Burunche’s Blog

John 16: 5 Now, however, I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 Instead, your hearts are filled with sorrow because I have told you these things. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate (Comforter) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.”

When I was growing up, I was raised in one of the quietest and least demonstrative denominations there was. Congregational singing was encouraged, but we didn’t clap our hands in church, we didn’t raise our hands in church, and sometimes it seemed as if we rarely even smiled in church! We were drowning in decorum. The problem was that when I read the book of Acts, it didn’t look anything like my home church. I was a bright inquisitive kid, the kind of kid that would ask embarrassing questions in Sunday School. And burning inside me was this question: does God really do miracles today? Nobody could answer me; looking back, some of my Sunday School teachers probably had the same question, but they couldn’t find an answer either. Part of our problem was our view of the Holy Spirit: we were taught that God gave the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to get the early church going, but after that, the Holy Spirit just kind of disappeared. Never mind that Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit would be our Comforter and would stay with us always. Most of us probably imagined the Holy Spirit as some kind of gray fog that sort of oozed around. Not a particularly encouraging or inspiring concept!!!

I went away to a denominational college and lost my faith in a Christian Doctrines class. The professor was teaching that Jesus really didn’t do miracles, that those were just interesting myths. Of course, there were eye witness accounts, but could you really believe THOSE people? And so, my expectations about the power of God sank even lower. And that’s the way things stood until the spring of 1978 when everything changed in a few hours one Saturday night.

That Saturday had begun wretchedly! I was working a half day as a surgery resident, but looking forward to a special outing with friends that afternoon. Unfortunately, the friends canceled, leaving me at loose ends. Feeling disgusted and frustrated, I went to a local Christian bookstore and bought several books; if I couldn’t enjoy myself outdoors, I could at least indulge in an orgy of reading. What I failed to realize was that the Holy Spirit was nudging my arm so that all the books I selected involved true stories of people who took steps of faith and who then saw God moving mightily in their lives. I then went home and read steadily for about eight hours.

The last book I read was “Prison to Praise” by Merlin Carothers. Carothers was a Methodist U.S. Army chaplain who was ready to quit the ministry when he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and saw God begin to do miracles in his life. Carothers ended the book by explaining that one could pray and ask God for this gift. Feeling totally stupid but also desperate, I prayed a simple prayer: “God if you are really there, God if this guy is not lying, please do this for me!” The first time I prayed, nothing happened! Boy! Was I disappointed! But then I re- read Carothers’ description and realized that I should pay attention to any words that were forming in my mind. God was NOT going to pry my mouth open! I prayed again, and I could feel some syllables forming themselves in my mind. When I opened my mouth , a beautiful flowing language came out. I felt that I could have stopped at any point, but the longer I prayed in this language, the more joyful and peaceful I felt. And I felt CLEAN! It was as if God turned me inside out, scrubbed all the crud off, and turned me right side out again. That was the beginning of an adventure that has continued ever since.

Up until that time, I had never heard about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, nor did I know the term “charismatic.” I literally knew nothing about the Holy Spirit, but I was hungry to learn more. I later learned that there were many manifestations of the Holy Spirit, of which speaking in tongues was only one. While some charismatic denominations insist that one must speak in tongues to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, I have found that God doesn’t like being put in a box and that God will choose how to show Himself if we only give Him a chance. And the Holy Spirit does not force himself on anybody. When the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples at Pentecost, they were already praying together “in one accord,” in other words, their hearts and minds were prepared. And a prayer language is not always the first gift that God gives. Some people are afraid of speaking in tongues. That’s OK. God has other gifts He will give, and if you do not speak in tongues right away, that does NOT mean that God has not given you His Holy Spirit. God gives you what you need most. Perhaps you need discernment as your first gift. God knows your heart.

God will not disappoint you. Tomorrow we can study more about the Holy Spirit, but for today, let’s pray.

PRAYER; Father God, we thank you that you give good gifts to your children. Please send the Holy Spirit to all who read this. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

John 16:5 “Now, however, I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 Instead, your hearts are filled with sorrow because I have told you these things. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

8 And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.

12 I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it. 13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you. 15 Everything that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take from what is Mine and disclose it to you.”

