Corona Devo 798
Have you had it?
Your 'conversion' moment? When you realized/asked/accepted/submitted to Jesus being the Lord of your life...instead of you?
It might have been monumental. It might have been calm. It might have been spontaneous, or it might have been a-long-time-coming.
Do you remember the moment? The prayer? The change?
I do. At 15 years old, God used a boy two grades older who liked me, but who liked Jesus even more. I can recall "Andy" leading me in a prayer acknowledging my sin to God, thanking Him for giving His Son Jesus to pay for my sin at the cross, and then asking Jesus to come into my heart and help me to follow Him.
Andy didn't last, but the spiritual moment we shared on the phone will last for all eternity.
It was not dramatic, but it was life changing. Deciding to follow Jesus has to be.
Sometimes, our conversion to Christ can be dramatic.
Saul hated Christ-followers. Misled about God. Educated in the law of religion but ignorant about sharing in a relationship with Christ. Judgmental and critical of believers because He couldn't comprehend (yet) what they were experiencing. That's the kind of man Saul was.
(Oops. That sounds like a lot of us before Christ, doesn't it? And if we aren't careful, it can sound like a lot of us even after we have accepted Jesus into our hearts.)
That was who Saul was before meeting the Lord...until he had his moment:
Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. (2) He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.
(3) As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. (4) He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
(5) “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked.
And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! (6) Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
(7) The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one! (8) Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. (9) He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink. ~Acts:1-7
Wow! Saul's experience on the road to Damascus was shocking. And sometimes we need a shock to be woken up to the reality and dominion of Jesus in our lives because we can become so blinded by our own efforts and crusades.
God "got in front" of Saul, and neither Saul , not those close to him, could deny it. When God "gets in front of" us, we must acknowledge Him and make a decision too.
But what I love about our Lord is that He never abandons us in any sense. Saul couldn't have known what to do next. Many times in life we are the same. Grief, fear, even in joy---we can become disoriented and unclear about how to proceed, and that is especially true when new in our faith. And so God sends His people to help us...
(Are we open to help from other Believers? Are we willing to help other Believers?)
Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord!” he replied.
(11) The Lord said, “Go over... to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. (12) I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”
(13) “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! (14) And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”
(15) But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. (16) And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
(17) So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (18) Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. (19) Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength.
Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days. (20) And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!”
(21) All who heard him were amazed. “Isn’t this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem?” they asked. “And didn’t he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?” ~Acts 9:10-21Blessings,
sarah
https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com
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