazing grace.
You see, it had to be Saul (Paul). There was no one else so broken, so poisoned by bitterness and revenge who would’ve fallen to their knees any harder than Paul did. God chose the most feared man in Israel as His ambassador to show His people that EVEN Saul, the Christian Killer, could be saved by His amazing grace. Now the housewife, the common man, the prostitute, the tax collector could look upon themselves and consider what the Lord did with Paul and see that EVEN they could be saved by His grace. Again, it had to be Saul.
Saul the Persecutor
We may not all be murderers or terrorists, but I know many of us look upon ourselves with the same attitude as Paul did. “I was the last person people would’ve thought would be saved.” Maybe you were an outsider in your family, a rebel amongst your friends, or even an enemy of God’s for a time being. The fact is He is still saving Pauls each and every day. He saves people like you and me for the great testimony we have to tell to those who do not believe. He uses the wretched to display his amazing grace. He uses the broken to shine His redeeming light through. That’s pretty amazing.
Saul the Saved
Because of the sins Paul committed, he carried his salvation with great responsibility. He lived his life after Christ with a great thorn in his side – a thorn I believe (though many have their theories) symbolizes the guilt he feels for all those he was responsible for murdering. Because of this thorn, Paul lived his life like it was not his own. He lived his life for Christ because he knew that it was Christ alone that gave him a second chance at love, joy, peace – eternal life. The fact of the matter is, Jesus did the same for us. Our salvation, while maybe not as dramatic as Paul’s, is the same as Paul’s. We were wretched sinners, in need of a Savior and Jesus gave us that second chance. For that, I pray we all realize that our lives are not our own, but the one who reached down and pulled us out of the sinking sand that was engulfing us.
Go in that amazing truth today and pray that you find ways to continually lay your life at His feet, just as Paul did.
We read throughout the gospels of how amazed or astonished the people were who experienced Jesus’ miracles and teachings during His short physical tenure here among us. But just because He isn’t physically here doesn’t mean He fails to do amazing things every day in our lives.
Join me and my special guest, my daughter Madison Dooley, as we spend the month of November joining those people of old in our amazement of Jesus. From His youth to His death, from His healings to His admonishments, and His teachings to His loving moments with His disciples we will see how Jesus continues His amazing work to this very day.
Be sure to follow this blog to receive your amazing posts!
When my youngest daughter and I started working on our relationship I prayed, a lot. I prayed what to say the first summer she was home from college. I prayed each time I visited her. I asked God to put the right words in my mouth at the right time, with the right heart. I prayed to have my need to feel hurt and offended by her words be taken from me. I wanted God to change me so dramatically that my daughter could see that change. She needed to see that I was doing the work on my own issues. I had two God moments that have stuck with me during that time. The first was the summer after her freshmen year. I knew, from my older daughter, that life was going to change at our house. We would now have four adults living in our home – no children. And so, I prayed for the right words at the right time. James has taught us so well that when we rely on God in times of trial that wonderous solutions come to us that we might never have thought. I prayed that her newfound relationship with Jesus would also guide our conversations.
The last few words in the Book of James is really a summary. He tells us to take all of the wisdom and expectations of the five chapters and work together for the glory of God. To help those Christians who wander off God’s track and bring them back into his loving arms. To guide our children to a life of grace, wisdom and forgiveness.
My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
James 5:19
Which brings me to the second of those God moments. My daughter and I were on the phone having yet another tense conversation while she was back at school. Full of misunderstandings and secret expectations (She has since told me she had long felt I had extremely high expectations of her and she didn’t want to fail me). I took a breath and prayed for God to speak through me. I stopped talking. I started listening. And finally, the right words came.
Me: “I have something to ask of you.”
Her: “What?”
Me: “I am working really hard on trusting God to handle a lot of stuff – including my fears and hopes and dreams for you.”
Her: “Uh uh.”
Me: “But I fail, a lot. I’m very impressed how you give a lot of grace and forgiveness to your friends, coaches, and teachers. What I’m asking for is that you give me some of that same grace and forgiveness for when I fail.”
Pin drop. God’s words not only diffused the situation but it called on her to look on her own faith. It asked her to treat me just like any other Christian to whom she shows love. It took me out of being “just her mom” to being a person. God was doing a mighty work in that moment.
On a “back to school” road trip
As Christians we probably have Christian friends. We might have Christian children and spouses. We should have the expectation to which James exhorts us, which is to help keep our brothers and sisters on track. We might cringe at that thinking, again, we don’t want to be judgmental people. But by relying on our faith and reminding others of their faith helps us all to grow closer to Christ. It’s that Imperfect Progress my Bible study girls like to talk about.
What is more worthwhile than saving someone from death and covering a multitude of sin?