The Day of Pentecost came, and the Holy Spirit descended in power. While Jesus was alive, he had already been teaching the disciples about the Holy Spirit; however, they really didn’t understand. It took the power of the Holy Spirit being demonstrated for the disciples to begin to understand the Holy Spirit. In these verses from the Gospel of John, Jesus is encouraging his disciples on the night in which he is about to be betrayed, beaten and hauled off to a kangaroo court.

Does God really work in people’s lives in a powerful way, or is this just a fairy tale?

YES! God is still working in miraculous ways in people’s lives! Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth if we would allow him to do so. In April 1978 I received the Holy Spirit into my life after praying and asking the Holy Spirit to come in. Nothing was ever the same again! Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth. One of the first things that happened was that I received joy – an ovewhelming supernatural joy that flooded my whole being with light and peace. God immediately began working in my heart, in my mind, and in my spirit, to show me new ways of thinking and believing. By the time I was 30 I had probably read the entire Bible through at least 20 or 30 times. But now I found myself rushing home and grabbing my Bible and reading for hours. I couldn’t get enough of God’s Word. And even though I had grown up in church and had memorized large portions of Scripture, it was as if I had an entirely new Bible. Things meant sense that had never meant sense before.

I began reading books about the Holy Spirit and learned that others had had similar experiences. For months it was as if a cloud of glory was enfolding me. While that experience gradually reduced, I found that I had a new closeness to God. That closeness has never gone away. I also found a new power in prayer, and I saw God do miracles in my life and in other people’s lives as well.

Are you hungry for more of God? Do you want to see the power of God working in your life? Ask God to send His Holy Spirit. The mark of the Holy Spirit is peace. Ask for that Holy Spirit peace and then expect God to move. God is a good Father and does not play games with His children.

PRAYER: Father, please send the Holy Spirit to everyone who reads these words. Come in your strength and your power. Bring your joy! Bring your peace! And bring your healing! In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Jesus’ last words before His ascension.)

Acts 2: 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice, and addressed the crowd: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen carefully to my words. 15 These men are not drunk as you suppose. It is only the third hour of the day! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel … 22 Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. 23 He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. 24 But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches…. “

Pretend that it’s Christmas morning and when you look under the tree, there is this wonderful present. The present is beautifully wrapped, but what really catches your eye is that the box is literally vibrating, practically jumping up and down. And when you open it, suddenly the entire room is bathed with light! You hear music! You feel a joy such as you have never felt before. And suddenly, wonderful thoughts are coming into your mind and you feel like an entirely new person! And now the question is this: what do you do next? That’s how the disciples must have felt on the day of Pentecost.

 On Pentecost, that little band of believers in the prayer room in Jerusalem had no idea what they were in for! Perhaps if you had asked Peter before that fateful day, he might have said, “Well, we know that God is already blessing us. Perhaps that’s what Jesus was talking about.” Nobody was more shocked and excited than the disciples when the Holy Spirit suddenly descended. And then to top it off, Peter went out into the street and began to preach. PETER???? HUH??? Up to this point, Peter had functioned as a leader, certainly. But eloquence wasn’t exactly Peter’s long suit. Peter was a fisherman, for goodness’ sake! Once you got Peter out of his boat, his conversational skills were pretty basic.

If any of the disciples had been choosing a spokesman, they might have selected Matthew; after all, as a tax collector, Matthew was used to mingling with all kinds of people and could speak several languages. But no, it was Peter who found himself rushing down the stairs, out the door, and into the street to confront the huge crowd that had already gathered. Peter had no idea what he was going to say, but when he opened his mouth, God gave him the message – a message of explanation, and an appeal for those present to realize that Jesus truly was the Messiah for whom they had been waiting. And while the disciples watched in amazement, three thousand people knelt down right there in the street, repented of their sins, and believed on Jesus Christ! And nothing was ever the same again, not for those people or for the disciples.

As the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit sometimes doesn’t get very much attention, but He should. The Holy Spirit represents the presence of God with us and the power of God to work in our lives. After all, if that Holy Spirit power could take a stammering Galilean fisherman like Peter and turn him into an articulate Christian leader, then that same power is available to us for God to change us and to transform us.

