First of all, Happy 4th of July!! Celebrate responsibly!! :D
So today I'm actually blogging in the early afternoon on this rainy Sunday. It's been a good week. I was back at CenterPoint "in house" for the first time in 3 weeks, had my granddaughter, Brandi, overnight again Wed./Thurs, and it's been a quiet weekend overall. Jeremy called Thursday, he's been ranting about life again lately, but happy when he and his Fillipina girlfriend can have movie night/days. Brandi doesn't remember him, but she was still only 4-5 yrs old, so I shouldn't be too surprised. Rob called briefly to see how I was doing Friday, and my father called about plans for the 4th on Saturday. I was fine, but not "chatty" with Rob, and it looks like my parents and I will most likely have to miss the Family Reunion on Tuesday. It will be the first they will miss in nearly 50 yrs., but as I told dad, "all things are subject to change". My mom is the one most affected by this, as it is her side of the family. I've missed a good handful over the years either by scheduling conflicts, Rich's (my ex's) Reunions, or plain old "didn't feel like it". Not as big a deal for me, although I do want Mike to come next year, if possible, if only to get him in the records and pics. We'll see...
As it is, it's not looking like we'll even be together on the 4th, regardless. Our friend Kevin is having to move out of the house he's been living in for the past several years due to the Church needing it for other people. Mike has been helping with that and will need to get his own stuff out that has been stored there as well. Depending on when things get settled around will determine if Mike and I will be able to be together for my birthday next week. Time will tell, and the same for his Disability, which we STILL haven't heard back from his lawyer on. We trust God in all things, even if we don't like how it looks for us in the moment.
Matt is back in the hospital for the 2nd time in as many weeks. They've figured out that he keeps getting pneumonia due to salivation during dialysis, but they haven't found a way to fix it. Meanwhile, his physical and occupational rehabilitation has slacked, resulting in some regression there. Pray for wisdom and continued healing.
I'm sure we've all judged others unfairly at some point in our lives, and for various reasons. For our message today, I'm thinking specifically of those people who we thought wouldn't be a good candidate for our business model or whose lifestyle/opinions don't "mesh" with ours, so we exclude them from even being given the chance to prove themselves worthy of our association or friendship. I used to be in Amway. Once, right out of HS, under my parents' sponsorship, then Rich and I were in together for a year or so. Later, after we divorced, I tried on my own again for a year. Meanwhile, I had been in Mary Kay for 3 yrs after my youngest was born. Long stories short, those types of things are just not a good fit for me. But they teach you a valueable lesson in the training, "Don't pre-judge anyone!!". You only see part of who a person is on the first impression, but what you cannot always see until later is their drive, their determination for the goals they want to achieve. In our passage today, that same idea is at work, except it's called "zeal". Let's look --
Turn with me to Acts 9 --
Acts 9:1-19New International Version
Saul’s Conversion
9 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared 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 sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11 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 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, 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 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
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As a prelude to today's message, Pastor Matt shared a story about someone in our church who had come up to him after last week's service. This man was excited to feel like he was putting this sermon series to action. You may recall my recent mention of protesters at an LGBTQ cafe up the street and the commotion being caused there. This man heard the noise after church that day* and just casually walked over to see what was going on. He proceeded to approach one of the men protesting against the cafe and simply asked him why he felt a need to prostest. One of the women in support of the cafe called over saying, "Don't bother, you can't change him!!" The guy from church replied, "The Holy Spirit can!! He changed me, and if He can change me, He can change anyone." He didn't try to aruge with the man's opinion, he simply asked why the man felt compelled to voice it in that manner. The woman's input gave him the opportunity to mention Jesus. Although we don't know the outcome in the life of that protester; today's passage has those same elements at work. A man in dire need of a new heart, a spokesman for God, and an obedient party to step in and help.
As has been the case recently, Pastor Matt requested feedback on the passage -- I was actually among those to respond today -- My observations were that others heard the voice, which solidifies the reality of the event; and that Jesus specifically chose Saul for His purposes*. Others commented on God's grace to Ananias in spite of the questions, Ananias' obedience, Saul/Paul's suffering.
Pastor Matt added to this by reminding us that another occassion at which God spoke out of the clouds was at Jesus' baptism. Also that the mention of suffering was in line with The Way* of Jesus, thus the wording was intentional.
The major point to embrace in this passage is this --
God will use where our feet have been to map out where they will go.
Some of us may struggle with that and feel that our paths have been too dirty, either by our own doing or by others throwing dirt on our feet by unfair judgements and excluding us from their activities or lives. And this could take place literally anywhere. School, jobs, families, or even, sadly to say, churches*. The fact is, only God can redeem where we've been.
In order to gain some perspective here, we take a look at Saul's background.
His early life was actually in Modern Day Turkey, born to Jewish parents as a Roman citizen. We know from other Scriptures that he was raised in Jerusalem with his siblings (Acts 23:16) and other familiy memebers (Rom. 16:7, etc), attended Rabbinical School under Gamaliel (Acts 5), basically became a Pharissee "intern", and became a zealot for the Law. He went so far "overboard" in this as to openly oppose Gamaliel and start hunting down Jews that were following Jesus' Way. Not exactly a "prime candidate" for serving God, right?? Or was he??