Faith That Works
If we are in the mindset that our faith is ours and ours alone, we won’t reach out and bring others to Christ. We won’t help our brethren when they fall. I was in a Bible study group once where a woman stated she had never had a conversation about Christ with someone other than people at her church. She seemed ok with that. It made me sad. I know that God had put multiple people in her life along the way (she was in her 80s) to help do His work. I know that because that is God’s nature.
Every person you meet is providential, not accidental.
Phil Hopper, Pastor, Abundant Life Church
So often we think about going out to foreign countries to share our faith when in our own homes and neighborhoods and schools and play groups and Bunco groups and dinner clubs there are people who need Christ. There are Christians who need our support. It’s one thing to gain wisdom from studying His Word and yet another to actually use that wisdom to glorify God.
May we be lumps of salt in the midst of society.
Charles Spurgeon
I like that visual. To be placed around our neighborhoods and cities for the people to gain something good. We aren’t to be stockpiling our salt for our own personal use. We should be anticipating those moments God says, “Here, help my beloved.”
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.
Phillipians 2: 3-4
In other words, if we look at our salvation as a gift from God, we must also share that gift. We must also share the love and teachings of Jesus. By using Jesus’ ways as our touchstone, we can guide others along the way.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10: 24-25
My daughter now will give me biblically based advice when I am struggling. She reminds me to lean into and on God. She gently pushes me closer to Jesus. I had a older friend, who at the beginning of the Covid19 crisis, I checked in on. I considered him a leader in our church, a man of strong faith. He was distraught and depressed. He said to me, “I just can’t see God in any of this to be honest.” And me, a person who struggles with memorizing any scripture spoke these words back to him: “You must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a boat on the waves of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:6) This man of great faith was silent. And then he said, “Thank you.”
As a Christian, I need my Christian friends and family to remind me of the promises God has made. I need nudges back toward His light. I may even need a whack over the head once in a while. If we choose not to help each other, think of all the opportunities we have missed to glorify Him and the people we will not have helped save from death. And as for my older daughter, I pray every day of my role in bringing her to Christ. More importantly, I pray that a Christian friend of hers will tell her their testimony and invite her on The Way.`
One of my favorite visuals from the Bible is James 1:23 – “Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” Strangely enough I find myself doing that at times. I get up, wash my face and go about my day. At some point I’ll go into a restaurant or store bathroom and look in the mirror as I wash my hands. I almost shock myself when I see what my hair looks like or how old I look.
I also do this with obeying the Word of God. I get up in the morning, read my devotionals and Bible studies then head out into the world. At times it may take all day before I forget the Word, other times it’s my first encounter with another human as I leave my street. I get angry, snarky, unforgiving, worried, maybe even a bit vengeful. I forget God’s admonition – that if I want to receive mercy then I need to be merciful. If I want to be treated kindly then I need to treat people with kindness. I tell people that the actual act of being a faithful follower of God takes work. It takes practice. Some days it takes every single ounce of strength to keep my mind fixed on Jesus. The world wants us to take the easy route. They want us to forget what we look like. The world says “it’s ok” to chip away at what we know to be right. Those “almost right” temptations are what give the devil his footholds.
There’s been great debates over time about grace vs. works. I’m not a world-renowned Bible scholar. I don’t have a degree in theology. But I can read James 2:14 which states,
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?”
James 2:14
Throughout the New Testament it’s made clear that faith without deeds is really no faith at all. The Book of James speaks to my Martha-like spirit. But it also is for Martha’s sister, Mary. Because deeds come in all forms. Martha showed love by cooking and cleaning. Mary showed love through adoration and giving.
James is only five short chapters. But they are packed with Jesus follower gems. The foreward in the Bible study book, James, Faith that Works, says “Unlike most books of the New Testament, the letter of James is best known for the people who don’t like it. It’s seen as a scalawag among the obviously Christ-centered letters of Paul, and the love-concerned writings of John.” I personally like being a scalawag.
scalawag
noun
a scamp; rascal.
We feel the sting of James. But without an occasional admonishment, we humans are extremely prone to skipping along dangerous paths. As a parent, I know the two most important roles I played while raising my girls was 1) setting and holding them to rules and 2) loving them even as they broke those rules. Isn’t that what God does for us each and every day – when we turn from the mirror and forget what we look like?
Join me, starting September 7, 2020, as I take a chapter in James each week to spur us on to action – to be doers of the Word, not just readers. Through James we can learn to take practical steps to living out our lives as Christ followers.
Be sure to follow to receive your James emails each week!
The other day while out walking with my dog I was listening to a podcast by a well-known Christian speaker. She asked the question: “Do you remember a time when you sinned, I mean really sinned? How did it feel?” I stopped to think on this. I’ve never murdered someone. But I did encourage a friend in my younger days to get an abortion. I’ve never been a thief, although I have, at times, realized I wasn’t charged for something correctly and didn’t go back to the store clerk. I’ve never cheated on my husband. But do those lustful thoughts count? I check in with my mom and dad, through gritted teeth. I put God first. Well, except for the times I put money and my children first. I’m good to my neighbors even though I’ve spoken badly about some. See, I’ve only sinned a wee bit.