PRAYER: Lord, please send your Holy Spirit on everyone who reads these words. You know the needs. You know the fears. You know the desires of their hearts. Come, Holy Spirit! In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Acts 1: 6 ”So when they came together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”7 Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 2:1 “When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound rang out, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking his own language.

7 Astounded and amazed, they asked, “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 How is it then that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and converts to Judaism; Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

THE VIEW FROM THE STREET: Everybody knew those crazy Galileans! They kept meeting in that upper room and praying, and then they would go to the temple regularly as well. Nobody knew what had happened to their leader. Somebody told some wild story about the guy rising from the dead and hanging around for forty days and then just floating up into heaven. But hey! Who could believe that kind of stuff? And now it was 9 AM on the morning of the Feast of Pentecost. The Galileans were up in their prayer chamber again, but suddenly Jerusalem was assaulted by high winds. And then those on the street could see blazing fires hovering over the heads of all of the Galileans. But that wasn’t the weirdest part! What was really weird was that all of a sudden, these men who had never spoken any languages apart from their own were crying out in fifty different dialects…and speaking them perfectly! And every word they uttered was in praise of God. No wonder that some of the on – lookers wanted to assume that these men were drunk! But alcohol generally makes you dumber, not smarter. What was going on?

THE VIEW FROM THE UPPER ROOM: When Jesus gave us that promise, just before he ascended into heaven, we were all really excited! But now it had been forty days and nothing was happening! Frankly, I was getting pretty discouraged. Jesus had never made idle promises before. Were we just going to be disappointed? So, when we started the prayer meeting that morning, I was happy to be there and the praise and worship lifted my spirit. But part of me was still wondering if anything was going to change…. and then suddenly, everything changed, and nothing was ever the same again!

As we prayed that morning, suddenly we all felt the room shaking and we heard a loud rushing wind that filled the room with its roaring. Then there was a blinding bright light that filled the room. And when I could open my eyes, I looked over at Peter and Andrew and James and John. There were tongues of flame hovering over their heads; in fact, there were tongues of flame hovering over all of our heads. And when I looked up, I realized that there were tongues of flame hovering over my head as well. But that wasn’t the strangest part.

I was never all that good in languages. I could handle my own Aramean language, and a little trade Latin. But what can you expect from someone who had never traveled farther than the distance between their home village and Jerusalem? But all of a sudden, I found myself speaking fluent Pamphylian! Really, I wasn’t even sure what I was speaking, but these words were flowing out of my mouth and one of the fellows who came up to investigate was getting all kinds of excited! I wasn’t sure what I was saying, but he certainly understood! And it was the same for all of us. There were 120 of us in that room that morning, and each of us was praising God in a different language!

Sounds wild, doesn’t it? And we ask ourselves if this kind of thing really does happen. it does! 90 years ago there was an Assemblies of God missionary in Liberia who found himself surrounded by a group of cannibals. The chief accosted the missionary and asked, “Do you have anything to say before we kill and eat you?” The missionary opened his mouth and suddenly found himself making persuasive arguments in that tribal dialect, a language of which he knew very little. Whatever God said, did the trick; not only was the missionary’s life spared, but the tribe laid down their weapons and accepted Christ.

Today, many of us long to see the power of God working in our lives. God is a good Father and He gives good gifts to His children. God also does not play favorites. This Pentecost Sunday, you can ask for the Holy Spirit to move in a new way and He will. Many times, the Holy Spirit comes gently and not dramatically, but rest assured, there has never been anyone who has asked for the Holy Spirit to come who has been disappointed. And above all else, the mark of the Holy Spirit is a peace that passes understanding.

PRAYER: Father God, this morning we beg you to send your Holy Spirit! Send your power! Send your love! Send your light! Send your truth! And Lord, prepare our hearts so that when the Holy Spirit comes, we will be ready. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Acts 11: 27 “In those days some prophets came down fromJerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the entire Roman world. (This happened under Claudius.) 29 So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gifts to the elders with Barnabas and Saul.”

