Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

For such a time as this

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Acts 9:26-31
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 of Jesus. Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles, and he reported to them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord, and that the Lord had spoken to Saul, and how in Damascus Saul had spoken out fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely with them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He spoke and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him.

When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

And for a time the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace. It was strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit. And it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

These short paragraphs brush the surface of such significant events. Saul's life was threatened, so his church sent him to Greece. Saul's Greek name would be Paul. Paul's letters to the churches he planted in Greece provide theological underpinnings for the way we understand God. Paul's encounter with Jesus and subsequent dependence on the Holy Spirit shaped his devotion and adoration of God. This arrogant, brilliant, violently active man became a surrendered servant of Jesus.

Barnabas, and before him Ananias, resisted their natural fears of this killer of Christians because God gave them wisdom and courage. Neither of them measured up to Saul intellectually or emotionally. Saul dominated nearly everyone he met. But he was a man. And when Saul met Jesus, when he was thrown to the ground, blinded, silenced ... he found his place as a created one at the feet of his Creator. Humility, gratitude and fear must have rushed through his body. He needed the help of men who could care for him, love him like Jesus loved him, and finally bring him to the apostles. Ananias and Barnabas listened to God, and became those men.

Perhaps it was this obedience that somehow protected the infant church. So much pressure was building on the outside, pressure that would soon result in many executions and finally, just a few decades later, the destruction of Jerusalem. But now, for a few critical years, Paul and John and Peter and the other apostles had time to be still, time to be filled, time to preach and explore what God showed them about their new faith in Jesus and about their new reliance on the Holy Spirit.

Lord, when these days come for me, let my heart open wide its gates. They are the days of the green wood, days to rejoice and be glad, before the coming of the dry.

Devotions Archive

For such a time as this

Sunday, May 14, 2006