I realized that every single time I sinned “just a little” made me feel a “little bit” broken. At times it made me feel a lot broken. The Christian speaker went on to say, “Now imagine Jesus on the cross. He is the only person to walk the Earth who has not sinned. But at that moment His Father placed all your darkness, all your brokenness, all your pain caused by sin on Him. There is no one else who has experienced so much pain. Imagine how He must have felt.” It brought me to tears. It brings me to tears as I write this.
This visual is what I praise God for today. The understanding of Jesus’ pain and sacrifice made for us. I previously hadn’t made an emotional connection to this powerful, earth shaking moment in our time. I had the knowledge but not the emotional response. Baptist teacher Oswald Chambers once said about Jesus on the cross:
The Cross was a superb triumph in which the foundations of hell were shaken. There is nothing more certain in Time or Eternity than what Jesus Christ did on the Cross: He switched the whole of the human race back into a right relationship with God.
Oswald Chambers
My father is reading The Saxon series books. In it, a character refers to Jesus as the “Nailed God.” It brought to mind movies I’ve seen showing the crucifixion. With each hammering of a nail through Jesus’ feet and wrists I cried. But it was out of sadness and horror. That day, when I visualized Jesus on the cross pulling, drawing and tearing our sins from us and placing them squarely in His own heart and soul I was overcome with gratefulness and sorrow. I want to apologize to Jesus. His gift to us caused Him so much pain.
It’s a well-accepted fact that when we are forced to work hard for something, say a new car, home, a good job, we tend to take better care of it. I didn’t have to work for the gifts of salvation and redemption. I’ve proven over and over that sin is easy for me to commit. I need to keep Jesus’ pain, his suffering, and His willingness to take mine, closer to mind each and every day. His love for us can only be repaid with obedience and thankfulness.
Life is like a stormy sea That tosses to and fro, But God’s Word will ever be A ballast for my soul; By its truth I’ll be held fast Till I reach heaven’s shore Where I will be home at last And sail life’s sea no more!
—Perry Boardman
How often do you feel like a sailing ship being tossed to and fro? Or a tiny dinghy out on a stormy lake? I certainly felt that way more times than I can count. My “peace-filled” days were the ones I could count on a couple hands. But Jesus is the Prince of Peace! It’s so fascinating to study the days of Jesus and His interactions with the leaders of the Jewish faith. We have the benefit of thousands of years of scholarly study to correctly interpret Jesus’ words. We also have the truth of the resurrection to back up Jesus’ position with God.
But think of those leaders who knew the prophesy in Isaiah 9:6 which states: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” They certainly weren’t anxiously waiting for this Nazarene. A child born to a lowly woman. Someone not officially holding a title of Prince or even Rabbi. And yet there he stood.
“Shalom – peace – is a precious word to the Jewish people. It means more than just the absence of war or distress. Shalom means wholeness, completeness, health, security, even prosperity in the best sense. When you are enjoying God’s peace, there is joy and contentment,” says Warren Wiersbe on his commentary of John 14:25-31. The Pharisees, and other lay people, were looking for someone to just give them the absence of war and the gift of prosperity. They were missing out on the eternal peace that God gifts us through both war and prosperity. When I think of God’s peace the eye of a hurricane always comes to mind. This eye is an area of mostly calm weather inside a terrifying hurricane.
According to the website, A Catholic Gentleman, which promotes faith in men, “over 40 million Americans suffer from an anxiety disorder of some kind, and there are no doubt countless others that live with severe anxiety but are undiagnosed. “ But how do we obtain this elusive peace? The Catholic Gentleman gives some great insight:
First, it means living in the present moment. A great deal of anxiety comes from worrying about the past or the future, neither of which can be changed. Even though we know it is useless, we often expend untold emotional energy worrying.
Second, it means accepting the circumstances of life without impatient resistance, realizing that everything is either positively willed or at least allowed by God.
Finally, it means trust in the goodness of God. Many of us are afraid to completely abandon ourselves to the will of God because we are afraid of what it might mean.
These three pieces of advice are so clear and helpful. But they are not easy. I once told a good friend that some days just working on staying in the present moment took every ounce of energy I had. There are no quick fixes to this amazing gift God wants for us. Unlike grace and salvation which, once we accept Jesus as the son of God who removes our stains, is given fully and freely to us, the gift of peace can seem more like trying to open a clamshell style package. You think it looks simple and you try poking your fingernail between the two pieces of plastic. When that doesn’t work you look for a helpful tab somewhere the manufacturer must have added in order to tear that puppy open. But alas, none exists. Then you start trying to use brute strength or maybe your teeth. You feel a bit silly. I mean it’s you against a piece of plastic! You finally give in and get out a knife or scissors. And even that may lead to a bloody finger. When all is said and done you have in front of you a mangled piece of plastic and the object of your desire, freed from the bonds of the clamshell. You look at your freed item and somehow it feels more valuable from the work you just put in. And you exclaim, “finally!”