When the crisis first hit the world, nobody was prepared! People were frightened and didn’t know which way to turn of how to behave. In fact, even Christians were at their wits’ ends! The entire Roman world was rocked!

“What?” you ask. “What do you mean ‘Roman?’” Wait, you thought I was talking about the COVID – 19 pandemic, didn’t you? Guess what? We are not the first generation to face a crisis, nor are we likely to be the last. So let’s look at the response of the early church.

The Christians knew that the famine was coming because one who was a trusted prophet said so. In those days, much of the grain was produced in what is now Libya and in parts of Israel and southern Italy and in some parts of what is now Greece. But if the rains failed in these areas, so did the grain. At the same time, it took days or weeks or even months of arduous travel to get from point A to point B; preparation was extremely important. And preparation is something at which the Christians in Antioch evidently excelled.

We know very little about the poverty level among the Christians of Antioch, but we can assume that most of them were small tradesmen or craftsmen and women eking out a living. There might not have been very many rich people in the Antioch church; however, these believers had two things going for them: they were loving and generous. As soon as Agabus gave the prophecy, the Christians in Antioch began planning and gathering their resources to send to Jerusalem. Why Jerusalem? At that point, Jerusalem was still the headquarters of the early Christian church. News might have reached Antioch that the rains had failed in Israel, leaving the coastal plane dry and barren. Since most of Israel was dry and barren anyway, this meant that things would be very difficult for the church leaders in Jerusalem. Fortunately, Saul and Barnabas were available and ready to travel. Everyone knew Barnabas to be utterly trustworthy. While people were originally quite skeptical about Saul’s conversion, everyone knew Saul to be an honest man. And by this point, Saul and Barnabas had spent an entire year in Antioch, so the believers there had gotten to know both of them extremely well.

In recent months we have witnessed sad examples of people grabbing and hording resources, including toilet paper and disinfectants. Much of this hording was motivated by fear. Why weren’t the Christians in Antioch afraid? After all, if this was a world – wide famine, wouldn’t they be affected as well? We have no answer apart from this: these people fully believed that if they would be generous to others, God would take care of them also. One of the good things about the early Christians was that they had intensively studied the sayings of Jesus that we have preserved in the Gospels. And Jesus had advised his followers “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “(Luke 12:32 – 34)

WHERE IS YOUR TREASURE? In recent months, we have seen jobs, money, and other “trustworthy” things evaporate. There is nothing on earth that cannot either fail or be destroyed or be stolen. If your faith is in anything than the one true living God, one day you will be severely disappointed. The early Christians in Antioch knew this principal well; they were not sharing out of abundance but rather out of faith. Each of us has a choice to make every day: will we act out of faith or out of fear? If you have no basis for faith, you are only left with your fears.

God told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 33:27 – 28 “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. So Israel dwells securely; the fountain of Jacob lives untroubled in a land of grain and new wine, where even the heavens drip with dew.” Today you have a choice: Trust God and live in faith OR refuse to trust God and live in fear. The choice is yours. What will it be?

PRAYER: Father God, please help us to live in faith and to trust you always and forever. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Acts 11:19 “Meanwhile, those scattered by the persecution that began with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message only to Jews. 20 But some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.

21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 22 When news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts. 24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. 25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.”

Years ago, when we lived in New Orleans, we had a pastor friend who was incredible! Our friend, A.P., was a go – to guy when things went sour at a congregation. You could almost hear the commercial: “Has your pastor run off with the church pianist? Did they take all the money in the church treasury? Is your church on the verge of a church split? NO PROBLEM!!! Send for Pastor A. P.! We guarantee that within 6 months, your church funds will be replenished, your church will be peaceful, and nobody will care about your old pastor and the pianist anymore!” No joke! The man really was that good.

Barnabas, a.k.a. “Son of Comfort,” “Son of Encouragement” was that kind of go – to guy. Even though Peter had ministered to the Roman household of Cornelius in Caesarea, most of the Jewish believers had yet to get the memo that Jesus died for ALL mankind and not just for the Jews. And now there were Christians witnessing to Greeks, but what to do? This situation called for someone with an in – depth education, someone who could not only speak fluent Greek but who was thoroughly grounded in the Greek religion and philosophy. Enter Barnabas.