Today, in America we take pride in being able to stand up for our rights in the face of government oppression/opposition. That's what the protesters were doing at the cafe the other week. That's what the protesters do in front of the Clinic across the side street from my building most any given Friday morning*. We see later how Saul-Paul has turned his zeal for good to stand up for God and those who believe in Him. (so maybe not such a bad candidate after all, see??)
At your leisure, you can turn over to Philippians 3:4 and read Paul's "resume" and how he has come to think about it by that point in his life. As I mentioned above, ONLY God can redeem where we've been and use it for His glory later.
"Digging in" more to our passage above, we can make some further observations beyond those mentioned previously --
First of all, we have the Light from Heaven. (vs 3) Where have we seen this before?? Creation and Mt. Sinai, for 2. The point lies in the fact that, when we see light from Heaven in the Bible, it means God is showing up.
Secondly, we notice Saul's reaction to Jesus' voice. (vs 5) He neither denies the accusation nor runs away. Instead, we actually see him "leaning in" to what is being said to him. He is recognizing the truth not only of the words being said, but of Who is saying them. This effectually makes him a personal witness of the living Christ*.
Next, we notice that Saul was blind/in darkness for 3 days with no food or water. (vs 9) Anyone else thinking about Easter weekend right now?? You should be!! ;) (it's also worthy to note here that Damascus was at least a 3-4 day walk from Jerusalem, so he wasn't just on a "day trip")
Now, about the wording of "scales" falling off his eyes, (vs 18) Pastor Matt pointed out that snakes have scaly skins. This brings us, once again, back to Eden. The Serpent had been slithering around, opposing God (or at least convincing Eve to do so). Saul's recent activities were likewise in opposition to God. In this case, God removed the "scaly lies" from Saul's eyes so he could then live in the Truth of Jesus' Salvation.
This was just the beginning of Saul's/Paul's sufferings for the Gospel. He had to be made to understand that the "Way" of Jesus was a type of death, leading to New Life in Him. A "Resurrection Life", if you will. And this is where Ananias comes into play. God had told him to find Saul and baptize him into the life of the New Believer.
As we bear witness to God in our own lives, we may also suffer losses. These may include family members, friends, money/job situations, etc...
Where have our feet been?? Wherever that is, God can redeem it and use our experiences to help others*. The deciding factor is Jesus, not us. Some preachers talk about chasing our dreams and God will help us reach them. No. We need to humbly submit our dreams/lives to God's Plan. Only then will God be with us and our only dreams will be to serve Him, however He sees fit.
So the "big 3" take aways for today are these --
-- Trust that your past is not a waste
-- Submit your past to Jesus - own it/unpack it
-- Walk on with the feet Jesus gave you
-- God Bless!!
Footnotes:
The noise would have been easily heard, as the cafe sits directly across the parking garage behind the chuch, which leads through a walkway onto Main St.
The fact that God specifically chose Saul/Paul shows that He made each one of us according to a specific purpose that only we can fill. (the saying when I was a kid was, "Only Nixon could go to China") Likewise, God has plans that only we can do. (Mind you, I don't personally remember the Nixon thing as I was too young) ;)
If you read my entries in the last couple of weeks, you'll remember that "The Way" was the name for the Early Church before the permutation of the word "Christian" came to be.
I have personally felt excluded from life at school, with family, and in church. At school, it was thru bullying, family by way of my mother both directly and by extension, and in church by favoritism. (None of these had to do with my faith, however, just unfair judgements)
While I try to avoid politics on here, I do want to say something about this in a general sense. Mike has seen the Catholic couple I've mentioned pacing in front of the Clinic, and thanked them. As we continued up the sidewalk, he asked me if I understood why. He explained that he appreciated their willingness to stand publicly for what they believe in, because as long as SOMEBODY continues to do that, we ALL retain the right to. My problem with this lies in the fact that these people are on the wrong side of the issue. As Christians, I have learned over the last few years that we should be on the side of compassion, not prosteletizing. At least where controversial issues are in question. These people are just proving the World right when they view us Christians as judgmental hypocrites. Standing up may be important, but making sure you're standing on the right side of the issue is more important.
Both the issue of Paul's not having known Jesus personally and that of whether he was actually blinded or not (based on 2 Cor. 12:7), have long been debated. This passage proves these to be true due to the fact that others were present to see/hear them happen. The fact that Jesus only speaks rather than being seen physically is irrelevant to Saul's/Paul's personal experience of Him here. (Remember what we said about Light from Heaven)
As "rocky/muddy" as some of my own paths have been, I'm grateful that I get to connect with you on here so that you can see that God can use literally anyone to spread His Word.
Music -- Never any rights!! :D
This one isn't known at CenterPoint, it comes from a guest at one of my prior churches -- But listen for the "Resurrection Life" phrase, she says it 2x...
("transparent background", me too, chicka!!) LOL