I love the teachings of Joyce Meyer primarily because this taming of our minds is her primary teaching focus when it comes to following God’s Word. One of her devotional days says,
“Nobody is successful with any venture just by wishing they would be. Successful people make a plan and talk to themselves about that plan constantly.”
Joyce Meyer, Trusting God Day by Day
This is based on 2 Cor 10:5: “We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey God.” When we keep our mind in the present and decide what goes on up in our thick skull we are miles ahead toward achieving that gift of peace.
I know a lot people who spend most of their time on the wall of the hurricane instead of the eye. They’re the “Chicken Littles” and the “Debbie Downers” and the “Joy Suckers.” I’m familiar with all of them as I perfected each of them at one time or another. Until I accepted Jesus. I surrendered to trusting the goodness of God. When I am facing tough situations I FIRST turn to God to pump a little extra peace into me. For a long time, I assumed that long-time Christians all had this peace. One friend I spoke to at the beginning of the COVID 19 scare, who has been a Christian much longer than I, was distraught. He said he just couldn’t see God at work anywhere. I told him he sounded like the ship being tossed to and fro. And that without trust in God he wouldn’t find peace. He stopped talking. He realized he had stepped out of God’s eye and into the storm.
I read this story as part of a sermon by Max Lucado on “Peace that defies pain.”
“I have everything I need for joy!” Robert Reed said. “Amazing!” I thought.
His hands are twisted and his feet are useless. He can’t bathe himself. He can’t feed himself. He can’t brush his teeth, comb his hair, or put on his underwear. His shirts are held together by strips of Velcro®. His speech drags like a worn-out audio cassette.
Robert has cerebral palsy.
The disease keeps him from driving a car, riding a bike, and going for a walk. But it didn’t keep him from graduating from high school or attending Abilene Christian University, from which he graduated with a degree in Latin. Having cerebral palsy didn’t keep him from teaching at a St. Louis junior college or from venturing overseas on five mission trips.
And Robert’s disease didn’t prevent him from becoming a missionary in Portugal. He moved to Lisbon, alone, in 1972. There he rented a hotel room and began studying Portuguese. He found a restaurant owner who would feed him after the rush hour and a tutor who would instruct him in the language.
Then he stationed himself daily in a park, where he distributed brochures about Christ. Within six years he led seventy people to the Lord, one of whom became his wife, Rosa.
I heard Robert speak recently. I watched other men carry him in his wheelchair onto the platform. I watched them lay a Bible in his lap. I watched his stiff fingers force open the pages. And I watched people in the audience wipe away tears of admiration from their faces. Robert could have asked for sympathy or pity, but he did just the opposite. He held his bent hand up in the air and boasted, “I have everything I need for joy.”
His shirts are held together by Velcro®, but his life is held together by joy.”
I praise God, the Prince of Peace, the Giver of Joy, the Giver of Shaloha, as many on the beautifully peaceful island of Kauai like to say. I thank Him for helping me be steadfast in surrendering to Him so that I might live each moment in the eye rather than the walls of the storm.
I heard this song last year at the church I was attending. It was so beautifully done I was in tears. Every time I play this song I feel so connected to God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It lifts my heart. I find myself raising my hands in my car or out in public while taking a walk. I’m led to show my bold love for God.
This song speaks to the amazing love the Almighty pours out to us. He is our song when we don’t seem to have our own melody. He is our strength when troubles make us weak. He is forever the same and the only one worthy of complete praise.
During the last year, bold faith and expression of that faith has been my guiding principle. God defines me, not the world. God’s desires for me are my desires. I am imperfectly trying to perfect that bold faith. When I first started attending church I felt like an imposter. I knew for a fact that everyone around me had bold faith. And I did not. I stumbled and dusted myself off, all the while reaching out for His hand. I told Him, “Lord you are my hope when I cannot see the day.”
Even when I found myself as a leader of a Bible Study I felt like an imposter. Again, I just knew everyone in the group must know the Bible inside and out. They were probably experts and would see through my inadequacies. So I prayed, “Lord you are my sight, teach me how to walk by faith.”
God has guided me and provided for me through many trials and many joys. He has rescued me and He has bestowed great gifts. And so now I say, “I just wanna take my time and say, you alone are worthy of my praise.”
What praise or worship song brings you to tears? Add yours below in the comments!
emboldened.net 