Barnabas was sent to Antioch to assess the situation. And true to his nickname, Barnabas immediately began rejoicing and encouraging these new believers. But Barnabas was humble enough and wise enough to realize that the situation demanded someone with a deeper background than he possessed. That’s when Barnabas went all the way to Tarsus, probably by foot, and got Saul to come back with him to Antioch.

Proverbs 24:6 says “Only with sound guidance should you wage war, and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.” Sometimes we are tempted to force our way into or through situations without taking adequate counsel. But humility is an excellent virtue. It’s always wise to realize that others might know about something than you do and to take counsel from a number of different sources, including people who will tell the truth at the expense of egos. The next time you are tempted to have a one – man consultation, remember Barnabas. By all accounts, Barnabas was an astute cosmopolitan businessman, who probably spoke several different languages fluently. If someone of that stature was humble enough to seek out someone he knew could do a job better, what is stopping you from doing the same?

PRAYER: Father God, this morning we thank you for the sterling example of Barnabas! It takes a great man to recognize his deficiencies. Lord, please help us to realize that none of us is complete within himself or herself. Help us to humble ourselves as did Barnabas, so that your kingdom may fully come and your will be fully done in the earth. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

Acts 9:26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. 27 Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and described how Saul had seen the Lord, who spoke to him on the road to Damascus, and how Saul had spoken boldly in that city in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30 When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced a time of peace. It grew in strength and numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.”

Well, Saul made it out of Damascus by escaping at night and he found his way to Jerusalem. But the Christians in Jerusalem were terrified! What was going on with this man? Had Saul really had a dramatic conversion experience, or was he merely trying to infiltrate the Christian group so that he could round up everybody and haul them off to prison? While many people doubted Saul’s sincerity, nobody doubted his intelligence. Saul had been one of Gamaliel’s star students; if you weren’t brilliant, Gamaliel would gently suggest you go study under someone else. What were the Christians to do? That’s when Barnabas stepped in to help.

Remember Barnabas? “Barnabas” was a nickname meaning “son of comfort” or “son of encouragement.” Barnabas’ actual name was Joseph and he was a Jewish believer from Cyprus. It was Barnabas who sold a piece of land and donated the entire amount to the disciples, an act that gave Ananias and his wife Sapphira the idea of selling some land without actually donating the full price. Throughout the Book of Acts we are going to see Barnabas quietly helping, encouraging, and healing situations.

Everybody knew that Barnabas was the “real deal,” that he was completely honest and had no hidden agendas. When Barnabas brought Saul to the church leaders, he described at great length what God had done to Saul on the road to Damascus, how he had been converted, and how Saul had then spoken out so boldly that the Jews in Damascus were ready to kill him. Barnabas probably described Saul’s narrow escape at night in vived details, leaving the disciples with no doubts that Saul had radically changed and that they could trust him. Later, it might have been Barnabas who helped get Saul to Caesarea on the coast and put him on a ship back to Tarsus while things cooled off in Jerusalem.

While the main focus in this passage has generally been on Saul, let’s look at Barnabas. Barnabas was from Cyprus, while Saul was from Tarsus – two geographically distinct places. Previously Barnabas had only known Saul by reputation, and that reputation was not a good one! But Barnabas was a man of great love and of great faith. Barnabas did not write anything that has been preserved. We have no idea where Barnabas was buried. Much of Barnabas’ life is shrouded in mystery. But this one thing we do know: Barnabas was the one who realized that Saul’s conversion was real and who paved the way for Saul to be accepted by the disciples in Jerusalem. Without that acceptance, who knows how stunted Saul’s ministry might have been?

Today you may feel that your contributions to your workplace or to your church are quite insignificant. Others get all the attention while you work in the background. But we know very few of the names of the early Christians; meanwhile, many of us know about Barnabas. God does not see as a man sees. God knows the intentions of the heart, and Barnabas had good loving intentions throughout his lifetime.

Do not become discouraged. Keep being a helper and an encourager. And if you begin to feel tired, just remember Barnabas.

PRAYER: Father God, we thank you that you see our hearts and our intentions. Lord, help us to follow hard after you, not worrying about who gets the credit. Today, may we choose to walk with you and to seek your face, knowing that you are the one who keeps the books. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Acts 9: 20 Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “He is the Son of God.” 21 All who heard him were astounded and asked, “Isn’t this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem on those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 But Saul was empowered all the more, and he confounded the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ. 23 After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plot. Day and night they watched the city gates in order to kill him. 25 One night, however, his disciples took him and lowered him in a basket through a window in the wall.”

When Saul saw that blinding heavenly light and heard the voice of God on the way to Damascus, his companions only heard the voice. It’s possible that they didn’t even really hear a voice but only heard thunder instead. By the time Saul’s companions had gotten him to Damascus, they had undoubtedly convinced themselves that they had merely witnessed a bad thunder and lightning storm. Sure, they felt sorry for Saul, but they were men on a mission. If Saul was unable to carry out the original plan, there were several others just waiting for the chance to prove themselves to the Sanhedrin.

How did Saul wind up at the house of Judas in the first place? Was it because Judas was a prominent citizen of Damascus? Certainly, Straight Street suggests that Judas lived in the center of town on one of the main thoroughfares. Perhaps Judas was already a secret believer. Perhaps God even ordered Judas to hang around the main gate that day when Saul and his group entered the city. It’s possible that Judas was sitting there with other city leaders when Saul’s companions led him through that gate.

“Saul? Saul of Tarsus? What’s happened to you?” Judas might have seen that Saul was blind and being led by someone else holding a stick for him to hang onto. “Saul, it’s Judas. Can you see at all?”

 “No, Judas. It’s a long story but I was struck blind on my way here.” “

Do you need a place to stay? My house is just down the street here. My friends, why don’t you bring Saul to my house? Then you can carry out your business in town and I will take care of Saul.” And so Saul wound up at Judas’ house.

“Judas, do you have a room where I can just sit and be quiet and pray? Something incredible has happened and I am still trying to deal with it.”

“Certainly, Saul. What do you need?”

“Well, I need to bathe, but for now I don’t want anything to eat or drink. God has done something that has shaken me to the core, and I must seek Him and find out what He wants.”

And so Judas took Saul home with him, and Saul spent the next three days fasting and praying until Ananias came and prayed for him. Once Saul had received his sight, he began reviewing everything he knew about the Messiah. Saul was already a well – known student of Gamaliel, one of the finest Jewish teacher of the time. And when the word went out through the Christian community in Damascus that Saul was no longer an enemy but now a friend and a fellow believer, many came to talk with him. Evidently within a short time, Saul must have built up a small group of believers whom he was teaching, because this passage mentions Saul’s disciples. But Saul believed that he had experienced a divine revelation and that it was now his responsibility to share this experience as widely as possible.

It was no surprise to Saul’s close friends when Saul began making the rounds of all the synagogues in Damascus; after all, Saul was friends with many of the rabbis. And as a visiting scholar, Saul was invited to read the Torah and to speak in many places. But those friendships ended abruptly when Saul began to speak of his Damascus Road experience and proclaim Jesus as the Son of God. Now Saul’s years of study came to the fore and he quoted scripture after scripture, all underscoring the fact that Jesus really was the Messiah. There was not a single Jewish scholar in Damascus who was able to confound Saul. And the religious leaders were livid! This was NOT why they had invited Saul to come to Damascus! So incensed were these leaders that they refused to even entertain the possibility that God had really done everything Saul claimed that had happened. There was no question as to whether or not they were opposing God; they weren’t even thinking about God at all. They were trying to see how they could get rid of Saul as rapidly as possible. There were spies stationed at the city gates; if Saul had made any attempt to leave by that route, he would have been killed. Saul had come to Damascus with a number of other like – minded super – religious Jews, and these guys still had the warrants to arrest all the Christians in Damascus. Now that Saul had become a Christian, he was now their number one target.

When God was speaking to Ananias, God told Ananias that He was going to show Saul how much he would have to suffer.Now God was clearly demonstrating to Saul that nothing was going come easily. But Saul’s new disciples were an ingenious lot. One of the families lived in a house that was built into the city wall well away from the main gate. Under cover of darkness after the city gates were already closed for the night, some of Saul’s friends put him in a large basket and lowered him down on the outside of the wall. It’s likely that other friends had already left the city earlier that day, perhaps with a donkey or two, and these people were able to meet up with Saul and to get him away from Damascus.

Many times we try to do the right thing, only to find that those we thought would applaud are instead ready to attack us viciously. Saul was a very honest man, and he couldn’t help but tell people what God had done; however, the religious leaders were more worried about their orthodoxies and keeping the peace than they were about the truth. We are never told the names of those who helped Saul escape. It’s possible that when this account was first being written by Dr. Luke, there were still people in Damascus who might have carried out reprisals. But God knows the names of the righteous. Today, you might be faced with a difficult decision: do you maintain the status quo or bear witness to the truth, realizing that you might suffer as a result? Be at peace. God knows. God sees. God understands. And God has ways and means of delivering you …. even if someone has to let you down the city wall at midnight in a basket.

PRAYER: Father God, today some of us are facing difficult decisions. We know what we should do, but we fear the consequences. Lord, give us the courage and grace to make the right decisions and to bear witness to the truth. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Acts 9:10” In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Here I am, Lord,” he answered.11“Get up!” the Lord told him. “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And now he is here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.”15“Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.”

17 So Ananias went to the house, and when he arrived, he placed his hands on Saul. “Brother Saul,” he said, “the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 At that instant, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and his sight was restored. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. And he spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.”

Ananias was ready to freak out! Surely he must be going crazy! All the Christians in Damascus had heard about Saul coming to arrest them and most of them were already in hiding. A few people had heard some weird story about Saul being struck blind on the way to Damascus, but most of the Christians figured this must be a ruse, a trick to entice the Christians to come out of hiding so that Saul could make a clean sweep and haul all of them off to Jerusalem. No! Nobody was buying the story about bright lights and heavenly voices. And anyway, the men who were accompanying Saul were every bit as bad; if Saul was having health problems, these men could still carry out the arrests.

Ananias had actually sent his family out to the country where they would be safe, and that afternoon he was planning to join them. But Ananias decided to pray before he left town and that’s when he got the shock of his life! As Ananias was praying, God told him to go find Saul and to lay hands on him AND PRAY FOR HIM TO RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT!!! And to make things even more interesting, Paul was lodging with some fellow named Judas on Straight Street, probably one of the major streets in Damascus. So God was asking Ananias to risk going into the main part of Damascus to pray for this man who was a sworn enemy of Christians.

Ananias must have prayed long and hard before he decided that yes, this really was God. Ananias probably asked the Lord, “Are you REALLY SURE about this? You know who Saul is! This man has come into town to haul us all off to Jerusalem for who knows what kind of punishment.” At the point, God probably didn’t say anything. And then Ananias continued, “Oh, all right, Lord! But if I go there and this man or his assistants arrest me, please take care of my family! And if I have to face crucifixion, give me the courage and grace to do so!”

God knew whom to send as a messenger. Ananias only figures in this one story in the New Testament, but it’s really a great story. What makes Ananias such an outstanding believer? He obeyed! What we are NOT told is what Ananias was thinking as he headed for Judas’ house on Straight Street. Was Ananias striding down the street as rapidly as he could to get things over with, or was he walking very slowly and greeting everybody he could on the way in the hope that God would change His mind before Ananias arrived at Judas’ house?

When Ananias reached Judas’ house, he did exactly as God had commanded. It must have cost Ananias a big effort to refer to Saul as “Brother Saul,” but he was obedient. And Saul was miraculously healed! Scales fell from Saul’s eyes and his vision was restored. Saul got up, was baptized, and took the first food and water he had had in three days. And after that, Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.

There are many times when God asks us to do something unpleasant, and we react similarly to Ananias. ”Lord, you must be kidding!” But God’s ways are higher than ours. All Saul’s life, God had been preparing him to become the Apostle Paul who would write a great deal of the New Testament and who would become one of the major figures of the early Christian Church. And Saul had spent three days in complete darkness, fasting from both food and water. For Saul, fasting was a natural response; as an observant Pharisee, Saul was used to fasting at set times throughout the year. Why three days? That’s how long it took for Saul to come to the end of himself and to be willing to listen to God instead of his prejudices.

We all should be thankful for Ananias. Had Ananias failed in his mission, Saul might have remained blind for the rest of his life and might never have converted. Many times, important Christian leaders have been brought to a decision by someone very humble who was being obedient. Dwight L. Moody, the famous American evangelist of the late 19^th century, was led to the Lord in the back of a Boston shoe store by his Sunday School teacher. Many remember Moody, but few remember Edward Kimball, who told Moody of God’s love for him.

Today, God may be asking you to do something difficult and you rather wish He would ask someone else. But remember, Ananias was part of a big healing and also part of St. Paul’s ministry…all because he walked over to Judas’ house that afternoon and prayed fo a man named Saul.

PRAYER Father God, thank you for loving us. Thank you, that you allow us to be part of the things you are doing in the world. Lord, help us never to hold back but to follow your leading, knowing that we will be part of something wonderful, even if we don’t see all the results. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

MAY 25, 2020 GOD GETS SAUL’S ATTENTION!

Acts 9:The Road to Damascus (Acts 22:1-21; Acts 26:1-23)

1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out threats and murder against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 to ask for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

3 As Saul drew near to Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”

5“Who are You, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied. 6“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the voice but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could not see a thing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was without sight, and he did not eat or drink anything.

Saul had watched Stephen die and he had been GLAD! That’s the only kind of death a heretic deserved anyway! Having driven the Christians in Jerusalem into hiding or out of town, Saul now wanted to move on to Damascus. This was Saul’s big chance to firm up his reputation as a defender of the faith. But things didn’t work out the way Saul intended.

Suddenly, a heavenly light flashed around Saul and Jesus spoke to him. None of Saul’s companions saw that light, although they did hear the voice. But when Saul picked himself up and tried to open his eyes, all that he saw was darkness. Saul’s companions had to lead him by the hand into Damascus. Saul was shaken to the core! He had been so sure that he was correct! Was it possible that this Jesus really was the Son of God, the Messiah?

Saul was a passionate scholar who had memorized the Torah and the Haftorah as a boy. In addition, Saul had spent years under the tutelage of Gamaliel learning all of the commentaries that the Jews had compiled during their years of exile in Babylon. Now in the darkness, Saul found himself scanning all that he had ever studied, particularly the Messianic prophecies. And what was it that Gamaliel, his teacher in Jerusalem, had said? At one point, Saul had been quizzing Gamaliel when Gamaliel surprised Saul by looking at him with those wise smiling eyes of his. “Saul,” Gamaliel had asked, “what if Jesus really was the Messiah? What if this move really is of God? What would you do if you found out that you were actually opposing God?” And Saul had had no answer. Now in the darkness, Gamaliel’s words found their place in Saul’s heart. If Jesus was not the Messiah, then where had that light come from? Where had that voice come from? And why had Saul been suddenly struck blind?

Finally, after three days of darkness, a light began to shine in Saul’s heart. “No matter what I thought previously,” Saul mused, “I must have been wrong.” And it was just after Saul had reached this conclusion that God sent a believer to minister to Saul.

There are times in our lives when God uses a crisis to get our attention, and frankly, this process is generally not a pleasant one. Had Saul been asked ahead of time if he was willing to be struck blind for three days, he would have probably shouted, “NO!” And yet, God used that temporary blindness to change Saul’s mind and heart.

Today, many of us are facing unpleasant circumstances. The things we thought we could count on have failed us and we don’t know which way to turn. But we can rest assured that God is still on the throne and that He still has control over our lives. Why was Saul blind for three days? We don’t know, but it’s likely that that was the amount of time it took for Saul to have a change of heart. God’s timing is perfect, and as soon as Saul was ready, God sent someone to help lead him into a new life, healing his blindness at the same time. Today, trust that God is working in your life, even in the bad stuff. Keep watching and God will show up when you least expect Him.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you that you use all kinds of circumstances to reach us. We lift up the problems we are facing and we place them in your hands. Lord, help us to trust you and to look for your divine answers, and thank you in advance for those answers. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.